Vocabulary

Question 1

Spoonerism

Answer 1

Trading sounds. “Shoving leopard”

Question 2

Stream of consciousness

Answer 2

The representation of perceptions/impressions, stimuli ,and fragments of random/disconnected thoughts.

Question 3

Sturm und Drang

Answer 3

Works containing rousing action and high emotionalism, often dealing with the individual’s revolt against society. (1700’s)

Question 4

Epithet

Answer 4

An adjective used to characterize a person. “Bravely bold Sir Robin”

Question 5

Euphemism

Answer 5

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit. “Passed away” traded for “died”.

Question 6

Polysyndeton

Answer 6

Overkill of conjunctions. “He ran and jumped and laughed for joy”

Question 7

Portmanteau

Answer 7

A new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings. “Brunch.”

Question 8

Ekphrastic

Answer 8

A dramatic literary commentary or description of any work of art.

Question 9

Emulation

Answer 9

An ambition and effort to equal, excel, or surpass another.

Question 10

Zeugma

Answer 10

SEMANTIC use of one word to conduct two: “He took his hat and his leave”

Question 11

Syllepsis

Answer 11

GRAMATICAL use of one word to conduct two: “I finally told him I was losing weight, my grip, and possibly my mind”

Question 12

Periphrasis

Answer 12

A roundabout description of something. “Talk to the big man upstairs” instead of “pray”

Question 13

Periodic Structure

Answer 13

A long and frequently involved sentence, only concluded by the last word. “The proper place in the sentence for the word or group of words that the writer desires to make the most prominent is usually the end.”

Question 14

Ballade

Answer 14

Three 8-line stanzas, each with a consistent meter and a particular rhyme scheme. “ababbcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC”

Question 15

Bildungsroman

Answer 15

Author presents the psychological, moral, and social shaping of the personality of a character. ie. Kite Runner

Question 16

Nemesis

Answer 16

The goddess of divine retribution or death against those who had extreme pride. Also, this means “a rival or opponent who cannot be overcome”

Question 17

Pathetic Fallacy

Answer 17

The fallacy of attributing human feelings to inanimate objects: “The friendly sun, the angry wind, the sorrowful clouds, the cheerful flowers”

Question 18

Gothicism

Answer 18

Works characterized by a taste for the medieval or morbidly attractive. ie Horror, supernatural, gloom, violence.

Question 19

Hyperbaton

Answer 19

Yoda speech in addition to where language takes a sudden turn: “Sorry I be but go you must”

Question 20

Caesura

Answer 20

Break/pause in poetry, usually marked by punctuation.

Question 21

Chiasmus

Answer 21

Reversed order of words in parallel expressions. “I love you, you love me”

Question 22

Doppelganger

Answer 22

A character is duplicated into distinct, opposite personalities. Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This indicates a growing awareness among authors that the “self” is really a composite of many “selves.”

Question 23

Anochronism

Answer 23

An error in chronology: placing a person or event or language in the wrong period.

Question 24

Absurd

Answer 24

Usual elements of literature are disregarded to stress lack of logic in nature. Ie the Metamorphosis.

Question 25

Antithesis

Answer 25

Contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence. “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”

Question 26

Aphorism

Answer 26

A brief statement or observation of a doctrine, truth, or sentiment. “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and…”

Question 27

Anticlimax

Answer 27

A sudden drop from a dignified or important idea to a trivial one. A disappointing contrast.

Question 28

Naturalism

Answer 28

Attempts to apply scientific principles of detachment to its study of human beings. Implies a philosophical position.

Question 29

Negative Capability

Answer 29

A theory of the poet John Keats describing the capacity for accepting uncertainty and the unresolved.

Question 30

Syncope

Answer 30

A traditional term for a contraction within a word through the loss of a vowel sound or letter: cam(e)ra, fam(i)ly, butt(o)ning.

Question 31

Synecdoche

Answer 31

A figure of speech where a part is used to represent the whole. Ie. ABCs for “alphabet”

Question 32

Satire

Answer 32

Exposes human vices or folly, usually intended as a moral criticism directed against the injustice or social wrongs.

Question 33

Loose sentences

Answer 33

A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses.

Question 34

Synethsesia

Answer 34

Description of one kind of sensation in terms of another. Peter’s voice was “tired and pale in the darkness”

Question 35

Versimilitude

Answer 35

Striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale.

Question 36

Malopropism

Answer 36

Humorous misuse of a word: “I look at the bright side. You could say I am an optometrist.”

Question 37

Metonymy

Answer 37

Describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.