Quiz #1 Literary Terms

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Fiction

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Writing that is invented material and does not claim to be factually true

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Nonfiction

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Writing that deals with real people, events, and places

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Novel

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A work of fiction that is no longer and more complex than a short story. Setting, plot, and characters are usually developed in great detail.

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Drama

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A story that is written to be acted out in front of an audience

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Prose

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The ordinary form of spoken and written language; that is, language that lacks the special features of poetry

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Poetry

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A kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagination

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Satire

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A type of writing that makes fun of human weakness in order to bring about social reform.

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Essay

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A short piece of nonfiction thay examines a single subject from a limited point of view (an essay usually includes the writer's thoughts or reasoning)

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Article

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A nonfiction composition usually dealing with a single topic (an article is usually part of a larger work, like a newspaper or magazine)

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Memoir

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A story of a personal experience

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Autobiography

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An account of a person's own life

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Biography

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An account of a person's life written or told by another person

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Plot

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The sequence of related events that make up a story

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Basic situation (exposition)

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The part of a story that introduces the characters and the conflicts they face

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Complications

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Problems that arise during a story that keep a character from getting what he or she wants

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Climax

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The story's most exciting or suspenseful moment, when something happens that decides the outcome of the conflict

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Resolution (denouement)

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The last part of the plor, where the conflict is resolved and the story ends

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Conflict

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A struggle b/t a character and some force

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External conflict

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A struggle b/t a character & something outside himself or herself

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Internal conflict

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A struggle b/t a character & himself or herself

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Cause

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A reason that something happens

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Effect

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The result of an action, decision, or situation

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Chronological order

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The arrangement of details in time order; that is, the order in which they happened

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Flashback

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Scene in a piece of literature that interrupts the present action of the plot to show events thy happened at an earlier time

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Foreshadowing

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The use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot

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Suspense

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The quality in a story or play thay makes the reader eager to discover what will happen next or how the story will end

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Setting

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Time and place in which the story unfolds

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Protagonist

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The main character in a story

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Antagonist

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The character or force that blocks the protagonist from achieving his or her goal

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Subordinate character

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Character who may be less important to the story than the protagonist or antagonist, but is still important to the plot and/or reveals information about the main character

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Direct characterization

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When an author tells us directly what a character is like

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Indirect characterization

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When readers put "clues" together to figure out for ourselves what a character is like

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Static character

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A character who does not change over the course of a story

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Dynamic character

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A character who changes in an important way as the result of the story's action

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Flat character

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A character who only has 1 or 2 personality traits; he or she can be described in a single phrase

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Round character

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A character w/ the three-dimensional qualities or real people, with many traits and complexities

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Stock character

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Characters who fit out preconceived notions about a "type"

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3rd person limited POV

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The narrator, who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character

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3rd person omniscient

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The narrator plays no part in the story but can tell us what more than one of the characters is thinking and feeling as well as what is happening in other places

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Persona

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A speaker created by a writer to tell a story or speak in a poem

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Situational irony

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When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected

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Dramatic irony

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When the reader or the audience knows something important that a character does not know

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Verbal irony

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When a speaker says one thing but intentionally means the opposite

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Ambiguity

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When a word, phrase, action, or situation can be interpreted 2 or more ways, all of which can be supported by the context of the work

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Subtlety

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When meaning is delicate, almost undetectable

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Contradiction

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A direct opposition b/t 2 things

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Incongruity

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When a piece of information foes nor seem to fit with the rest of the information