Lit Vocab

Question 1

allication

Answer 1

distribution

Question 2

ascetic

Answer 2

practicing self-denial; austere

Question 3

beguile

Answer 3

to deceive, to mislead, to persuade with charm

Question 4

crass

Answer 4

lacking sensitivity, refinement, or intelligence

Question 5

defray

Answer 5

to supply the money for; to pay

Question 6

dint

Answer 6

means; effort

Question 7

enjoin

Answer 7

instruct or urge (someone) to do something

Question 8

envoy

Answer 8

a representative or messenger

Question 9

interloper

Answer 9

an intruder

Question 10

vicarious

Answer 10

experiencing through another

Question 11

perspective

Answer 11

a technique to illustrate how characters view and process the events of a story

Question 12

point of view

Answer 12

the narrator’s position in relation. to the story being told

Question 13

tone

Answer 13

a writer’s attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, imagery, details, language, and style

Question 14

mood

Answer 14

the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Question 15

free indirect style

Answer 15

third-person narration which uses some of the characteristics of third-person along with the essence of first-person direct speech

Question 16

setting

Answer 16

where and when the story takes place

Question 17

diction

Answer 17

the author or narrator’s word choice

Question 18

dramatic irony

Answer 18

when a reader is aware of something that a character is not

Question 19

situational irony

Answer 19

occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected

Question 20

verbal irony

Answer 20

a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Question 21

theme

Answer 21

a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work

Question 22

imagery

Answer 22

the pattern of related comparative aspects of language, particularly of images, in literary work

Question 23

admonish

Answer 23

warn or reprimand someone firmly

Question 24

akimbo

Answer 24

with hands on hips and elbows turned outward

Question 25

lassitude

Answer 25

a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy

Question 26

licentious

Answer 26

morally unrestrained

Question 27

muse

Answer 27

to think about in a dreamy way, ponder

Question 28

pecuniary

Answer 28

having to do with money

Question 29

plight

Answer 29

a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation

Question 30

presumptuous

Answer 30

assuming too much; arrogant

Question 31

subversive

Answer 31

in opposition to authority or government

Question 32

vacuous

Answer 32

lacking ideas or intelligence

Question 33

sonnet

Answer 33

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of former rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line

Question 34

meter

Answer 34

a regular pattern of stresses and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

Question 35

iambic pantameter

Answer 35

a poetic meter that is made up of 5 stressed syllables each followed by an unstressed syllable

Question 36

enjambment

Answer 36

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza

Question 37

caesura

Answer 37

a strong pause within a line or verse

Question 38

end-stopped line

Answer 38

a line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation

Question 39

assonance

Answer 39

repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

Question 40

conosonance

Answer 40

repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity

Question 41

alliteration

Answer 41

repetition of initial consonant sounds

Question 42

free verse

Answer 42

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter

Question 43

stanza

Answer 43

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse

Question 44

avocation

Answer 44

a hobby or minor occupation

Question 45

capricious

Answer 45

impulsive and unpredictable

Question 46

disparity

Answer 46

inequality; difference

Question 47

efficacy

Answer 47

the ability to produce a desired or intended result

Question 48

epistle

Answer 48

a letter or literary composition in letter form

Question 49

inexorable

Answer 49

impossible to stop or prevent

Question 50

impetus

Answer 50

a moving force, impulse, stimulus

Question 51

moribund

Answer 51

dying; at the point of death

Question 52

reticent

Answer 52

not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily

Question 53

vacillate

Answer 53

to waver; to sway indecisively

Question 54

acerbic

Answer 54

biting, bitter in tone or taste

Question 55

acrimonious

Answer 55

angry and bitter

Question 56

brusque

Answer 56

short, abrupt, dismissive

Question 57

didactic

Answer 57

instructive, intended to educate

Question 58

elegiac

Answer 58

having a mournful quality

Question 59

flippant

Answer 59

not showing a serious or respectful attitude

Question 60

lugubrious

Answer 60

looking or sounding sad and dismal; mournful

Question 61

pensive

Answer 61

thoughtful and sad

Question 62

recalcitrant

Answer 62

stubbornly disobedient, resisting authority

Question 63

wistful

Answer 63

vaguely longing, sadly thoughtful

Question 64

insipid

Answer 64

lacing intrest or flavor

Question 65

nefarious

Answer 65

wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Question 66

retinue

Answer 66

group of followers or assistants attending a distinguished person

Question 67

torrid

Answer 67

giving off intense heat, passionate

Question 68

choleric

Answer 68

bad-tempered or irritable

Question 69

suppliant

Answer 69

humbly imploring; pleading

Question 70

feckless

Answer 70

weak; ineffective

Question 71

indolent

Answer 71

wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy

Question 72

ribald

Answer 72

marked by coarseness or lewdness; vulgar

Question 73

impasse

Answer 73

blocked path; dilemma with no solution

Question 74

abashed

Answer 74

emberrassed

Question 75

ambiguous

Answer 75

open to more than one interpretation

Question 76

boorish

Answer 76

rude; insensitive

Question 77

churlish

Answer 77

lacking politeness or good manners; difficult to work with or deal with

Question 78

ebullient

Answer 78

cheerful and full of energy

Question 79

histrionic

Answer 79

overly dramatic

Question 80

incredulous

Answer 80

disbelieving, skeptical

Question 81

pompous

Answer 81

overly self-important in speech and manner

Question 82

vindictive

Answer 82

having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge