General Terms

Question 1

Poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or abstract ideas or qualities.

Answer 1

Allegory

Question 2

Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

Answer 2

Alliteration

Question 3

Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. an indirect reference to something (usually from literature).

Answer 3

Allusion

Question 4

Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and somethings conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way - this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work.

Answer 4

Ambiguity

Question 5

Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike.

Answer 5

Analogy

Question 6

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent.

Answer 6

Anaphora

Question 7

Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.

Answer 7

Anastrophe

Question 8

Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual.

Answer 8

Anecdote

Question 9

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

Answer 9

Antagonist

Question 10

Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order. “One should eat to live, not live to eat.”

Answer 10

Antimetabole in prose or Chiasmus in poetry

Question 11

Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.

Answer 11

Antithesis

Question 12

Central character who lacks all the quantities traditionally associated with heroes. May lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.

Answer 12

Antihero

Question 13

Attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object.

Answer 13

Anthropomorphism or Personification

Question 14

Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, or epigram.

Answer 14

Aphorism

Question 15

Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.

Answer 15

Apostrophe

Question 16

Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first (often set off by a colon).

Answer 16

Apposition

Question 17

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together.

Answer 17

Assonance

Question 18

Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z… the write uses X, Y, Z.

Answer 18

Asyndeton

Question 19

Constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance. Sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well.

Answer 19

Balance

Question 20

The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

Answer 20

Characterization

Question 21

The author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people, or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature.

Answer 21

Indirect Characterization

Question 22

The author explicitly states what the character is like. The romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form.

Answer 22

Direct Characterization

Question 23

Is one who does not change much in the course of a story.

Answer 23

Static Character

Question 24

Is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action.

Answer 24

Dynamic Character

Question 25

Has only one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.

Answer 25

Flat Character

Question 26

Has more dimensions to their personalities - they are complex, just as real people are.

Answer 26

Round Character

Question 27

In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed.

Answer 27

Chiasmus

Question 28

Is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse.

Answer 28

Cliche

Question 29

A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.

Answer 29

Colloquialism

Question 30

In general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.

Answer 30

Comedy

Question 31

An elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.

Answer 31

Conceit

Question 32

A twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life.

Answer 32

Confessional Poetry

Question 33

The struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.

Answer 33

Conflict

Question 34

Conflict can exist between two entities.

Answer 34

External Conflict

Question 35

Conflict can be internal , involving opposing forces within a person's mind.

Answer 35

Internal Conflict

Question 36

The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.

Answer 36

Connotation

Question 37

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.

Answer 37

Couplet

Question 38

A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or the inhabitants of a specific geographical area.

Answer 38

Dialect

Question 39

A speaker or writer's choice of words.

Answer 39

Diction

Question 40

Form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Answer 40

Didcatic

Question 41

A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.

Answer 41

Elegy

Question 42

A great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.

Answer 42

Eulogy

Question 43

Device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.

Answer 43

Epanalepsis

Question 44

A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.

Answer 44

Epic

Question 45

A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

Answer 45

Epigraph

Question 46

Device of repetition in which the same expression (sing world or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

Answer 46

Epistrophe

Question 47

An adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality. "Father of our country"

Answer 47

Epithet

Question 48

A short piece of nonfiction prose in which the author discusses some aspect of a subject.

Answer 48

Essay

Question 49

Act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Answer 49

Explication

Question 50

A very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.

Answer 50

Fable

Question 51

A type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.

Answer 51

Farce