Glossary of terms

Question 1

A general term, referring to a broad concept, as opposed to a term that refers to a specific, particular thing; opposite of concrete

Answer 1

abstract

Question 2

A literary work that portrays abstract ideas concretely. Characters are frequently personification of abstract ideas and are given names that refer to these ideas

Answer 2

allegory

Question 3

The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words or syllables

Answer 3

alliteration

Question 4

A reference to another work of literature, or to art, history, or current events

Answer 4

allusion

Question 5

Repetition of an initial word or words to add emphasis

Answer 5

anaphora

Question 6

a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other

Answer 6

antithesis

Question 7

A direct address to an abstraction, a thing, an animal, or an imaginary or absent person

Answer 7

apostrophe

Question 8

when a character in a work of fiction addresses the audience directly for a moment to either express a truth, reveal a feeling, or comment on the events of the story

Answer 8

aside

Question 9

The repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words

Answer 9

assonance

Question 10

Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Most commonly used verse form in English because it is the verse form that comes closest to natural patterns of speaking in English

Answer 10

blank verse

Question 11

A pause within a line of poetry, sometimes punctuated, sometimes not, often mirroring natural speech

Answer 11

caesura

Question 12

Refers to the emotional release felt by the audience at the end of a tragic drama

Answer 12

catharsis

Question 13

Usually used to refer to a dramatic work that, in contrast to tragedy, has a light, amusing plot, features a happy ending, centers around ordinary people, and is written and performed in the vernacular

Answer 13

comedy

Question 14

An instance in which identical final consonant sounds in nearby words follow different vowel sounds.

Answer 14

consonance

Question 15

a pair of end-rhymed lines of verse that are self-contained in grammatical structure and meaning

Answer 15

couplet

Question 16

“untying the knot”
In this phase of a story’s plot, the conflict has been resolved and balance is restored to the world of the story

Answer 16

denouement

Question 17

A writer’s choice of words

Answer 17

diction

Question 18

a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones

Answer 18

dilemma

Question 19

A type of poem in which the speaker, who is clearly distinct form the poet, addresses an audience that is present in the poem

Answer 19

dramatic monologue

Question 20

A contemplative poem, on death and mortality, often written for someone who has died

Answer 20

elegy

Question 21

A poetic technique in which one line ends without a pause and must continue on to the next line to complete its meanings; also referred to as a “run-on line”

Answer 21

enjambment

Question 22

long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds

Answer 22

epic

Question 23

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Answer 23

euphemism

Question 24

An excessive level of pride that leads to the protagonist’s downfall

Answer 24

hubris

Question 25

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or to produce a comic or ironic effect; an overstatement to make a point

Answer 25

hyperbole

Question 26

The most common metrical foot in English poetry, is made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

Answer 26

iambic pentameter

Question 27

whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do

Answer 27

irony

Question 28

A figure of speech that compares or equates two things without using like or as

Answer 28

metaphor

Question 29

A figure of speech in which something is represented by another thing that is related to it

Answer 29

metonymy

Question 30

A recurring patterns of images, words, or symbols that reveals a theme in a work of literature

Answer 30

motif

Question 31

A revival of classical aesthetics and forms

Answer 31

neoclassicism

Question 32

A reply or remark that does not have any relevance to what occasioned or preceded it

Answer 32

non sequitur

Question 33

An eight-line stanza or poem

Answer 33

octave

Question 34

A form of poetry used to meditate on or address a single object or condition

Answer 34

Ode

Question 35

A statement that seems contradictory but actually is not

Answer 35

paradox

Question 36

Literature that employs a romanticized description of leisurely farm or rural life

Answer 36

pastoral

Question 37

A voice and viewpoint that an author adopts in order to deliver a story or poem

Answer 37

persona

Question 38

A figure of speech in which an animal or an inanimate object is imbued with human qualities

Answer 38

personification

Question 39

The perspective from which a work is told

Answer 39

point of view

Question 40

The repetition of the same (or similar) vowel or consonant sounds or constructions

Answer 40

rhyme

Question 41

Late eighteenth to early nineteenth century movement that emphasized beauty for beauty's sake, the natural world, emotion, imagination, the value of a nation's past and its folklore, and the heroic roles of the individual and the artist

Answer 41

romanticism

Question 42

A literary work that uses irony to critique society or an individual

Answer 42

satire

Question 43

The analysis of the metrical patterns of a poem by organizing its lines into feet of stressed and unstressed syllables and showing the major pauses, if any

Answer 43

scansion

Question 44

In a play, a monologue in which a character, alone on the stage, reveals his or her thoughts or emotions

Answer 44

soliloquy

Question 45

A poetic form composed of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter that adheres to a particular rhyme scheme

Answer 45

sonnet

Question 46

In drama the character who is currently delivering lines. In poetry, the person who is expressing a point of view in the poem.

Answer 46

speaker

Question 47

A technique in which prose follows the logic and flow of a character's thought processes rather than a more ordered narrative

Answer 47

stream of consciousness

Question 48

A setting, object, or event in a story that carries more than literal meaning and therefore represents something significant to understanding the meaning of a work of literature

Answer 48

symbol

Question 49

a verse form composed of iambic tercets (three-line groupings)

Answer 49

terza rima

Question 50

A speaker's attitude as exposed through stylistic choices.

Answer 50

tone

Question 51

A serious dramatic work in which the protagonist experiences a series of unfortunate reversals due to some character trait referred to as a tragic flaw.

Answer 51

tragedy

Question 52

A form of poetry in which a quatrain follows five tercets.

Answer 52

villanelle

Question 53

the rhetorical mixture of vocabulary, tone, point of view, and syntax that makes phrases, sentences, and paragraphs flow in a particular manner

Answer 53

voice