Literary Terms Set 1

Question 1

physical things tangible to our senses (ex: tables, trees, etc.)

Answer 1

Concrete Nouns

Question 2

non-physical concepts such as love, anger, etc.

Answer 2

Abstract Nouns

Question 3

when readers connect, and identify with a piece of art. Feel emotions.

Answer 3

Close Aesthetic Distance

Question 4

objective experience with piece of art. Not emotionally connected.

Answer 4

Far Aesthetic Distance

Question 5

symbolic narrative that displays a meaning not explicitly stated. Story within a story. (ex.: Wizard of Oz, Animal Farm)

Answer 5

Allegory

Question 6

something uncertain. More than one way to interpret. (ex.: Phantom of the Opera, 1984 Ending)

Answer 6

Ambiguity/Ambiguous

Question 7

literary device where something is placed in wrong time period.

Answer 7

Anachronism

Question 8

repetition at beginning of successive phrases, clauses, lines, and sentences.

Answer 8

Anaphora

Question 9

repetition at the end of successive phrases, clauses, lines, and sentences.

Answer 9

Epistrophe

Question 10

harmonious, ordered, rational, calm

Answer 10

Apollonian

Question 11

sensual, pleasure-seeking impulses. “GIRLS GONE WILD SPRING BREAK 2023!”

Answer 11

Dionysian

Question 12

address to an absent or imaginary person or thing

Answer 12

Apostrophe

Question 13

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way and to evoke a response. Ex: star-crossed lovers, hero, overbearing mother-in-law.

Answer 13

Archetype

Question 14

overdone attempts at evoking emotion, usually creating a comedic effect

Answer 14

Bathos

Question 15

emotional appeal

Answer 15

Pathos

Question 16

an antihero who is a romanticized but wicked character.

Answer 16

Byronic Hero

Question 17

a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Answer 17

Cacophony

Question 18

pleasant, harmonious sound

Answer 18

Euphony

Question 19

a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.

Answer 19

Caricature

Question 20

a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases. Ex: we forget what we want to remember and remember what we want to forget.

Answer 20

Chiasmus

Question 21

characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation

Answer 21

Colloquial

Question 22

using evolution and the idea of “survival of the fittest” to analyze human behavior in literature.

Answer 22

Darwinism (Literature)

Question 23

a term used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking; a tone intended to instruct or moralize. Instructive; not superior

Answer 23

Didactic Tone

Question 24

Related to the beliefs of Ralph Waldo Emerson, focused on nature and simplifying life. Abstract ideas, not straight forward.

Answer 24

Emersonian

Question 25

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Answer 25

Enjambment

Question 26

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant. (passed away vs died)

Answer 26

Euphemism

Question 27

A moment of sudden revelation or insight (eureka!)

Answer 27

Epiphany

Question 28

having or showing profound knowledge /learned, polished, scholarly.

Answer 28

Erudite Tone

Question 29

trade something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches (Anakin and Sidious, Ariel and Ursula)

Answer 29

Faustian

Question 30

abusive or insulting language

Answer 30

Invective Language

Question 31

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

Answer 31

Hamartia

Question 32

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy (tortoise and the haire)

Answer 32

Hubris

Question 33

placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast (“all is fair in love and war”)

Answer 33

Juxtaposition

Question 34

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite (“how are you?” “not bad”)

Answer 34

Litotes

Question 35

a charming young man who seduces and deceives women. Playa character. F boy

Answer 35

Lothario

Question 36

the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar (dance “flamingo” (flamenco))

Answer 36

Malapropism

Question 37

devilish, crafty. Represents devil (Dr. Faciler represents devil (“his friends”))

Answer 37

Mephistophelean

Question 38

substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it (metaphor) (“pen is mightier than sword” means “written words are more powerful than military force”)

Answer 38

Metonymy

Question 39

a recurring theme, subject or idea

Answer 39

Motif

Question 40

cunning and deceitful; lacking morals (ex Scar)

Answer 40

Machiavellian