Terms for analysing literature and poetry

Question 1

What is a metaphor?

Answer 1

A metaphor is a comparison of one thing with another by pretending that the thing described really is what it is being compared to.

e.g. The wind was a torrent of darkness.

Question 2

What is a simile?

Answer 2

A simile is a comparison of one thing with another when it is made obvious that it is a comparison because the words like/as are used.

e.g. The land was sodden as the bed of an ancient lake.

Question 3

What is personification?

Answer 3

Personification is the giving of human qualities and abilities to non-humans.

e.g. The moon walked the night.

Question 4

What is a symbol?

Answer 4

A symbol is an object that represents a thought or place.

e.g. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
From Romeo and Juliet. The rose represents love.

Question 5

What is irony?

Answer 5

Irony is when something is written to mean the opposite of what is really meant. It is normally ‘dry’ or funny.

e.g. 
Within the human world I know
Such goings on could not be so,
For human beings only do
What their religion tells them to.

Question 6

What is alliteration?

Answer 6

Alliteration is the sound at the beginning / middle / end of the word.

e.g. downwards, smoke the slender stream.

Question 7

What is assonance?

Answer 7

Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sound.

e.g. I’ve lice in my tunic and a cold in my nose.

Question 8

What is rhyme?

Answer 8

Rhyme is the patterns made by the ends of words which sound the same or similar.

There are several sorts of rhyme:

Full rhyme:
The miller was a chap of 16 stone
A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.

Half rhyme:
My last dear fuel of life to heap upon my soul
And kindle my will to a flame that shall consume
Their dross of indifference and take the toll

(first and third lines almost rhyme)

Internal rhyme:
Where the wheat is sweet as an angel’s feet.

Question 9

What is rhythm?

Answer 9

Rhythm is the musical pattern of beats, stressed sounds, unstressed sounds and pauses that give the poem its shape. It can be regular or free.

Question 10

What is metre?

Answer 10

Metre is the pattern of sound units in a verse.

Question 11

What is blank verse?

Answer 11

Unrhymed verse with a basic 5 beat rhythm.

Question 12

What is a couplet?

Answer 12

A pair of rhyming lines.

Question 13

What is dialect?

Answer 13

A regional variation in the way of speaking.

Question 14

What is free verse?

Answer 14

Free verse has no metre or rhyme pattern.

Question 15

What is haiku poetry?

Answer 15

A type of poetry originating in Japan. Highly formulaic it has 17 syllables arranges in lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables.

Question 16

What is imagery?

Answer 16

Imagery is a picture conveyed by the poet or writer.

Question 17

What is an elegy?

Answer 17

An elegy is a poem remembering someone who has died.

Question 18

What is onomatopoeia?

Answer 18

Words that sound like the thing they describe.

e.g. crash, boom, bang.

Question 19

What is understatement?

Answer 19

When the author presents something as less significant (important) than it really is:

Example: Mr. Brumble looked at both test papers, back and forth, back and forth, noting that all the answers were exactly the same. He put the papers down on his desk, crossed his arms and said, “Boys, we have a little problem here.

Question 20

What is a trait?

Answer 20

A trait a word for describing a character’s personality, or how she/he acts in the story; it must always be backed up with evidence (support or proof) from the story.

Example: Beatrice is very patient with her little sister, Ramona. Ramona is sometimes stubborn and doesn’t do what she is told, but Beatrice never yells or complains. Instead, she finds clever ways to get Ramona to behave. (the word patient is the trait; the second and third sentences provide the evidence, or proof, from the story)

Question 21

What is tone?

Answer 21

Tone is the author’s attitude toward a subject, revealed by choice of words and details.

Example: The girl cast a lonely thin shadow on the gray brick wall, as her classmates tumbled merrily in the brightly flowered fields beyond the school. (the author feels sorry for the girl who isn’t playing with the other children)

Question 22

What is a theme?

Answer 22

The theme - the meaning of a story, what it reveals about human nature; plot is what happens in the story, while theme is what it means

Example: Plot: young soldier fights his first battle Theme: war is useless; fighting solves nothing

Question 23

What is a stereotype?

Answer 23

Stereotype/ Reverse Stereotype - a stereotype is when a person is portrayed is a fixed way.

Example: the old woman had gray hair, a cane, and sat in a rocking chair.

A Reverse Stereotype is when a person is portrayed exactly opposite to a fixed generalization (the usual way we would consider them).

