Literrary Lexicon

Question 1

Conflict

Answer 1

a struggle between two opposing forces

Example sentence: The conflict between the protagonist and antagonist drove the plot forward.

Question 2

Character vs. Society

Answer 2

when a character has a problem with a tradition or rule of society

Example sentence: The protagonist’s character vs. society conflict highlighted the injustices within the community.

Question 3

Character vs. Nature

Answer 3

when a character has a problem with a force of nature such as cold, storms, earthquakes, etc.

Example sentence: The character vs. nature conflict added a sense of danger to the story.

Question 4

Character vs. Character

Answer 4

when a character has a problem with another character

Example sentence: The intense character vs. character conflict led to a dramatic showdown.

Question 5

Character vs. Fate

Answer 5

when a character has a problem with something he can’t do anything about, such as God, luck, death, etc.

Example sentence: The character’s struggle with fate brought a sense of inevitability to the plot.

Question 6

Character vs. Self

Answer 6

when a character must make a decision about a problem or struggle he is having within himself

Example sentence: The character vs. self conflict explored the internal struggles of the protagonist.

Question 7

Antagonist

Answer 7

the character opposing the protagonist; can be a person, idea, or force

Example sentence: The antagonist’s motivations added complexity to the story.

Question 8

Protagonist

Answer 8

the main character in a story, play, or novel; involved in the main conflict of the story; usually, undergoes changes as the plot runs its course

Example sentence: The protagonist’s growth throughout the novel was a central theme.

Question 9

Archetype

Answer 9

a type of character, action, or situation that occurs over and over in literature; a pattern or example that occurs in alliteration and life

Example sentence: The mentor archetype guided the protagonist on their journey.

Question 10

Dynamic Character

Answer 10

a character that undergoes a change in actions or beliefs during the course of a story

Example sentence: The dynamic character’s transformation was a key element of the plot.

Question 11

Static Character

Answer 11

a character that does not grow or change throughout the story, that ends as he/she began

Example sentence: The static character provided a stable presence amidst the chaos.

Question 12

Motivation

Answer 12

a reason that explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions, or behavior

Example sentence: The character’s motivation drove the plot forward.

Question 13

Characterization

Answer 13

the methods used by an author to create a character, including: the character’s physical appearance, the character’s own speech, thoughts, actions, and/or feelings, other characters’ speech, thoughts, actions, and/or feelings about the character, and direct comments by the author about the character

Example sentence: The detailed characterization made the protagonist feel like a real person.

Question 14

Denotation

Answer 14

the specific dictionary definition of a word

Example sentence: The denotation of the word highlighted its literal meaning.

Question 15

Connotation

Answer 15

the emotions or associations a word normally arouses in people using, hearing, or reading the word; a word may have a positive connotation, a negative connotation, or a neutral connotation

Example sentence: The connotation of the word carried a sense of warmth and comfort.

Question 16

Theme

Answer 16

a central message or insight into life revealed through the literary work; a lesson about life or people

Example sentence: The theme of the story is the importance of family.

Question 17

Point of View

Answer 17

the perspective from which a story is told

Example sentence: The novel is narrated from the first-person point of view.

Question 18

Tone

Answer 18

the writer’s attitude or feeling toward a person, a thing, a place, an event, or a situation

Example sentence: The author’s tone in the poem is melancholic.

Question 19

Mood

Answer 19

the feeling in the reader by a literary work or passage

Example sentence: The mood of the story is eerie and suspenseful.

Question 20

Epiphany

Answer 20

an event in which the essential nature of something - a situation, an object - is suddenly understood in a new way; a sudden realization; an ‘ah ha!’ moment

Question 21

Detail

Answer 21

facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone of work

Question 22

Magic Three

Answer 22

three or more words, phrases, or clauses used in a row to create emphasis or vivid detail

Question 23

Emphasis

Answer 23

when important aspects of a story are given important positions and in depth development; it is created by the use of repetition, abundant detail, contrast, mechanical devices, such as capitalization, italics, symbols, and/or different colors of ink

Question 24

Suspense

Answer 24

the quality of a literary work that makes the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of events

Question 25

Imagery

Answer 25

the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch); an author may also use animal imagery as well as light and/or dark imagery.

Question 26

Simile

Answer 26

a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the word LIKE or AS

Question 27

Metaphor

Answer 27

a comparison of two unlike things not using like or as

Question 28

Foreshadowing

Answer 28

the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

Question 29

Allusion

Answer 29

a reference to a literary, mythological, or historical person, place, or thing

Question 30

Pun

Answer 30

a play of words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply different meanings; puns can have serious as well as humorous uses

Question 31

Hyperbole

Answer 31

a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration; may be used for either serious or comic effect

Example: I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!

Question 32

Oxymoron

Answer 32

a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression

Example: jumbo shrimp

Question 33

Irony

Answer 33

a contrast between appearance and reality-usually one in which reality is the opposite from what it seems; when one thing is expected to happen or be, and the exact opposite occurs

Question 34

Repetition

Answer 34

a device in which words, sounds, and/or ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and to create emphasis

Question 35

Figures of speech

Answer 35

words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else; always involved some imaginary comparison between seemingly unlikely things; not meant to be taken literally

Question 36

Diction

Answer 36

word choice; an author often chooses a word because it suggests a connotative meaning that comes from its use in various social contexts

Question 37

Motif

Answer 37

a recurrent element in a literary work; a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism in a work of literature

Question 38

Symbol

Answer 38

the use of any object, person, place, or action that both has a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as quality, attitude, belief, or value

Question 39

Alliteration

Answer 39

repetition of an initial sound, usually a consonant

Question 40

Idiom

Answer 40

an accepted phrase or expression having a meaning different from the literal

Question 41

Onomatopoeia

Answer 41

the word imitates the sound it makes

Question 42

Personification

Answer 42

writing that gives animals, in-animated objects, or abstract ideas human characteristics

Question 43

Plot

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Setting

Answer 44

the background against which the action takes place: the geographical location, the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters, the time or period in which the action takes place, and the general environment of the characters, i.e. social, moral, emotional