Unit 1: Reading Critically Across Genres (Vocabulary)

Question 1

At Rise Definition

Answer 1

text that precedes the opening lines of dialogue and explains what the audience should see as the curtain rises

Question 2

Climax Definition

Answer 2

the point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action

Question 3

Convention Definition

Answer 3

an established technique, practice, or device

Question 4

Denotation Definition

Answer 4

meaning; a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea

Question 5

Denouement Definition

Answer 5

the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work

Question 6

Dialogue Definition

Answer 6

the conversational element of literary or dramatic composition

Question 7

Diction Definition

Answer 7

choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

Question 8

Direct Characterization Definition

Answer 8

the artistic representation of human character or motives, as explicitly expressed in narration of a text

Question 9

Dramatis Personae Definition

Answer 9

the characters or actors in a drama

Question 10

Dynamic Character Definition

Answer 10

a character who changes significantly in the course of a narrative

Question 11

Exposition Definition

Answer 11

the introduction of the characters, setting, and situation at the outset of a literary work

Question 12

Falling Action Definition

Answer 12

the events that follow the climax in a narrative

Question 13

Flat Character Definition

Answer 13

a character with a single defining characteristic

Question 14

Genre Definition

Answer 14

a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content

Question 15

Inciting Incident Definition

Answer 15

the initial event presenting the conflict in a narrative

Question 16

Indirect Characterization Definition

Answer 16

the artistic representation of human character or motives, as expressed through the character’s words or actions or by the responses of other characters

Question 17

Irony Definition

Answer 17

the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

Question 18

Novel Definition

Answer 18

the longest and most complex narrative form

Question 19

Novella Definition

Answer 19

a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel

Question 20

Plot Definition

Answer 20

the plan or main story in a narrative

Question 21

Poetry Definition

Answer 21

writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm

Question 22

Prose Definition

Answer 22

a literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech

Question 23

Rising Action Definition

Answer 23

the series of events leading up to the climax of a narrative

Question 24

Round Character Definition

Answer 24

a complex and well-developed character

Question 25

Setting Definition

Answer 25

the time and place of the action of a literary, dramatic, or cinematic work

Question 26

Short Story Definition

Answer 26

an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel, usually dealing with a few characters and aiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot

Question 27

Situational Irony Definition

Answer 27

incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result

Question 28

Stage Directions Definition

Answer 28

a description (as of a character or setting) or direction (as to indicate stage business) provided in the text of a play

Question 29

Staging Definition

Answer 29

the act of putting on a play

Question 30

Static Character Definition

Answer 30

a character who does not change significantly in the course of a narrative

Question 31

Style Definition

Answer 31

a distinctive manner of expression (as in writing or speech)

Question 32

Theme Definition

Answer 32

a deeper underlying message of an artistic representation

Question 33

Tone Definition

Answer 33

the author’s attitude toward the subject or the audience, as conveyed by word choice, viewpoint, or perspective;

Question 34

Topic Definition

Answer 34

the subject of a discourse or of a section of a discourse

Question 35

Verbal Irony Definition

Answer 35

incongruity between the literal meaning of what is said and the intended meaning

Question 36

Voice Definition

Answer 36

an author’s unique style as expressed in a work or across works