Example: Bobby’s grandmother laced up the red boxing gloves. She danced on her toes as she approached the bully, and smiled as she said, “Okay, you big oaf. I’m gonna give you what you deserve…” And with one swing, she knocked the bully to the ground.

Question 24

What is a theme?

Answer 24

The theme is the meaning of a story, what it reveals about human nature; plot is what happens in the story, while theme is what it means

Example: Plot: young soldier fights his first battle Theme: war is useless; fighting solves nothing

Question 25

What is a setting?

Answer 25

Setting - the time and place of a story; the time may simply be “present day”

Example: Over a hundred years ago, Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin…

Question 26

What is repetition?

Answer 26

Repetition - the author purposely repeats words or phrases; the author is trying to create rhythm or suspense, or is trying to really emphasize a certain idea.

Example: It was all gone. Burned to ashes. He had no clothing, no blankets, no bow, no hatchet, no map. It was all gone.

Question 27

What is a pun?

Answer 27

Pun - a humorous use of a word or phrase that has more than one meaning (or two similarly spelled words that sound alike)

Examples: “If you really want to keep warm, try bear skin,” said the trapper. “But won’t I be really cold in my bare skin?” asked the boy.

Why is it easy for an elephant to travel? He can carry his own trunk.

Question 28

What is a compound word?

Answer 28

Compound words are different, since they do NOT eliminate letters when joining the two smaller words.

Examples: dog + house = doghouse life + guard = lifeguard

Question 29

What is a portmanteau word?

Answer 29

Portmanteau Word - a portmanteau is suitcase which opens like a book, and when the two sides are shut and fastened, it is ready for travel; a portmanteau word is one in which two real words are combined, but some letters deleted, in order to form a new word

Examples: fog + smoke = smog drip + sizzle = drizzle horrid + tremendous = horrendous

The term portmanteau word was coined (invented) by Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland. Today, many famous brand names are actually portmanteaus:

Examples: Gogurt = go + yogurt

Question 30

What are the three main forms of points of view?

Answer 30

Point of View - the perspective from which a story is seen or told; there are three main forms:

First Person: (I and me are used; the narrator is actually a part of the story) I woke up first, alarmed that I had slept too late and missed my chance. A look at my brother’s bed told me he was still asleep, snuggled up under the covers.

Third Person: (he and she are used; the narrator simply helps tell the story, and lets all character speak for themselves) Pete woke up first. A look at his brother’s bed told him that Sam was still asleep, snuggled up under the covers.

Omniscient: (he and she are used; BUT the narrator not only lets characters speak, but can also “get inside their heads” to read their thoughts) Pete woke up first, feeling somewhat alarmed that he might have overslept and missed his chance. He looked at his brother’s bed and was glad to see that Sam was still asleep, snuggled up under the covers.

Question 31

What is the plot?

Answer 31

Plot - what happens in a story, told in a sequenced, chronological order

Example: Samantha received a new skateboard for her birthday. A week later, however, she lost it. She looked everywhere but couldn’t find it. Then one day…

Question 32

What is parody?

Answer 32

Parody - a humorous story that makes fun of another well-known story by imitating it; characters, plot, theme, setting, may all be copied or changed for humorous effect

Examples: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka has the story of the Three Little Pigs explained from the wolf’s point of view, and in his version it was all a big misunderstanding and he was innocent.

Question 33

What is a parallel story?

Answer 33

Parallel Story - a narrative or picture story enclosed within another story, where both stories are of equal interest

Example: In a story about kids putting on a play, both the onstage scene is shown, and the backstage happenings.

Question 34

What is a paradox?

Answer 34

Paradox - a statement that reveals a kind of truth although at first it seems to be self-contradictory and untrue

Examples: It was the best mistake he ever made (he learned a lot from this error). Good fences make good neighbors (fences do separate people, but they help people get along by making boundaries clear).

Question 35

What is an outcome?

Answer 35

Outcome - the last event of the story which tells how the story ends; it explains whether the main character met his/her challenge

Example: “And they all lived happily ever after,” is a common outcome in fairy tales.

Question 36

What is a motive?

Answer 36

Motive - a character’s reason for doing what he/she does

Example: “So why did you tear up Janie’s paper?” demanded the teacher. Margaret said nothing and stared at her shoes. The teacher would never understand. She could never understand how it felt to be the new kid in school, and to have one student turn all the others against you. All because you…

Question 37

What is irony?

Answer 37

Irony - contrast between the expected outcome and the actual way things turn out (see Dramatic Irony)

Example: In the book Holes, no one in the courtroom believes that Stanley Yelnats is innocent. Once he gets to Camp Green Lake he lies about committing the crime, but then no one there believes he is guilty! He just can’t seem to win.

