Literary Terms: Unit 1, Set #2---College Prep

Question 0

flat character

Answer 0

a one-dimensional character, often revealing a single personal quality and staying the same throughout the story

Question 1

setting

Answer 1

the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur

Question 2

theme

Answer 2

the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to convey in a lit work

Question 3

rhetorical questions

Answer 3

a question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer

Question 4

aphorism

Answer 4

a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

Question 5

protagonist

Answer 5

the main character in the story

Question 6

first person

Answer 6

the story is told by one of the characters in his or her own words—use of first person pronouns

Question 7

third person omniscient

Answer 7

narrator focus on all the characters

Question 8

epitaph

Answer 8

an inscription on a tombstone or short poem written in memory of someone who has died

Question 9

round character

Answer 9

a fully developed character who is complex, revealing several sides to his/her personality and growing and changing as the story progresses

Question 10

third person

Answer 10

the narrator is not a character in the story at all but is telling about the characters in the story—use of third person pronouns

Question 11

point of view

Answer 11

the vantage point from which a narrative is told

Question 12

parallelism

Answer 12

the use of phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar or complementary in structure or in meaning

Question 13

proverb

Answer 13

a short, often biblical, saying that expresses a basic truth

Question 14

plot

Answer 14

the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem

Question 15

character

Answer 15

a person, animal, thing, or natural force appearing in a lit work

Question 16

almanac

Answer 16

a book of months and days for one year with weather predictions, a wide variety of miscellaneous info, and proverbs

Question 17

antagonist

Answer 17

a character who opposes the main character or who is against the main character

Question 18

repetition

Answer 18

repetition of words, sounds, or phrases for effect—sound device in poetry

Question 19

Third Person Limited

Answer 19

narrator focuses on only one character

Question 20

rhetorical question ex:

Answer 20

“They tell us, sir, that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next wee, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house?” ~Patrick Henry

Question 21

parallelism ex:

Answer 21

“Beat! Beat! Drums!—Blow! Bugles! Blow!
Make no parley—stop for no expostulation.
Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer.
Mind not the old man beseeching the young man.” ~Walt Whitman

Question 22

repetition ex:

Answer 22

“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore’ . . .
With such name as ‘Nevermore’ . . .
Then the bird said, ‘Nevermore’ . . .
Of ‘Never—nevermore’ “ . . . ~Edgar Allen Poe

Question 23

epitaph ex:

Answer 23

"The Body of 
B. Franklin,
Printer;
Like the Cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And script of its Lettering and Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms . . ." ~Ben Franklin composed for himself at 22

Question 24

aphorism ex:

Answer 24

“Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string.” ~Emerson