Literary terms quizzes 11-20

Allegory

A more or less symbolic fictional narrative that conveys a secondary meaning (or meanings) not explicitly set forth in the literal narrative.

Ambiguous

Use of words that allow alternative interpretations.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive clauses or verses, especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

Anecdote

A usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.

Apostrophe

A speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object that cannot respond to the address.

Asyndeton

An expression in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions.

Bathos

Insincere or overly sentimental pathos.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Clause

A group of words containing a subject and its verb that may or may not be a complete sentence.

Concrete Poetry

Poetry in which the poet's intent is conveyed by graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather than by the meaning of words in conventional arrangement.

Consonance

Recurrence or repetition of identical or similar consonants; specifically, the correspondence of end or intermediate consonants unaccompanied by like correspondence of vowels.

Diction

Choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Digression

Straying from the main subject.

Ellipsis

The omission of one or more words that are understood but that must be supplied to make a construction semantically complete.

End-Stopped

In poetry, marked by a grammatical pause at the end of a line.

Epigram

A short poem treating concisely, pointedly, and often satirically a single thought or event and often ending with a witticism or ingenious turn of thought.

Epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation.

Euphony

Pleasing, harmonious, or sweet sound; the acoustic effect produced by words so formed and combined as to please the ear.

Figurative Language

Language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile) or elaborate expression, as opposed to literal language.

Figure of Speech

A form of expression used to convey meaning or heighten effect, often by comparing or identifying one thing with another.

Foot

In poetry, a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.

Free Verse

Poetry organized to the cadences of speech and image patterns rather than according to a regular metrical scheme.

Imagery

Representation of objects, feelings, or ideas, either literally or through the use of figurative language.

Infer

Deriving a conclusion from facts or circumstances.

Jargon

The special language of a profession or group, often with pejorative associations of being evasive or unintelligible to outsiders.

Juxtaposes

To place side by side, especially for contrast and comparison.

Malapropism

A mistaken substitution of one word for another which sounds similar.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or action is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.

Meter

The number of feet used in each line of poetry.

Metonymy

Figure of speech that consists of using the name of one thing for something else with which it is associated.

Monosyllabic

One syllable.

Narrative Technique

The methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts.

Oxymoron

A word or group of words that is self-contradicting, as in 'bittersweet'.

Paradox

An apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny.

Parallel Structure

Coordinate ideas arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with another of equal importance and similar wording.

Pathos

An element in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion.

Personification

Figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is presented to the reader (e.g., first person, third person omniscient).

Polysyllabic

More than one syllable.

Rhetoric

The art of speaking or writing effectively; the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion.

Rhetorical Technique

The devices used in effective or persuasive language, such as contrast, repetitions, or paradox.

Rhyme

Identity of terminal sound between accented syllables, usually in corresponding positions in two or more lines of verse.

Setting

The background to a story; the physical location of a play, story, or novel.

Speaker

The imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem.

Stanza

A division of a poem consisting of two or more lines arranged together as a unit.

Style

The mode of expression of language; the characteristic manner of expression of an author.