Literary Terms List

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

The representation of ideas or moral principles by means of symbolic characters, events, or objects.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

The repetition of a beginning consonant sound to create rhythm and aid memory.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

A brief reference to a historical or literary person, place, object, or event.

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

The comparison of two similar things so as to suggest that if they are alike in some respects, they are probably alike in other ways as well.

Question 5

Anecdote

Answer 5

A short narrative that tells the particulars of an interesting and/or humorous event.

Question 6

Antagonist

Answer 6

A person or thing that opposes the protagonist of a story.

Question 6

Cliché

Answer 6

A word or phrase that is so overused that it is no longer effective in most writing situations.

Question 7

Apostrophe

Answer 7

A figure of speech where someone (usually absent or dead), an object, some abstract quality, or a nonexistent person is directly addressed as though present and real.

Question 8

Coherence

Answer 8

The pars of a composition should be arranged in a logical and orderly manner so that the meaning and ideas are clear and intelligible.

Question 9

Connotation

Answer 9

The emotions and feelings that surround a word: they may be negative, neutral, or positive, depending on their context.

Question 10

Context

Answer 10

The environment of a word, the words that surround a particular word and help to determine or deepen its meaning.

Question 11

Denotation

Answer 11

The literal or basic meaning of a word (the dictionary definition.)

Question 12

Diction

Answer 12

The writer’s choice of words based on their clarity and effectiveness.

Question 13

Euphemism

Answer 13

When you replace one word or phrase for another in order to avoid being offensive.

Question 14

Flahsback

Answer 14

Insertion of a scene or event that took place in the past, for the purpose of making something in the present more clear.

Question 15

Foil

Answer 15

This term is applied to any person who through contrast underscores the distinctive characteristics of another.

Question 16

Hyperbole

Answer 16

A type of figurative language that makes an overstatement for the purpose of emphasis.

Question 16

Foreshadowing

Answer 16

The suggestion or hint of events to come later in a literary work

Question 16

Imagery

Answer 16

The use of descriptive words or phrases to create vivid mental pictures in the minds of the reader, often appealing to sight, sound, taste, or smell.

Question 17

Irony

Answer 17

The contrast between what is expected and what actually happens

Question 17

Metaphor

Answer 17

A type of figurative language that makes a comparison but does not use “like” or “as.”

Question 17

Direct Metaphor

Answer 17

When the writer directly states both of the things being compared.

Question 17

Metonymy

Answer 17

The substitution of an object closely associated with a word for the word itself.

Question 17

Indirect Metaphor

Answer 17

When the writer states one of the things and the reader must infer the others.

Question 18

Mood

Answer 18

The feeling of a piece of literature arouses in the reader

Question 18

Motif

Answer 18

Recurring ideas, images, and actions that tend to unify a work.

Question 19

Onomatopoeia

Answer 19

A type of figurative language in which words sound like the things they name.

Question 20

Oxymoron

Answer 20

A self-contradictory combination of words (usually paired.)

Question 21

Parody

Answer 21

When a writer imitates an already existing form for the purpose of humor

Question 22

Personification

Answer 22

A type of figurative language that gives animate (living) characteristics to inanimate (nonliving) things.

Question 23

Protagonist

Answer 23

The main character in a work: the action revolves around this person and the antagonist, or opposing force.

Question 24

Pun

Answer 24

A word or phrase which has a “double meaning” as intended by the writer; often these words around the same (or nearly the same) but have different meanings.

Question 25

Repetition

Answer 25

Repeating a word or group of words for emphasis or effect.

Question 26

Rhetorical question

Answer 26

A question asked only for effect or to make a statement, but not to get an answer.

Question 27

Satire

Answer 27

A type of writing that uses humor, irony, or wit to make a point.

Question 28

Simile

Answer 28

A comparison using “like” or “as.”

Question 29

Style

Answer 29

This refers to how the author writes (form) rather than what he/she writes (content.)

Question 30

Symbolism

Answer 30

A symbol is something that stands for something larger than itself.

Question 31

Synecdoche

Answer 31

When a part represents the whole or when the whole represents the part.

Question 32

Theme

Answer 32

A statement of the central idea of a piece of writing.

Question 33

Tone

Answer 33

The attitude of the author toward his/her subject and audience.