Literary terms

Allegory is a device for suggesting meanings other than the __________.

literal

The characters in Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene suggest a commentary on __________ in sixteenth century England.

morals and manners

Alliteration is defined as repeating a __________ sound in close proximity to others.

consonant

Assonance is the repetition of __________ sounds.

vowel

In T.S. Eliot’s work, the phrase ‘brought in upon a platter’ is an example of __________.

allusion

Anaphora is the intentional repetition of __________ clauses for emphasis.

beginning

A combination of words creating a harsh, jarring sound is known as __________.

cacophony

A significant pause in poetry caused by natural speech rhythms is called __________.

caesura

In __________, Iago commands, ‘Call up her father. / Rouse him.’ which showcases the use of asyndeton.

Othello

A form of verse that follows a strict four-line stanza structure is called __________.

ballad meter

Blank verse consists of lines of iambic pentameter without __________ rhyme.

end

The __________ is the minimal, strict definition of a word found in a dictionary.

denotation

Diction refers to the choice of a particular __________ as opposed to others.

word

Ekphrasis refers to literature written about __________ of art.

works

An elegy typically begins with an invocation of the __________.

muse

Enjambment refers to a technique where a line of poetry continues into the __________ line without pause.

next

Epistrophe is the repetition of the same words at the __________ of successive phrases.

end

An epithet is a short, poetic __________ attached to a name.

nickname

A figurative device that uses exaggeration is called __________.

hyperbole

Imagery refers to descriptive language that engages the __________ senses.

human

Irony is the expression of reality different from __________ or expectation.

appearance

Juxtaposition involves the arrangement of two or more ideas or characters __________ for comparison.

side-by-side

A kenning is defined as a two-word phrase that describes an object through __________.

metaphors

A meter is a recognizable __________ through patterns of stressed syllables.

rhythm

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things that does not use __________.

like or as

Rhyme scheme is the pattern of __________ words in a stanza.

rhymed

Oxymoron uses contradictory terms that make sense on a __________ level.

deeper

In literature, a paradox contradicts itself but contains a plausible __________ of truth.

kernel

Personification gives human-like qualities to __________ and abstractions.

objects

A quatrain is a stanza or poem of __________ lines.

four

Synesthesia can provide out-of-the-box descriptions by combining different __________ pathways.

sensory

Tone refers to the prevailing __________ or atmosphere in a literary work.

mood

Understatement is also called meiosis, referring to the act of lessening the __________ of what is meant.

importance