Y8 Literary Terms

Question 1

Antagonist

Answer 1

Character that is the source of conflict in a literary work.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

Repetition of the initial consonant sounds of words: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

A reference to something well-known that exists outside the literary work - the reference is often indirect and relies on audience knowledge and understanding.

Question 4

Aside

Answer 4

A dramatic device in which a character makes a short speech intended for the audience but not heard by the other characters on stage.

Question 5

Assonance

Answer 5

Repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds: “Anna’s apples,” “the pond is long gone”.

Question 6

Characterization

Answer 6

The manner in which an author develops characters and their personalities.

Question 7

Direct Characterization

Answer 7

Author description.

Question 8

Indirect characterization

Answer 8

Character’s appearance, speech, thoughts, actions and what other characters think of the character.

Question 9

Character Types, Flat

Answer 9

One-dimensional, uncomplicated.

Question 10

Round

Answer 10

Complex and undergo development.

Question 11

Static

Answer 11

Character remains unchanged emotionally or psychologically throughout the story.

Question 12

Dynamic

Answer 12

Character undergoes emotional or psychological change.

Question 13

Conflict

Answer 13

Struggle between two or more opposing forces (person vs. person; nature; society; self; fate/God. ETC…).

Question 14

Cyclical Structure

Answer 14

A cycle of events in the plot when it begins and ends in the same place or events.

Question 15

Dialogue

Answer 15

Direct speech between characters in a literary work.

Question 16

Diction

Answer 16

Word choice to create a specific effect.

Question 17

Figurative Language

Answer 17

Language that represents one thing in terms of something dissimilar (non-literal language). Includes simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and symbolism

Question 18

Flashback

Answer 18

The method of returning to an earlier point in time for the purpose of making the present clearer.

Question 19

Foreshadowing

Answer 19

Hint of what is to come in a literary work.

Question 20

Frame Narrative

Answer 20

A technique storytellers use in which the narrator in one setting tells a story set in another time and place.

Question 21

Genre

Answer 21

Type or category to which a literary work belongs.

Question 22

Hyperbole

Answer 22

Extreme exaggeration to add meaning.

Question 23

Idiom

Answer 23

A combination of words that has a meaning that is different from the meanings of the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning in one situation and a different idiomatic meaning in another situation. It is a phrase which does not always follow the normal rules of meaning and grammar.

Question 24

Imagery

Answer 24

Language that appeals to the five senses.

Question 25

Dramatic Irony

Answer 25

When the reader or audience knows something a character does not.

Question 26

Situational Irony

Answer 26

When there is a disparity between what is expected and what actually occurs.

Question 27

Verbal Irony

Answer 27

When the speaker says one thing but means the opposite.

Question 28

Metaphor

Answer 28

An implied comparison between dissimilar objects without the use of like or as: “Her talent blossomed”.

Question 29

Motif

Answer 29

A recurring feature of a literary work that is related to the theme.

Question 30

Onomatopoeia

Answer 30

Use of a word whose sound imitates its meaning: “hiss”.

Question 31

Oxymoron

Answer 31

Phrase that consists of two words that are contradictory: “living dead” or “jumbo shrimp”.

Question 32

Paradox

Answer 32

A statement that seems contradictory but may reveal a truth….. ex. “She was alone in the crowd.”Parody - A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.

Question 33

Personification

Answer 33

Figure of speech in which non-human things are given human characteristics.

Question 34

Plot

Answer 34

The sequence of events in a literary work.

Question 35

Point of View

Answer 35

The vantage point or perspective from which a literary work is told…

Question 36

1st person point of View

Answer 36

The narrator is a character in the story (use of ‘I’).

Question 37

2nd person point of View

Answer 37

The speaker addresses the listener or reader directly, using “you”.

Question 38

3rd person point of View

Answer 38

The narrator is outside of the story (use of ‘he’ ‘she’ ‘they’)* may be limited or omniscient.

Question 39

Protagonist

Answer 39

The main character in a literary work.

Question 40

Rhyme

Answer 40

Repetition of similar or identical sounds: “look and crook”.

Question 41

Rhyme Scheme

Answer 41

Pattern of rhyme among lines of poetry [denoted using letters, as in ABAB CDCD EE].

Question 42

Satire

Answer 42

A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

Question 43

Setting

Answer 43

The time and place of a literary work.

Question 44

Simile

Answer 44

A direct comparison of dissimilar objects, usually using like or as: “I wandered lonely as a cloud.”

Question 45

Soliloquy

Answer 45

A dramatic device in which a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud.

Question 46

Speaker

Answer 46

Voice in a poem; the person or thing that is speaking.

Question 47

Stanza

Answer 47

Group of lines forming a unit in a poem.

Question 48

Stereotype

Answer 48

Standardised, conventional ideas about characters, plots and setting.

Question 49

Suspense

Answer 49

Technique that keeps the reader guessing what will happen next Symbol / symbolism - one thing (object, person, place) used to represent something else.

Question 50

Theme

Answer 50

The underlying main idea of a literary work. Theme differs from the subject of a literary work in that it involves a statement or opinion about the subject.

Question 51

Tone

Answer 51

The author’s attitude toward the subject of a work or toward the audience.