Introduction To Literature Final Exam Terms

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alliteration

Back 1

The repetition of initial and stressed sounds at the beginning of words or in accented syllables.

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allusion

Back 2

A reference to a person, thing, event, situation, or aspect of culture, real or fictional, present or past.

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antagonist

Back 3

The rival or adversary that attempts to thwart the protagonist.

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characterization

Back 4

The methods an author uses to develop the qualities and personalities of characters.

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denotation

Back 5

The literal dictionary meaning of a word.

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diction

Back 6

Choice in use of words in writing and speech.

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figurative language

Back 7

Language expanded beyond its literal meaning to achieve emphasis or to express a fitting relationship between things essentially unlike.

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hyperbole

Back 8

The use of exaggeration for effect.

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metaphor

Back 9

An implied comparison between things essentially unlike.

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oxymoron

Back 10

A contradiction, paradox.

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personification

Back 11

A figure of speech in which human characteristics are assigned to non-human things, or life attributed in inanimate objects.

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pun

Back 12

A play on words.

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simile

Back 13

A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are directly compared, usually with "like" or "as."

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foreshadowing

Back 14

Warning of coming events, lets the reader know something (typically negative) will happen.

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imagery

Back 15

The representation in language of sense experience (seen, heard, touched, tasted, smelled, felt internally).

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inference

Back 16

A reasonable conclusion about a character or event drawn from the limited information presented by the author.

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irony

Back 17

A contrast between what appears to be and what really is.

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dramatic irony

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A type of irony occurring in fiction when the reader or spectator knows more about the true state of affairs than the characters do.

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verbal irony

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A type of irony in which the surface meanings of what one writes/says is the opposite of their intended meaning; similar to sarcasm.

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situational irony

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A type of irony in which what is expected contrasts with what occurs.

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mood

Back 21

The climate of feeling in a literary work derived from the setting, objects, details, images, or words.

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plot

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A series of related events selected by the author to present and bring about the resolution of some conflict or problem.

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exposition

Back 23

Gives the background information needed to understand the characters and the action in a story.

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attack

Back 24

An event that initiates the action in a plot.

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rising action

Back 25

The story preceding and leading up to the climax.

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conflict

Back 26

Opposition between characters or forces that motivates or shapes the action of the plot.

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crisis

Back 27

The point in the story when a conflict reaches its highest tension and must be resolved.

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climax

Back 28

The moment of transformation in a story.

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resolution

Back 29

The part of the story in which the complications of the plot are resolved or simplified (may not occur in series).

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denouement

Back 30

The final resolution or clarification of the plot.

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assonance

Back 31

The repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in stressed words or syllables.

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blank verse

Back 32

Unrhymed lines, each with a pattern of five unstressed words or syllables alternating with five stressed ones.

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consonance

Back 33

The repetition of identical consonant sounds that are predicated by different vowel sounds.

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iambic pentameter

Back 34

A poem written using iams, or unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables, with ten syllables per line.

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meter

Back 35

The measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.

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rhyme

Back 36

The repetition of word-ending sounds; specifically, the repetition of accented vowel sounds plus any succeeding sounds.

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rhythm

Back 37

The arrangement of stressed and unstressed sounds in speech and writing.

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protagonist

Back 38

The chief character in a story, play, or novel.

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setting

Back 39

The time and place in which the events of a story occur.

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symbolism

Back 40

The practice of representing things by means of symbolic or by attributing symbolic meanings to objects, events, or relationships.

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style

Back 41

The manner in which a writer makes words fit ideas in accordance with audience and purpose.

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theme

Back 42

The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.

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tone

Back 43

The author's attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject.