Literary terms #2

Question 1

Carpe diem

Answer 1

“seize the day.” Carpe diem poems have the theme of living for today.

Question 2

Comedy/ Comedy of manners

Answer 2

a comedy dealing with love and courtship

Question 3

Complaint

Answer 3

a formerly popular variety of poem that opposes unrequited love or tells of personal misfortune, misery, or injustice.

Question 4

Dramatic monologue

Answer 4

a poem in which the speaker is directly addressing and talking to some other person.

Question 5

Parody

Answer 5

an imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect.

Question 6

Romance

Answer 6

a narration of the extraordinary exploits of heroes, often in exotic or mysterious settings.

Question 7

Horatian satire

Answer 7

ridicules universal human folly so that the reader might identify with what is being critiqued and laugh at him/herself as well as at society.

Question 8

Juvenalian satire

Answer 8

is contemptuous and abrasive, and uses strong irony and sarcasm.

Question 9

Tragedy

Answer 9

branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual.

Question 10

Archetype

Answer 10

a reoccurring symbol throughout literature that represents universal patterns of human nature.

Question 11

Epiphany

Answer 11

is that moment in the story where a character achieves realization, awareness or a feeling of knowledge after which events are seen through the prism of this new light in the story.

Question 12

Motif

Answer 12

is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story.

Question 13

Poetic justice

Answer 13

an ideal form of justice, in which the good characters are rewarded and the bad characters are punished, by an ironic twist of fate.

Question 14

Theme

Answer 14

the central topic or idea explored in a text.

Question 15

Aside

Answer 15

when a character’s dialogue is spoken but not heard by the other actors on the stage.

Question 16

Dialogue

Answer 16

two or more characters to be engaged in conversation with each other.

Question 17

Soliloquy

Answer 17

used in drama to reveal the innermost thoughts of a character.

Question 18

Stage directions

Answer 18

an instruction written in the script of a play that gives direction to the actors or information about the scenery.

Question 19

Subtext

Answer 19

the underlying or implicit meaning.

Question 20

Abstract language

Answer 20

vocabulary that signifies a concept, quality, or abstract idea.

Question 21

Ambiguity

Answer 21

occurs when something is open to more than one interpretation.

Question 22

Cliche

Answer 22

an expression that has been overused to the extent that it loses its original meaning or novelty.

Question 23

Concrete language

Answer 23

identifies things perceived through the senses.

Question 24

Connotation

Answer 24

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Question 25

Denotation

Answer 25

as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings.

Question 26

Dialect

Answer 26

language used by the people of a specific area, class, district, or any other group of people.

Question 27

Euphemism

Answer 27

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt

Question 28

Literal language

Answer 28

uses words exactly according to their proper meanings or precise definitions.

Question 29

Usage

Answer 29

The way in which words or phrases are actually used, spoken, or written

Question 30

High diction

Answer 30

usually contains language that creates and elevated tone.

Question 31

Formal diction

Answer 31

formal words are used in formal situations, such as press conferences and presentations.

Question 32

Malapropism

Answer 32

a type of humor when a character uses a wrong, but similar word.

Question 33

Atmosphere

Answer 33

used to describe the mood of a piece of writing, which is usually created by how the author describes the setting and background, as well as the characters and events within the story.

Question 34

Frame

Answer 34

a story set within a story.

Question 35

Mood

Answer 35

evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions.

Question 36

Occasion

Answer 36

The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing.

Question 37

Setting

Answer 37

the time and place in which the story takes place.

Question 38

Speaker/persona

Answer 38

the person who is speaking.

Question 39

stream of consciousness

Answer 39

a method of narration that describes in words the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters.

Question 40

Emphasis

Answer 40

the author uses specific words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the basic statement in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect.

Question 41

Inversion of word order

Answer 41

the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.

Question 42

Juxtaposition, Sentence length, complexity, variety, pattern

Answer 42

Basic elements of syle

Question 43

Juxtaposition, Sentence length, complexity, variety, pattern

Answer 43

Basic elements of style

Question 44

Loose sentence type

Answer 44

type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.

Question 45

Periodic sentence type

Answer 45

starts with an independent clause or main clause, which is simple and straight, provides main idea, and then adds subordinate elements or modifiers.

Question 46

Active voice

Answer 46

a clause or sentence in which a subject performs an action and expresses it through its representative verb.

Question 47

Passive voice

Answer 47

an object of a sentence, is emphasized rather than its subject.