literary elements

Question 1

What is Alliteration?

Answer 1

A string of words beginning with the same consonant sound

Question 2

Define Ambiguity

Answer 2

The quality of being open to multiple interpretations

Question 3

What is Aposiopesis?

Answer 3

The speaker or writer breaks off abruptly and leaves the statement incomplete

Question 4

What is a Colloquialism?

Answer 4

An informal phrase or word that’s unique to a period or region

Question 5

Define Abstract in literature

Answer 5

A style that is typically complex, discusses intangible qualities, and seldom uses examples to support its points

Question 6

What does Concrete refer to?

Answer 6

Refers to tangible qualities or characteristics, things we know through our senses

Question 7

What is Antimetabole?

Answer 7

A phrase is repeated but with the order of words reversed

Question 8

Define Archetype

Answer 8

A universal pattern, character, or image that repeats across stories and cultures

Question 9

What is an Allusion?

Answer 9

An implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text

Question 10

Who is the Protagonist?

Answer 10

A main character or ‘hero’ of a story

Question 11

What is an Antagonist?

Answer 11

Usually the character who opposes the protagonist

Question 12

Define Asyndeton

Answer 12

Intentionally eliminates conjunctions in a sentence, yet maintains grammatical accuracy

Question 13

What is Diction?

Answer 13

The choice of words and phrases that an author uses to create a specific effect or tone

Question 14

What is an Analogy?

Answer 14

Compares similarities between two unrelated things as a way to make a point through the comparison

Question 15

What is Climax in a story?

Answer 15

A turning point in the story

Question 16

Define Epistrophe

Answer 16

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Question 17

What is Anaphora?

Answer 17

The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect

Question 18

What is Apostrophe in literature?

Answer 18

When a writer or speaker speaks directly to someone who is not present or is dead, or speaks to an inanimate object

Question 19

Define Conflict in a story

Answer 19

A problem or unresolved issue in a story

Question 20

What is Epizeuxis?

Answer 20

When a word or phrase is repeated in immediate succession with no intervening words

Question 21

What does Foreshadowing do?

Answer 21

Provides hints of what may happen later in a story

Question 22

Define Dramatic irony

Answer 22

When the reader knows something that the characters do not

Question 23

What is Situational irony?

Answer 23

Creates an outcome or situation that is dramatically different from what was expected

Question 24

Define Verbal irony

Answer 24

Using words to convey a meaning that is opposite to or marked differently from their literal interpretation

Question 25

What is Metonymy?

Answer 25

The name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely to or suggested by the original

Question 26

What is Polysyndeton?

Answer 26

Several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession

Question 27

Define Imagery

Answer 27

The use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas

Question 28

What is Mood in literature?

Answer 28

The atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of invoking a certain emotion or feeling for the reader

Question 29

Define Hyperbole

Answer 29

An exaggeration made for humor or emphasis

Question 30

What is a Motif?

Answer 30

A repeating theme or event

Question 31

What does Parody involve?

Answer 31

An interpretation of the style and manner of a particular writer, usually in a negative intent

Question 32

Define Juxtaposition

Answer 32

An instance of placing two or more things side by side

Question 33

What is Magical realism?

Answer 33

A narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality

Question 34

What is Parallelism?

Answer 34

Two or more words or phrases in sentences that are the same grammatically, as well as in meaning

Question 35

Define Point of view

Answer 35

Who is telling a story, or who is narrating it

Question 36

What is Litotes?

Answer 36

An understatement that is made by stating the negative of the contrary of an affirmative statement

Question 37

What is a Metaphor?

Answer 37

A direct comparison of generally unlike objects not using 'like' or 'as'

Question 38

What does Personification do?

Answer 38

Gives human traits to non-living objects

Question 39

Define Paradox

Answer 39

A self-contradictory statement or scenario that challenges conventional thinking

Question 40

What is Satire?

Answer 40

A way of writing about a flaw or failure in society by inflating it to absurdity

Question 41

What is Synecdoche?

Answer 41

Uses a part of something to represent the whole, or vice versa

Question 42

Define Understatement

Answer 42

Used to downplay a situation as less serious, less significant, or smaller than it really is

Question 43

What is Style in literature?

Answer 43

A manner of expression, how a character or writer says what he/she says

Question 44

What is Resolution in a story?

Answer 44

The solution to conflict presented in a story

Question 45

Define Zeugma

Answer 45

Uses a word to link two different meanings or ideas in a sentence

Question 46

What is a Simile?

Answer 46

Comparison of generally unlike things using 'like' or 'as'

Question 47

What is an Oxymoron?

Answer 47

Combines contradictory words with opposing meanings

Question 48

Define Syntax

Answer 48

The way words are arranged to convey meaning and create grammatical sentences

Question 49

What is Theme in literature?

Answer 49

The moral or message of a story

Question 50

What is Symbolism?

Answer 50

Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention

Question 51

Define Tone in writing

Answer 51

The writer’s attitude toward the material and/or reader

Question 52

Define Antithesis

Answer 52

places opposite words, ideas, or qualities parallel to each other