Regents Review - Literary Devices

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables.

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art in order to deepen understanding, create a comparison, or prove a point

Question 3

Analogy

Answer 3

a comparison between two unlike things to see how they are similar

Question 4

Anecdote

Answer 4

short stories to prove a point or explain an idea

Question 5

Antagonist

Answer 5

a character or force that is the main source of conflict with the main character.

Question 6

Characterization

Answer 6

the act of creating and developing a character.

Question 7

Climax

Answer 7

the turning point in a literary work, usually the most suspenseful and interesting

Question 8

Conflict

Answer 8

a struggle between two opposing forces

Question 9

Connotation

Answer 9

the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word

Question 10

Denotation

Answer 10

the strict dictionary meaning of a word.

Question 11

Diction

Answer 11

a writer’s choice of words.

Question 12

Flashback

Answer 12

a section in a literary work that interrupts the chronological presentation of events to relate an event from an earlier time

Question 13

Cliche

Answer 13

an overused phrase that lacks original thought

Question 14

Ethos

Answer 14

a rhetorical strategy used to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.

Question 15

Foreshadowing

Answer 15

is the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

Question 16

Hyperbole

Answer 16

exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally

Question 17

Imagery

Answer 17

the descriptive or figurative language used to create word pictures.

Question 18

Irony

Answer 18

a contrast between what is stated and what is meant or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

Question 19

Language Use

Answer 19

the author’s choice of words

Question 20

Logos

Answer 20

or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.

Question 21

Metaphor

Answer 21

is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else in order to create a comparison and deepen understanding

Question 22

Oxymoron

Answer 22

a figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas.

Question 23

Paradox

Answer 23

a statement that seems to be contradictory but that actually presents a truth

Question 24

Paradox

Answer 24

the emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.

Question 25

Personification

Answer 25

a figure of speech where human qualities and/or characteristics are given to nonhuman things.

Question 26

Plot

Answer 26

the sequence of events in a literary work.

Question 27

Point of View

Answer 27

the perspective from which a story is told. (usually first or third)

Question 28

Protagonist

Answer 28

the main character in a literary work.

Question 29

Repetition

Answer 29

repeats the same words or phrases in order to make an idea clearer or emphasize it

Question 30

Satire

Answer 30

writing that uses humor to ridicule or criticize individuals, ideas, institutions, social conventions, politics or other works of art or literature.

Question 31

Setting

Answer 31

the time, place, and social atmosphere of a literary work.

Question 32

Simile

Answer 32

a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either “like” or “as”.

Question 33

Symbol/Symbolism

Answer 33

anything that stands for or represents something else

Question 34

Structure

Answer 34

the organization of a piece of literature

Question 35

Theme

Answer 35

the central idea, what a literary work asserts about the human condition (the message or lesson)

Question 36

Tone

Answer 36

the attitude of the author (formal, serious, angry, joyful, persuasive)