8th Grade 25 of 50 Literary Terms Test

Allegory

A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction

Antithesis

the direct opposite, a sharp contrast

Archetype

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Blank Verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Couplet

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Conceit

a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor

Dynamic Character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

Round Character

this character is fully developed - the writer reveals good and bad traits as well as background

Static Character

A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

Flat Character

A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story

Dramatic Irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't

Situational Irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected

Verbal Irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

External Conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force

Internal Conflict

A struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character

Dialogue

Conversation between characters

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

Epilogue

short speech at conclusion of dramatic work

Diction

word choice

Double Entendre

a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué or indecent.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Motif

A recurring theme, subject or idea

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it

Asyndeton

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions

Gerund

A verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun

Prose

Any writing that is not poetry

Rhetoric

the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

In Media Res

in the middle of things

Vignette

a short scene or story

Jargon

special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.

Slang

informal language

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.

Palindrome

A word or an expression that is spelled the same backward and forward

Anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite

Oxymoron

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

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.

Vernacular

Everyday language of ordinary people

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Euphony

pleasant, harmonious sound

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds