UIL LIT CRIT

The use of excessive or redundant words is called

Pleonasm

A reversal of the normal word order for emphasis

Inversion

The resolution of a plot through divine intervention

Deus ex machina

The moment of critical discovery by the protagonist

Anagnorisis

A reversal of fortune in tragedy

Peripeteia

A narrative that begins in the middle of events

In medias res

The technique of withholding information to create suspense

Retardation

A character who serves as a contrast to another

Foil

The use of multiple meanings in a word or phrase

Syllepsis

The omission of conjunctions between clauses

Asyndeton

The repetition of conjunctions for emphasis

Polysyndeton

A statement that understates for ironic effect

Litotes

A compressed comparison often found in metaphysical poetry

Conceit

The substitution of a related term for something

Metonymy

The attribution of human traits to nonhuman things

Personification

The recurrence of similar consonant sounds

Consonance

The recurrence of vowel sounds

Assonance

A harsh, discordant combination of sounds

Cacophony

A pleasant, harmonious combination of sounds

Euphony

A break or pause in a line of poetry

Caesura

A line that runs over into the next without pause

Enjambment

A stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one

Trochee

An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one

Iamb

Two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one

Anapest

Two stressed syllables together

Spondee

A foot with one stressed syllable

Dactyl

A narrative voice that knows all thoughts

Omniscient narrator

A narrator whose credibility is compromised

Unreliable narrator

A work that imitates another for ridicule

Lampoon

A serious work that imitates style for exaggeration

Burlesque

A form of satire that is gentle and humorous

Horatian satire

A form of satire that is bitter and harsh

Juvenalian satire

The gap between expectation and outcome

Irony

A symbol that recurs throughout a work

Motif

The central controlling idea of a work

Theme

A story within a story

Frame narrative

A brief reference to another work or event

Allusion

A detailed and explicit comparison

Extended metaphor

The technique of revealing character through speech

Indirect characterization

A work’s historical and cultural background

Context

A character representing an abstract idea

Allegory

A type of allegory with moral lessons

Fable

The act of addressing an absent person or idea

Apostrophe

A speech to oneself revealing thoughts

Soliloquy

Speech heard by the audience but not others

Aside

A dramatic speech expressing inner conflict

Monologue

In The Iceman Cometh, the characters’ illusions are referred to as

Pipe dreams

Hickey’s transformation centers on rejecting

Illusion

Larry Slade embodies

Detachment and nihilism

Parritt’s confession relates to

Betrayal of his mother

The ending of the play reinforces

Cyclical despair

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus represents

Moral courage

The trial symbolizes

Systemic racism

Boo Radley represents

Unseen goodness

Scout’s growth reflects

Loss of innocence

Mayella Ewell represents

Social and moral isolation

In Shakespeare’s sonnets, time is portrayed as

Destructive force

The poet attempts to defeat time through

Poetry

The fair youth represents

Ideal beauty

The dark lady represents

Moral ambiguity

The structure of a Shakespearean sonnet includes

Three quatrains and a couplet

The volta typically occurs before

The final couplet