Literature Terms Quiz

Person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and also stands for something more

Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words. Ex: X,Y,Z

Attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience

A story within a story, within sometimes yet another story

Emotional breakdown or climax consisting of overwhelming feelings or extreme emotional change

Presentation of essential information about what has occurred prior to beginning of the play.

A character who acts as contrast to another character

The choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language in a literary work

Repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonants in words close together

a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style.

Device in which the same expression is repeated at the end of two or more lines or clauses

Comment made by stage performer intended to be heard by audience but not by other characters.

A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

Continuation of sense and grammatical construction of sentence beyond the end of poetic line

In a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall

Callingout to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, place, thing, or personified abstract idea

Literature emphasizing a particular setting, including customs, clothing, dialect, landscape

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

A poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.

When the intended meaning of a statement differs from the apparent meaning

A statement which appears contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as true

An idealized model of a person, object, or conceptfrom which similar instances are patterned

Rhyme within a line of poetry instead of at the end

Repetition of same or similar sounds at the beginning of words close together

Excessive pride or ambition that leads to a character’s downfall

Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

Use of language to evoke a picture or concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, experience

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.

Harmony or beauty of sound which provides a pleasing effect to the ear

Figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. 

Form of understatement in which positive form is emphasized through negation of a negative

Artificial device or coincidence used to bring about a convenient, simple solution to a plot 

The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action.

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

A long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage.

“In the midst of things” – standard of epic poetrywhere the action begins in middle of story

Work in which characters, settings, etc. stand for other people, events, abstract ideas 

Substitution of an comfortable or inoffensive expression to replace an unpleasant one

When a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something associated with it.

A way of speaking that is characteristic of a social group or inhabitants of a certain area

The use of words whose sounds echo their sense

Use of fancy language to describe the trivial or switch from serious thought to a trivial one

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work

Writing that records the thinking that goes on inside a character’s head

Figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

Poetry written without rhymes, but which retains a set metrical pattern like iambic pentameter

Sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate items in a series. “X and Y and Z”

Play on words based on multiple meanings of words that sound alike but mean different things.

Comedy in which ridiculous, stereotyped characters are involved in silly, unlikely situations

A word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse

The author’s creation--the voice “through which the author speaks.”

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. 

Rhetorical balance in which second part is syntactically balanced against first but reversed. 

Reference to someone or something from history, literature, religion, politics, etc.  

When meaning of character’s words, actions are unknown by character but understood by audience

Rhetorical device in which unassociated ideas, words, phrases are placed next to one another

Unpleasant sounds in jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables which sound grating

The repetition of sound patterns that creates a rhythm in poetry.

A compound poetic phrase substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. 

When words appearing at the ends of two or more verses have similar final consonant sounds

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, etc. 

Willingness of a reader to ignore minor inconsistencies or unbelievable behavior in fiction.

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work 

Comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT the use of like, as, than, or resembles

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things, using words such as like, as , than, etc.

A style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind.

A work that uses mockery, humor/ wit to critique and change human nature and institutions

Category of literary work which may refer to both the content of a given work and to its form

Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes