Literary terms

Question 1

Allegory?

Answer 1

symbolic level type of work

Question 2

Alliteration?

Answer 2

repetition of initial constant sounds: “peter piper picked a peck of picked peppers”

Question 3

Allusion?

Answer 3

A reference

Question 4

Anapest?

Answer 4

two unaccented (instressed) syllables followed by accented syllable (stressed)

Question 5

Antagonist?

Answer 5

Opposes the main character, the protag

Question 6

Apostrophe?

Answer 6

Direct Address in poetry

Question 7

Aside?

Answer 7

Words spoken by an actor intended to be heard by the audience but not other characters

Question 8

Aubade?

Answer 8

A love poet set at dawn which birds farewells to the beloved

Question 9

Ballad?

Answer 9

simple narrative poem, goes ABCD, dialogue in quatrains

Question 10

Blank verse?

Answer 10

Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Most of
Shakespeare’s plays are in this form.

Question 11

Cacophony?

Answer 11

Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or
passage of a literary work.

Question 12

Caesura?

Answer 12

A break or pause within a line of poetry
indicated by punctuation and used to emphasize meaning.

Question 13

catharsis

Answer 13

According to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences.

Question 14

character

Answer 14

One who carries out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types of characters

Question 15

climax

Answer 15

The turning point of action or character in a
literary work, usually the highest moment of tension.

Question 16

comic relief

Answer 16

The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event.

Question 17

conflict

Answer 17

A clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self.

Question 18

connotation

Answer 18

The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning.

Question 19

convention

Answer 19

A traditional aspect of a literary work such as a soliloquy in a Shakespearean play or a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy.

Question 20

couplet

Answer 20

Two lines of rhyming poetry; often used by Shakespeare to conclude a scene or an important passage.

Question 21

dactyl

Answer 21

A foot of poetry consisting of a stressed
syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, / u u.

Question 22

denotation

Answer 22

The literal or dictionary meaning of a
word.

Question 23

denouement

Answer 23

The conclusion or tying up of loose
ends in a literary work; the resolution of the conflict and plot.

Question 24

deus ex machina

Answer 24

A Greek invention, literally “the god from the machine” who appears at the last moment and resolves the loose ends of a play. Today, the term refers to anyone, usually of some stature, who untangles, resolves, or reveals the key to the plot of a work

Question 25

dictation

Answer 25

The author's choice of words.

Question 26

dramatic monologue

Answer 26

A type of poem that presents a conversation between a speaker and an implied listener. Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a perfect example.

Question 27

elegy

Answer 27

A poem that laments the dead or a loss. "Elegy for Jane" by Roethke is a specific example. Gray's "Elegy in a Country Church Yard" is a general example.

Question 28

enjambment

Answer 28

A technique in poetry that involves the running on of a line or stanza. It enables the poem to move and to develop coherence as well as directing the reader with regard to form and meaning. Walt Whitman uses this continually.

Question 29

epic

Answer 29

A lengthy, elevated poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero. Beowulf is a prime example.

Question 30

epigram

Answer 30

A brief witry poem. Pope often utilizes this form for satiric commentary.

Question 31

euphony

Answer 31

The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work.

Question 32

exposition

Answer 32

Background information presented in a literary work.

Question 33

setting

Answer 33

The time and place of a literary work. simile An indirect comparison that uses the words "like" or "as" to link the differing items in the comparison. ("Your eyes are like stars.")

Question 34

soliloquy

Answer 34

A speech in a play which is used to reveal the character's inner thoughts to the audience. (Hamlet's "To be or not to be..." is one of the most famous soliloquies in literature.)

Question 35

sonnet

Answer 35

A 14-line poem with a prescribed rhyme scheme in iambic pentameter. (See Chapter 8 for a comparison between Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets.)

Question 36

spondee

Answer 36

A poetic foot consisting of two accented syllables, (//).

Question 37

stanza

Answer 37

A unit of a poem, similar in rhyme, meter, and length to other units in the poem.

Question 38

stage directions

Answer 38

The specific instructions a playwright includes concerning sets, characterization, delivery, etc. (See Hedda Gabler by Ibsen.)

Question 39

structure

Answer 39

The organization and form of a work

Question 40

style

Answer 40

The unique way an author presents his ideas. Diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to a particular style.

Question 41

subplot

Answer 41

A secondary plot that explores ideas different from the main storyline. (In Hamlet, the main storyline has Hamlet avenging the death of his father. The subplot has Hamlet dealing with his love for Ophelia.)

Question 42

symbol

Answer 42

Something in a literary work that stands for something else. (Plato has the light of the sun

Question 43

synecdoche

Answer 43

A figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. ("All hands on deck” is an example.)

Question 44

syntax

Answer 44

The grammatical structure of prose and poetry.

Question 45

tercet

Answer 45

A three-line stanza.

Question 46

theme

Answer 46

The underlying ideas that the author illustrates through characterization, motifs, language, plot, etc.

Question 47

tone

Answer 47

The author's attitude toward his subject

Question 48

tragic hero

Answer 48

According to Aristotle, a basically good person of noble birth or exalted position who has a fatal flaw or commits an error in judgment which leads to his downfall. The tragic hero must have a moment of realization and live and suffer.

Question 49

understatement

Answer 49

The opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.

Question 50

villanelle

Answer 50

A highly structured poetic form that comprises six stanzas: five tercets, and a quatrain. The poem repeats the first and third lines throughout.