Midterms Definitions

Question 1

dialogue written to reflect qualities of a characters speech

Answer 1

Dialect

Question 2

the mood or emotion that the reader is supposed to share with a story’s characters

Answer 2

Atmosphere

Question 3

hinting at events that will occur latter in the story

Answer 3

Foreshadowing

Question 4

a protagonist who behaves virtuously

Answer 4

Hero

Question 5

the creation of a setting reflecting the characteristic features of a specific region

Answer 5

Local color

Question 6

the assigning of human characteristics to something that is not human

Answer 6

Personification

Question 7

argument that motivates the listener to charge his actions

Answer 7

Persuasion

Question 8

literature plainly written to persuade the reader to espouse (adopt) the authors position on a significant issue of his time

Answer 8

Propaganda

Question 9

the time , place, and way of life in which the action of the story occurs

Answer 9

Setting

Question 10

anxiety resulting from an authors withholding of plot details

Answer 10

Suspense

Question 11

central character of the story

Answer 11

Protagonist

Question 12

the opposing person or force against the protagonist

Answer 12

Antagonist

Question 13

the protagonist in a tragedy

Answer 13

Tragic hero

Question 14

writing that seeks to aid the reader in seeing or feeling whatever the author is trying to convey

Answer 14

Description

Question 15

What a character does

Answer 15

Action

Question 16

A conversation between characters

Answer 16

Dialogue

Question 17

a character who is complex and often undergoes changes in his actions an thoughts

Answer 17

Round character

Question 18

a character with little individuality whose mindset the reader knows little about

Answer 18

Flat character

Question 19

a character who remains essentially the same throughout the story

Answer 19

Static character

Question 20

a changing or developing character

Answer 20

Character trait

Question 21

a type of character description in which straightforward details tell the reader about the character

Answer 21

Direct characterization

Question 22

a type of characterization in which the reader must infer character traits from information shown by the author

Answer 22

Indirect characterization

Question 23

a character used to emphasize another characters opposing traits within a work

Answer 23

Fouls

Question 24

a character with whom the reader identifies or for whom the reader has favorable feelings

Answer 24

Sympathetic character

Question 25

a character with whom the reader cannot identify or for whom the reader has strong feelings of dislike

Answer 25

Unsympathetic character

Question 26

literature whose protagonist flaws cause him tremendous suffering that eventually result in a catastrophe or disastrous conclusion

Answer 26

Tradegy

Question 27

the protagonist mosts significant flaw that triggers the tragic heros downfall

Answer 27

Tragic flaw

Question 28

character sometimes called simply the norm who models and articulates the authors ethics throughout the story

Answer 28

Normative character

Question 29

the reason that a character behaves as he or she does

Answer 29

Character motivation

Question 30

changing or developing character

Answer 30

Dynamic character

Question 31

A recurring or emerging idea in a work of literature

Answer 31

Theme

Question 32

An idea about life that is found throughout world literature because it can be understood by people of all times and places

Answer 32

Universal theme

Question 33

A theme stated outright within a work of literature

Answer 33

Explicit theme

Question 34

A theme that is not stated out- right but must be discerned from the details that the author includes in the work.

Answer 34

Implicit theme

Question 35

A simple statement that sums up a truth about life

Answer 35

Moral

Question 36

a type of extended metaphor that forms a story with two levels of meaning.

Answer 36

Allegory

Question 37

A person, place, thing, or idea that means something in addition to itself

Answer 37

Symbol

Question 38

Irony occurring when an author’s or character’s meaning differs from what he or she expresses in words

Answer 38

Verbal irony

Question 39

A type of irony in which the reader is aware of a plot development of which the characters of the story are unaware

Answer 39

Dramatic irony

Question 40

A type of irony in which a story’s events violate normal expectations

Answer 40

Situational irony

Question 41

The reason that an author composed his or her work.

Answer 41

Authorial intent

Question 42

the perspective or angle from which a story is told (the perspective from which

Answer 42

Point if veiw

Question 43

the person created by the author to tell the story, affecting the way the story is told (an individual created to narrate the story)

Answer 43

Persona

Question 44

The point of view in which the author refers to the characters as he, she, or they

Answer 44

Third person point of veiw

Question 45

as the storyteller, “knows all.” (Perspective using view of one character, written in third person)

Answer 45

Omniscient veiw point

Question 46

Viewpoint of a narrative in which the author tells the story in third person and “gets inside” only one of the characters, usually the central character

Answer 46

Limited-omniscient veiw point

Question 47

The point of view in which the author, as one of the characters, refers to himself as I throughout the piece (perspective that is limited to one characters perception and voice)

Answer 47

First-person view point

Question 48

a type or category of literature

Answer 48

Genre

Question 49

a story that contains another story or an introductory story from which another story springs

Answer 49

Frame story

Question 50

a short narrative of a single interesting or amusing incident (is usually not told from the omniscient point of view)

Answer 50

Anecdote

Question 51

fictional story that employs authentic historical characters or settings (it is a genre based on content, it can easily be written from any point of view, the setting must be of a real place and culture)

Answer 51

Historical fiction

Question 52

Fiction in which a recurring character (a detective) investigates and solves crimes

Answer 52

Detective fiction

Question 53

A short selection written by the author about his experience(s) and focused on a particular event or happening

Answer 53

Autobiographical essay