Literary Devices

Question 1

Elision

Answer 1

the removal of an unstressed syllable or letter from a word in order to mix words together and decrease overall syllables

Question 2

Enjambment

Answer 2

when the sentence spills over the poetry line

Question 3

Ambiguity

Answer 3

when something can have multiple interpretations

Question 4

Syntax

Answer 4

sentence structure

Question 5

Semantics

Answer 5

words and sentence meaning

Question 6

Ambivalence

Answer 6

contradictory feelings

Question 7

arbitrariness of the sign

Answer 7

the idea there is no natural connection between a language symbol and the concern or meaning it represents

Question 8

social constructionism

Answer 8

symbols get their meaning through the various ways they are used in iterated social interaction over time

Question 9

structuralism

Answer 9

individual symbols are defined according to their interrelationships with other symbols within the wider context of an overarching symbolic system

Question 10

exposition

Answer 10

beginning of a story; provides background info; describes the nature of the conflict

Question 11

rising action

Answer 11

builds tension that leads to the conflict, the interplay of the conflict within the story

Question 12

climax

Answer 12

occurs when tension peaks; turning point

Question 13

falling action

Answer 13

details result of climax; conflict gets resolved

Question 14

denouement

Answer 14

‘untying the knot’; when authors close the story without a final resolution, leaving the reader to ponder what happened before

Question 15

in media res

Answer 15

‘in the middle of action’; when a story begins in the middle of action

Question 16

flashback

Answer 16

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story

Question 17

foreshadowing

Answer 17

hints to details that will happened

Question 18

Protagonist

Answer 18

main character of a story

Question 19

Antagonist

Answer 19

character that goes against protagonist

Question 20

bildungsroman

Answer 20

coming-of-age story; novel that depicts and explores the manner in which the protagonist develops morally and psychologically

Question 21

Epiphany

Answer 21

a moment of sudden and profound insight or realization

Question 22

round character

Answer 22

well-developed character with a range of emotions and traits

Question 23

flat character

Answer 23

one-dimensional character who is defined by a few traits

Question 24

Foil

Answer 24

a contrasting character who allows the protagonist to stand out more

Question 25

stock character

Answer 25

stereotypical or cliched character type that appears across different stories or genres; easily recognizable

Question 26

direct characterization

Answer 26

when a narrator explicitly describes details of a character

Question 27

indirect characterization

Answer 27

when the author shows what a character is like through characteristics words, actions, thoughts or what others say about the character

Question 28

historical context

Answer 28

gives context for political, economic, and social upheavals; rarely stated explicitly

Question 29

cultural environment

Answer 29

sets the environment of a work: the manners, morals, customs, rituals. and code of conduct

Question 30

perspective

Answer 30

the viewpoint from which the narrative is told

Question 31

point of view

Answer 31

the perspective through which a story is told

Question 32

first person point of view

Question 33

unreliable narrator

Answer 33

a character who provides a version of events that may be distorted, misleading, or inaccurate; the author may choose to tell the story from the perspective of someone naive, mentally ill, corrupt, or downright immoral

Question 34

second person point of view

Answer 34

narrative voice that uses the pronoun “you” to directly address the reader, making them part of the story

Question 35

3rd omniscient

Answer 35

readers have access to what all characters feel and are thinking

Question 36

3rd limited omniscient narrator

Answer 36

when an author sticks closely to one character but remains in third person “close third”

Question 37

3rd objective narrator

Answer 37

narrator simply describes what is happening to the characters in the story and does not show us anyone’s thoughts or feelings

Question 38

stream of consciousness

Answer 38

narrative technique that takes readers inside the mind of a narrator recounting thoughts, impressions, and feelings for wither a 1st person or 3rd person limited omniscient perspective

Question 39

layered point of view

Answer 39

the technique of presenting a narrative through multiple perspectives or levels of understanding

Question 40

narrative frame

Answer 40

another layered technique where a story is introduced with another story; establishes who is telling the main story and under what circumstance; usually creates a shift in perspective

Question 41

allegory

Answer 41

a narrative in which characters, events, and settings symbolize abstract ideas, oral qualities, or political concepts

Question 42

archetype

Answer 42

a universally recognized symbol, character, theme, or situation that recurs across literature, mythology, and culture

Question 43

theme

Answer 43

the central idea, underlying message, or main subject that runs through a work of literature, art, or any other narrative form; the deeper meaning or insight about life, society, or human nature that the author intends to convey through the story

Question 44

symbol

Answer 44

a character, object, event, or other element that represents a deeper meaning beyond its literal interpretation