Second Set of 40

Question 1

Dactyl

Answer 1

A metric foot of three syllables, an accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables

Question 2

Denouement

Answer 2

From the French word meaning “unknotting” this is the final unraveling of the plot, providing the solution, explanation, or outcome

Question 3

Didactic

Answer 3

Explicitly instructive language or tone that teaches a lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

Question 4

Details

Answer 4

Items or parts that make up the larger picture of a work of literature

Question 5

Dramatic Irony

Answer 5

The audience or reader understands something that the character does not

Question 6

Digression

Answer 6

The use of material unrelated to the subject of a work

Question 7

Convention

Answer 7

A widely used and accepted device or technique

Question 8

Conflict

Answer 8

In incompatibility between the interests of two or more characters

Question 9

Connotation

Answer 9

An idea or feeling that a word invokes. NOT the literal meaning of the word

Question 10

Denotation

Answer 10

The literal meaning of a word

Question 11

Devices of Sound

Answer 11

Resources used by poets to convey and reinforce the meaning or experience of poetry through the skillful use of sound

Question 12

Diction

Answer 12

The choice in word and phrase usage

Question 13

Dramatic Monologue

Answer 13

A type of poetry that is meant to have a dramatic quality. It is read by a solitary speaker, and is written to reveal the thoughts and feelings of a character

Question 14

Elegy

Answer 14

A mournful, melancholic poem

Question 15

Ellipses

Answer 15

A narrative device in which a portion of the sequence of events is omitted. It allows the reader to “fill in the narrative gaps”

Question 16

End-Stopped

Answer 16

A poetic device in which the syntactic unit corresponds in length to the line

Question 17

Enjambment

Answer 17

Incomplete syntax at the end of a line of poetry

Question 18

Ennui

Answer 18

A feeling of detachment from the surrounding society and its mores, often due to living in a period or place where things are stagnating

Question 19

Envoy (or “Envoi”)

Answer 19

A short stanza at the end of a poem used to address an imaginary or actual character

Question 20

Epigram

Answer 20

A short poem having a witty or ingenious ending. Or, a brief, interesting, memorable, satirical statement

Question 21

Epigraph

Answer 21

A short quotation at the beginning of a book intended to suggest a theme

Question 22

Epiphany

Answer 22

The moment in the story where a character achieves realization, awareness, or knowledge

Question 23

Epithet

Answer 23

A literary device that describes a person, place, or thing in such a way that the characteristics of the thing being described appear to be more prominent than they actually are

Question 24

Euphemism

Answer 24

Polite, indirect expressions which replace words or phrases that suggest unpleasant things

Question 25

Euphony

Answer 25

The use of words that have a noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create. Contrasts with cacophony

Question 26

Explication

Answer 26

Spelling out something's implications. Or, a short analysis on a passage from a novel

Question 27

Exposition

Answer 27

The portion of the story that reveals important background information

Question 28

Farce

Answer 28

A comical, dramatic work that utilizes crude characterization and buffoonery

Question 29

Figurative Language

Answer 29

Language that describes something by comparing it with something else

Question 30

Flashback

Answer 30

A scene in a novel, movie, or other work that is set in a time earlier than the main story

Question 31

Flat Character

Answer 31

Minor characters who do not tend to undergo any substantial change or growth over the course of the story

Question 32

Free Verse

Answer 32

A form of poetry that lacks rhyme or regular meter

Question 33

Foil

Answer 33

A character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight qualities of the other character

Question 34

Foreshadowing

Answer 34

A literary device that hints at later events in the work

Question 35

Form

Answer 35

The shape or organizational mode of a particular poem

Question 36

Frame Story

Answer 36

A literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story. A narrative that provides the framework for connecting a series of otherwise unrelated stories

Question 37

Grotesque

Answer 37

An artistic means to convey grief and pain to the audience. Characters are considered grotesque if they induce both empathy and disgust

Question 38

Heroic Couplet

Answer 38

A couplet of rhyming iambic pentameters forming a distinct rhetorical as well as metrical unit

Question 39

Hexameter

Answer 39

A line of verse consisting of six metrical feet

Question 40

Hyperbole

Answer 40

Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally

Question 41

Iamb

Answer 41

A metrical foot in poetry. A unit of rhythm that consists of one syllable that is not accented or stressed followed by one syllable that is accented or stressed

Question 42

Imagery

Answer 42

Language that invokes the formation of mental images. Vivid and descriptive language

Question 43

Imperative

Answer 43

A sentence which gives a command