Literature Terminology

Question 1

genres

Answer 1

a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter

Question 2

in me·di·as res

Answer 2

into the middle of a narrative; without preamble

Question 3

metaphor

Answer 3

a figure of speech in which 2 things are compared implicitly; without the use of a signal (ex. like)

Question 4

similes

Answer 4

a figure of speech involving direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another (usually using words such as “like”)

Question 5

novel

Answer 5

a long work of fiction (about 40,000+ words), typically published as a stand-alone book

Question 6

novella

Answer 6

a work of prose fiction that falls somewhere in between a short story and a novel in terms of length scope and complexity

Question 7

bildungsroman

Answer 7

literally “education novel” (german), a novel that depicts the intellectual, emotional, and moral development of its protagonist from childhood to adulthood

Question 8

short story

Answer 8

anywhere from 1,000 to 20,000 words

Question 9

short-short story

Answer 9

less than 1,000 words

Question 10

theme

Answer 10

the topic explored in a literary work

Question 11

action

Answer 11

events that occur in a literary work

Question 12

plot

Answer 12

the way an author sequences and paces the events so as to shape our response and interpretation

Question 13

discriminated occasion

Answer 13

a specific, discrete moment portrayed in a fictional work, often signaled with phrases like “it’s wow 5 in the morning” “it was about dusk”

Question 14

exposition

Answer 14

the first phase or part of a plot, sets the scene, characters, situation

Question 15

epilogue

Answer 15

ties up loose ends after the conclusion

Question 16

denouement

Answer 16

literally “untying of a knot”, can be used synonymously for falling action, conclusion, epilogue

Question 17

allegory

Answer 17

a literary work in which characters, actions, and even settings have two connected meanings

Question 18

metonymy

Answer 18

using the name of one thing to refer to another thing associated with it (ex. red tape)

Question 19

personification

Answer 19

attributing human qualities to objects or animals

Question 20

synecdoche

Answer 20

a form of metonymy in which a part represents a whole (ex. sail refers to ship, wheels to car)

Question 21

auditor

Answer 21

listen within the fiction whose possible reaction is part of the story

Question 22

fable

Answer 22

an ancient type of short fiction, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral or satirizing human beings