Question 38

What is an internal rhyme?

Answer 38

Internal Rhyme - two or more words rhyme in the same line

Example: I bring fresh showers to the thirsting flowers.

Question 39

What is an inference?

Answer 39

Inference - conclusions which can be drawn by the reader based upon limited clues or facts presented by the author; the reader is encouraged to discover things for him/herself without being directed by the author

Example: Mark’s father was surprised the following week when, all of a sudden, Mark quit begging for a dog. He began spending much more of his time out at the old barn by the creek, and had even begun to ask for seconds and thirds at suppertime.

Question 40

What s hyperbole?

Answer 40

Hyperbole - obvious exaggeration which is not meant to be taken literally

Example: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!

Question 41

What is foreshadowing?

Answer 41

Foreshadowing - clues used to alert the reader about events that will occur later; used to build suspense

Example: I laughed as we snuck out the back door. The plan had worked out perfectly. Nothing could possibly go wrong now!

Question 42

What is a flash-forward?

Answer 42

Flash-Forward - a sudden jump forward in time, usually used to eliminate unnecessary events between the more interesting events of a story

Example: Quietly, Janice slid the book into her backpack. A week later, the teacher asked if anyone had seen her copy of The Magic Mouse. “I’ve looked everywhere,” she explained, “and I just can’t find it.”

Question 43

What is a flashback?

Answer 43

Flashback - interruption of the present action to insert an episode that took place earlier; this gives the reader needed information to understand a current event, or a character’s motivation.

Example: I could tell that Jimmy wasn’t going to back down. He stood up to bullies before, like back in first grade when Roger Neary used to eat everybody’s snack. One day Jimmy had caught Roger in his snack bag, and…

Question 44

What is evidence?

Answer 44

Evidence - information from the text that supports, or proves, an inference or fact

Example: We know that the Wolf wants to eat Little Red Riding Hood because a) Red Riding Hood’s mother warned her about wolves in the forest b) the Wolf tried tricking her once in the forest c) he has already eaten her grandmother d) he drools when he sees her e) he says things such as, “All the better to eat you with!”

Question 45

What is an episode?

Answer 45

Episode - a small event that is part of a larger story; it can stand alone as almost a “mini-story” (events which repeat are typically called episodes)

Example: In the Three Little Pigs, the wolf tries blowing down the pigs’ houses in three separate episodes; he is successful the first two times but unsuccessful the last (notice that the three events are alike).

Question 46

What is dramatic irony?

Answer 46

Dramatic Irony is when the reader knows things that the characters in a story do not.

Example: We learn that Mary really likes Frankie because she writes about him in her diary all the time. Frankie, however, is scared to ask Mary to the dance because she is so popular and “cool.” We wish we could tell Frankie what we, as the readers, know!

Question 47

What is dialogue?

Answer 47

Dialogue - spoken lines between characters, set with quotation marks; each new speaker’s lines appear in a new paragraph; when one person speaks for an extended time (to himself or the audience) it is called a monologue.

Example: “Where are you going?” Nicole asked. “To the library,” replied Jeremy.

Question 48

What is conflict?

Answer 48

Conflict - the problem, or challenge, that the main character faces.

Example: The main character may be challenged by another character (two kids running in a race), by nature (a boy struggling to survive in the wilderness), or by him/herself (a girl who must get over her fear of speaking in front of an audience)

Question 49

What is climax?

Answer 49

Climax - the most exciting moment of the story, where the main character faces his/her ultimate challenge

Example: In Cinderella, the clock begins striking twelve, and Cinderella must rush home before the handsome prince finds out her secret. That is the climax. The following day, when the prince finds her again and fits the glass slipper on her foot, is the outcome, or solution, of the story.

Question 50

What is a circular story?

Answer 50

Circular Story - a story which begins and ends at the same place, usually following a character through different adventures or events; although the character arrives back where he/she started, he or she should now have a different perspective or feeling based upon experiences

Example: A poor farmer travels to the city where he observes many expensive buildings and belongings, all owned by the same man. He is jealous of that man until he sees a funeral, and learns that the rich man is dead. Although the man was extremely wealthy, he could enjoy none of that in death. The poor farmer returns home, happy with what little he owns because he is alive to enjoy it.

Question 51

What is a climax?

Answer 51

Character - a person or player (it can also be an animal, an imaginary creature) in a story; character can also be used as a word meaning “personal traits,” as in “Write a paragraph about the character of the Big Bad Wolf.”

