P

Question 1

pacing

Answer 1

The speed at which a story’s events unfold or information is revealed.

Example: Fast pacing in action scenes; slow pacing in dramatic moments.

Question 2

palindrome

Answer 2

A word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same backward and forward.

Example: “Madam”, “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!”

Question 3

parable

Answer 3

A short, simple story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson.

Example: The Prodigal Son from the Bible.

Question 4

paradox

Answer 4

A statement that seems self-contradictory but reveals a deeper truth.

Example: “Less is more.”

Question 5

paralipsis

Answer 5

Drawing attention to something by pretending to ignore it.

Example: “I won’t even mention the fact that he was late.”

Question 6

parallel structure (parallelism)

Answer 6

The repetition of similar grammatical structures in a sentence or series.

“She likes reading, writing, and jogging.”

Question 7

parpahrase

Answer 7

Restating someone else’s ideas in your own words.

Turning a Shakespearean passage into modern English.

Question 8

paraprosdokian

Answer 8

A surprising or unexpected ending to a phrase or sentence.

Example: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

Question 9

parataxis

Answer 9

Placing clauses or phrases one after another without using coordinating or subordinating conjunctions.

Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Question 10

paranthesis

Answer 10

A word, phrase, or clause inserted into a sentence as an aside.

Example: “He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he didn’t know.”

Question 11

parody

Answer 11

A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.

Example: “Don Quixote” is a parody of chivalric romance.

Question 12

paronomasia

Answer 12

A play on words; pun.

Example: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”

Question 13

parrhesia

Answer 13

Speaking with boldness or frankness, often risking social consequences.

Example: A character speaking the truth to a corrupt ruler.

Question 14

passive voice

Answer 14

The subject receives the action rather than doing it.

Example: “The cake was eaten by John.”

Question 15

pastiche

Answer 15

A work that imitates the style of previous works, often as homage.

Example: A modern novel written in the style of Victorian literature.

Question 16

pathetic fallacy

Answer 16

Attributing human emotions to nature or inanimate objects.

Example: “The angry storm beat against the windows.”

Question 17

pathos

Answer 17

A rhetorical appeal to the audience’s emotions.

Example: A charity ad showing starving children.

Question 18

pedantic

Answer 18

Overly concerned with formal rules or details.

Example: A character who corrects everyone’s grammar constantly.

Question 19

pejorative

Answer 19

A word or expression that conveys contempt or disapproval.

Example: “Hick,” “geek,” “snob.”

Question 20

pentameter

Answer 20

A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.

Example: Common in Shakespearean sonnets.

Question 21

peripeteia

Answer 21

A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances in a narrative.

Example: Oedipus learns he has fulfilled the prophecy.

Question 22

periphrasis

Answer 22

Using longer or indirect phrasing in place of a simple expression.

Example: “The elongated yellow fruit” for “banana.”

Question 23

persona

Answer 23

The voice or character an author adopts in a work.

Example: The narrator in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Question 24

personification

Answer 24

Giving human traits to non-human things.

Example: “The wind whispered through the trees.”

Question 25

perspective

Answer 25

The point of view or lens through which a story is told. ## Footnote Example: First-person, third-person limited, etc.

Question 26

persuasion

Answer 26

The act of convincing someone to believe or do something through reasoning or appeal. ## Footnote Example: A political speech arguing for climate action.

Question 27

persuasive essay

Answer 27

An essay intended to convince readers of a particular viewpoint. ## Footnote Example: Why School Should Start Later.

Question 28

platitude

Answer 28

A cliché or overused, unoriginal statement. ## Footnote Example: “Everything happens for a reason.”

Question 29

play

Answer 29

A dramatic work intended for performance. ## Footnote Example: Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Question 30

pleonasm

Answer 30

The use of more words than necessary to convey meaning. ## Footnote Example: “I saw it with my own eyes.”

Question 31

plot

Answer 31

The sequence of events in a narrative. ## Footnote Example: Exposition → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Resolution.

Question 32

plot twist

Answer 32

An unexpected development in a story. ## Footnote Example: The killer is revealed to be the detective.

Question 33

poem

Answer 33

A literary work composed in verse. ## Footnote Example: “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

Question 34

poetic justice

Answer 34

A literary device where virtue is rewarded and vice is punished. ## Footnote Example: A corrupt politician being exposed and jailed.

Question 35

point of view

Answer 35

The narrator’s position in relation to the story. ## Footnote Example: First-person, third-person omniscient.

Question 36

polemic

Answer 36

A strong verbal or written attack on someone or something. ## Footnote Example: A political op-ed blasting opposing views.

Question 37

polyptoton

Answer 37

Repetition of words derived from the same root. ## Footnote Example: “Choosy mothers choose Jif.”

Question 38

polysyndeton

Answer 38

Using multiple conjunctions in close succession. ## Footnote Example: “He ran and jumped and laughed for joy.”

Question 39

portmanteau

Answer 39

A word made by blending two other words. ## Footnote Example: “Brunch” = breakfast + lunch.

Question 40

premise

Answer 40

A foundational idea or assumption on which an argument or story is based. ## Footnote Example: The premise of 1984 is a dystopian future under surveillance.

Question 41

procatalepsis

Answer 41

Addressing an objection before it’s raised. ## Footnote Example: “You might think this is impossible, but here’s how it works…”

Question 42

process essay

Answer 42

An essay that explains how to do something or how something works. ## Footnote Example: How to Bake a Cake.

Question 43

prologue

Answer 43

An introductory section of a literary work. ## Footnote Example: The Chorus in Romeo and Juliet.

Question 44

propaganda

Answer 44

Biased or misleading information used to promote a political cause. ## Footnote Example: Wartime posters encouraging enlistment.

Question 45

prose

Answer 45

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without meter or rhyme. ## Footnote Example: Novels, essays, newspapers.

Question 46

prosody

Answer 46

The patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry. ## Footnote Example: Includes meter, rhyme, and intonation.

Question 47

prosthesis

Answer 47

Adding a syllable or letter to the beginning of a word. ## Footnote Example: “Afright” from “fright.”

Question 48

protagonist

Answer 48

The main character in a literary work. ## Footnote Example: Frodo in The Lord of the Rings.

Question 49

proverb

Answer 49

A short, commonly known saying that expresses a truth or piece of advice. ## Footnote Example: “A stitch in time saves nine.”

Question 50

pseudonym

Answer 50

A fictitious name used by an author. ## Footnote Example: Mark Twain for Samuel Clemens.

Question 51

pun

Answer 51

A play on words that exploits different meanings or similar sounds. ## Footnote Example: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”