Prose key terms

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a political one

Question 2

Ambiguity

Answer 2

ambiguity or fallacy of ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning

Question 3

Anagnorisis

Answer 3

a moment when a character makes a critical discovery, a hero’s sudden awareness of a situation, the realisation of things as they stand, and often an insight into an antagonistic character

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

a comparison in which an idea or thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it, aiming to explain the idea/thing by comparing it to something familiar

Question 5

Anthropocentric

Answer 5

regarding humankind a the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed by god or animals

Question 6

Antonym

Answer 6

a word opposite in meaning to another

Question 7

Archaic

Answer 7

words that are out-of-date, but were used hundreds of years ago and can be found especially in literature

Question 8

Authoritarianism

Answer 8

describes a way of governing which values order and control over personal freedom, a government ran by authoritarianism is usually headed by a dictator

Question 9

Autobiographical

Answer 9

tells a story about an experience that happened in the author’s life, allows them to express their own thoughts and feelings

Question 10

Asynchronous discourse

Answer 10

not synchronised, not coming in at premeditated or regular intervals

Question 11

Binary Opposites

Answer 11

concepts that have opposite meaning, in language and thought two theoretical opposites are defined by one another

Question 12

Aesthetic

Answer 12

a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

Question 13

Catharsis

Answer 13

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions

Question 14

Chronological

Answer 14

a written or spoken account of events that are arranged in order of time of occurrence

Question 15

Connotation

Answer 15

a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly, words can carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal meanings or denotations

Question 16

Dramatic irony

Answer 16

leading the audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and accompanying speeches, whilst the characters remain unaware of the incongruity

Question 17

Dramatic tension

Answer 17

where conflict is presented in the development of suspense in a performance, it keeps the audience more lively and interested in the play

Question 18

Dysphemism

Answer 18

a derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one

Question 19

Dystopia

Answer 19

genres of literature that explore social and political structures… the creation of an utterly horrible or degraded society that is generally headed to an irreversible oblivion, or dystopia.

Question 20

Duplicity

Answer 20

deceitfulness, the state of being double

Question 21

Darwinism

Answer 21

the theory of evolution of species by natural selection advanced by Charles Darwin

Question 22

Deification

Answer 22

worshipped or regarded as Godlike

Question 23

Discourse

Answer 23

refers to a unit of language longer than a single sentence, the use of spoken or written language in a social context

Question 24

Diegesis

Answer 24

style of fiction storytelling which presents an interior worldview and is:
1. that world itself experienced by the characters in situations and events of the narrative
2. telling, recounting, as opposed to showing, enacting.
in diegesis the narrator tells the story, presenting actions (thoughts) of the characters to the reader

Question 25

Dramatic monologue

Answer 25

a way of expressing the views of a character and offering the audience greater insight into that character’s feelings

Question 26

Diction

Answer 26

choice of words and phrases in speech or writing

Question 27

Epigraph

Answer 27

a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component, may serve as a preface or summary

Question 28

Epistolary

Answer 28

a novel written as a series of documents

Question 29

Eponymous

Answer 29

(of a person) giving their name to something

Question 30

Euphemism

Answer 30

an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant

Question 31

Ecocriticism

Answer 31

Ecocritics investigate things like the underlying ecological values, what, precisely, is meant by the word nature, and whether the examination of “place” should be a distinctive category, like class, gender, or race. They examine human perception of wilderness, and how it has changed throughout history or whether or not current environmental issues are accurately represented or even mentioned in pop culture or modern literature.

Question 32

Ethos

Answer 32

an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader

Question 33

Frame Narrative

Answer 33

sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory/main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage

Question 34

Fictive Autobiography

Answer 34

a novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. distinguished form of autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction

Question 35

Heterodiegetic narrative

Answer 35

a heterodiegetic narrator does not take part in the narrative, not a character in the story, they are often omniscient or has a detailed overview of the story, insight into thoughts and feelings

Question 36

Homodiegetic narrative

Answer 36

narrating/describing the world the character is in

Question 37

Hamartia

Answer 37

fatal flaw leading to the tragic downfall of the tragic hero/ine

Question 38

Indoctrinate

Answer 38

to teach someone to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs.

Question 39

Intertextuality

Answer 39

shaping of a text’s meaning by another text

Question 40

Lexis

Answer 40

the level of language consisting of vocabulary, as opposed to grammar or syntax

Question 41

Literary allusion

Answer 41

a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

Question 42

Logos

Answer 42

an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason

Question 43

Marxist

Answer 43

philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays a central role in understanding society’s allegedly inevitable development from bourgeois oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society

Question 44

Metafiction

Answer 44

uses self-reference to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the “truth” of a story. describes the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection

Question 45

Motif

Answer 45

any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story, through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative aspects such as theme or mood

Question 46

Omniscient

Answer 46

third person omniscient is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story

Question 47

Omnipresent

Answer 47

or ubiquity is the property of being present everywhere, most commonly used in a religious context

Question 48

Paternalistic

Answer 48

a policy or practice of treating or governing people in a fatherly manner, by providing for their needs without giving them rights or responsibilities

Question 49

Peripeteia

Answer 49

a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in a literary narrative

Question 50

Paradox

Answer 50

a statement that apparently contradicts itself but might be true

Question 51

Parody

Answer 51

a word in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or ridicule

Question 52

Pathos

Answer 52

an experience in a work of fiction, in life, or art which stirs up emotions of pity, sympathy, or sorrow

Question 53

Satire

Answer 53

a technique by writers employed to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humour, irony, or exaggeration or ridicule. it intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies

Question 54

Secular

Answer 54

not connected with religious or spiritual manners

Question 55

Symbolism

Answer 55

when some things are not meant to be taken literally, the symbolism can be an object, person, situation, events, or actions can have a deeper context

Question 56

Syntax

Answer 56

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well -formed sentences in a language

Question 57

Register

Answer 57

a variety of language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting.

Question 58

Synchronous discourse

Answer 58

synchronised, occurring at premeditated or regular intervals

Question 59

Totalitarianism

Answer 59

absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralised institution

Question 60

Transcendentalist

Answer 60

Transcendentalists believe that society- particularly religion and political parties- corrupt the purity of an individual. they have faith that people are at their best when they are truly ‘self-reliant’, only from this real individuals and true community can be formed.

Question 61

Valediction

Answer 61

1. an act of bidding farewell, a leave-taking
2. a speech or statement made as a farewell
3. a word or phrase or farewell used to end a letter or message