Question 52

What is a caricature?

Answer 52

Caricature - exaggeration or distortion of a physical trait or behavior, to make a character appear comic or ridiculous

Example: her nose was needle sharp, with nostrils as small and black as a mouse’s eyes

Question 53

What is atmosphere?

Answer 53

Atmosphere - mood or feeling developed through descriptions of the setting and senses (how things feel, taste, smell, sound, look).

Example: Camping in those woods, time went slow. The thick forest air just sat on you, hot and wet like a wool blanket, while mosquitoes droned in your ears and stung you on the back where you could never quite reach to smack them.

Question 54

What is an aphorism?

Answer 54

Aphorism - a brief statement expressing some truth as shown is a story; it can be a moral, or proverb, or maxim.

Literary Devices p. 2 of 10
Examples: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Everyone is afraid of something. Don’t make a big fuss if someone isn’t like us.

Question 55

What is an analogy?

Answer 55

Analogy - comparing one thing to another very different thing in order to explain it better.

Examples: a school is like a garden, where children are lovingly raised and cared for; the rabbit shot from its hole like a rocket; the confetti fell like snow in a blizzard as the parade passed through the city streets (these three analogies are all written as similes)

Question 56

What is ambiguity?

Answer 56

Ambiguity - when a single event or expression can mean two different things to two different people

Example: When it is announced that another baby is on the way, Father remarks, “That could create some problems.” He means problems with money, but his young son thinks, “You’re right, dad! I don’t want to share my room and toys with anybody!

Question 57

What is an allusion (or when someone alludes to something)?

Answer 57

Allusion - a reference in one story to a well-known character or event from another story, history, or place.

Examples: the rise of the baseball team from last place to first was a real Cinderella story; at times teachers need the wisdom of Solomon to make decisions

Question 58

What is a quatrain?

Answer 58

A stanza with 4 lines.

Question 59

What is iambic pentameter?

Answer 59

A line of 5 feet, each one of the feet is an ‘iamb’ or you could say ti-tum:

Sounds like: ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum

So an Iambic tetrameter has 4 iambic feet:

ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum, ti-tum

Iambic pentameter is a very are common meter in English classical poetry.

(tetra = 4, penta = 5, as in maths)

Question 60

What other types of feet are there in classical poetry other than the iamb?

Answer 60

The trochee and the spondee.

The trochee sounds like: tum-ti
The spondee sounds like: tum! tum!

Question 61

What are feet in poetry?

Answer 61

Feet are units of rhythm.

Example an iamb is a type of foot with 2 syllables. It has a stress on the second syllable.

Question 62

What defines a Shakespearean sonnet?

Answer 62

The Shakespearean or Elizabethan sonnet divides into three quatrains – four-line stanzas – and ends with a couplet, a two-line stanza.

The rhyme scheme of this type is abab cdcd efef gg.

Typically, a Shakespearean sonnet explores a single idea, with a third-stanza shift that will either lighten or darken the mood. Shakespeare and his contemporaries added ironic twists and contradictory touches or expanded a final, overwhelming point.

Question 63

What is a couplet or rhyming couplet?

Answer 63

2 rhyming lines.

Question 64

What defines a Petrarchan sonnet?

Answer 64

The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet maintains a consistent rhyme scheme in its first octave or eight-line stanza, which sounds out as abbaabba.

After that, the remaining sestet or six-line stanza goes all over the place: cddcdc, cdcedc, cdecde or cdcdcd.

The Petrarchan sonnet, even more than the Shakespearean, shifts entirely at its break: The octave is a question, the sestet an answer.

Question 65

Who was Petrarch?

Answer 65

Francesco Petrarch (July 20, 1304 – July 20, 1374), was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, who was one of the earliest humanists.

His rediscovery of Cicero’s letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.

Petrarch is often considered the founder of Humanism.

Petrarch’s sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry.

Question 66

What is a triplet?

Answer 66

Three rhyming lines.

Question 67

What is a tercet?

Answer 67

French term for 3 rhyming lines.

Question 68

What is an octave / octet?

Answer 68

An 8 line stanza.

Question 69

What is a sestet

Answer 69

A six line stanza.

Question 70

What does the language in the poem tell you about the probable age of the poem?

Answer 70

The type of language can help identify when it was written.

Question 71

Check if the poet is….

Answer 71

male or female.

Question 72

What does the last line say….

Answer 72

It will create the mood of the end of the poem.