literature terms

Question 1

act

Answer 1

major part of a play

Question 2

allegory

Answer 2

Work in which things represent or stand for other things

Question 3

alliteration

Answer 3

Repeated sounds in consecutive words

Question 4

allusion

Answer 4

reference to something

Question 5

anachronism

Answer 5

error in time sequence

Question 6

antagonist

Answer 6

Character who opposes the work’s hero

Question 7

antihero

Answer 7

main character who lacks heroism

Question 8

apostrophe

Answer 8

direct reference to something that is absent

Question 9

assonance

Answer 9

repetition of vowel sounds

Question 10

ballad

Answer 10

Poem that tells a tale and is usually meant to be sung

Question 11

Bildungsroman

Answer 11

autobiographical novel

Question 12

canto

Answer 12

division of a long poem

Question 13

cliché

Answer 13

An overused, formerly meaningful element in a work

Question 14

climax

Answer 14

point of highest drama in a work

Question 15

couplet

Answer 15

Two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme with each other

Question 16

denouement

Answer 16

final part of a work

Question 17

doggerel

Answer 17

bad poetry

Question 18

elegy

Answer 18

poem expressing sadness

Question 19

epic

Answer 19

long heroic story

Question 20

epiphany

Answer 20

A work or section of a work presenting a moment of revelation

Question 21

essay

Answer 21

Short work expressing the author’s opinion

Question 22

fable

Answer 22

short story containing a moral lesson

Question 23

foot

Answer 23

unit of verse

Question 24

foreshadowing

Answer 24

When the author hints at future plot developments

Question 25

genre

Answer 25

type of literature

Question 26

hiku

Answer 26

japanese 3-line poem

Question 27

hyperbole

Answer 27

exaggeration

Question 28

idiom

Answer 28

a saying that has a figurative meaning

Question 29

imagery

Answer 29

When the author uses descriptive words to enhance his meaning

Question 30

irony

Answer 30

Something that means the opposite of its literal meaning

Question 31

kitsch

Answer 31

Work of poor quality or reputation

Question 32

lampoon

Answer 32

satirical portrayal

Question 33

limerick

Answer 33

5-line humorous poem

Question 34

metaphor

Answer 34

Description of something done by comparing it to something else

Question 35

meter

Answer 35

a poems rhythm

Question 36

motif

Answer 36

repeated theme in a work

Question 37

onomatopoeia

Answer 37

Word that sounds like what it means

Question 38

oxymoron

Answer 38

term that contradicts itself

Question 39

parable

Answer 39

story with a moral lesson

Question 40

paradox

Answer 40

Illogical statements used to create insight

Question 41

parody

Answer 41

work that mocks another work

Question 42

pathos

Answer 42

something used to get sympathy

Question 43

personification

Answer 43

Giving human attributes to things that are not human

Question 44

plot

Answer 44

events of literary work

Question 45

prose

Answer 45

nonpoetic language

Question 46

pun

Answer 46

A humorous use of words to suggest alternate meanings

Question 47

rhetoric

Answer 47

An art that writers use to be more persuasive

Question 48

rhetorical question

Answer 48

A question that makes a point; no reply is expected

Question 49

sarcasm

Answer 49

An ironic statement usually used in a negative way

Question 50

satire

Answer 50

work that makes fun of something

Question 51

scene

Answer 51

Part of a play happening in a certain location

Question 52

similie

Answer 52

Description accomplished by comparing one thing to another

Question 53

sonnet

Answer 53

14-line poem

Question 54

stanza

Answer 54

Part of a poem consisting of a group of lines

Question 55

symbol

Answer 55

representation of an idea

Question 56

theme

Answer 56

The core subject that an author is writing about

Question 57

thesis

Answer 57

the primary argument in an essay

Question 58

tone

Answer 58

The author’s attitude towards the subject matter

Question 59

verse

Answer 59

poetry or part of a poem