Lit terms test
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| 9722114209 | allegory | A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning. The story and characters represent values beyond themselves. |  | 0 |
| 9722114210 | alliteration | The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose. Used for ornament or for emphasis. Also used in epithets, phrases, and slogans. Enhances the aesthetic quality of a prose passage or poem. |  | 1 |
| 9722114211 | allusion | A reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea. |  | 2 |
| 9722114212 | ambiguity | A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation. |  | 3 |
| 9722114218 | aphorism | A short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment. |  | 4 |
| 9722114221 | assonance | The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines in poetry and prose. |  | 5 |
| 9722114227 | blank verse | Poetry written in iambic pentameter, the primary meter used in English poetry and the words of Shakespeare and Milton. The lines generally do not rhyme. |  | 6 |
| 9722114234 | conceit | A witty or ingenious thought a diverting or highly fanciful idea, often stated in figurative language. |  | 7 |
| 9722114236 | consonance | The repetition of two or more consonant sounds in a group of words or a line of poetry. |  | 8 |
| 9722114239 | dénouement | The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction. |  | 9 |
| 9722114242 | dramatic irony | A circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character. |  | 10 |
| 9722114243 | elegy | A poem or prose selection that laments or meditates on the passing or death of something or someone of value. |  | 11 |
| 9722114244 | ellipsis | Three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation. |  | 12 |
| 9722114247 | end-stopped | A term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctuation. |  | 13 |
| 9722114248 | enjambment | In poetry, the use of the successive lines with no punctuation or pause between them. |  | 14 |
| 9722114253 | eponymous | A term for the title character of a work of literature. |  | 15 |
| 9722114260 | fable | A short tale often featuring nonhuman characters that act as people whose actions enable the author to make observations or draw useful lessons about human behavior. |  | 16 |
| 9722114263 | farce | A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose. |  | 17 |
| 9722114265 | first-person narrative | A narrative told by a character involved in the story, using pronouns such as I and we. |  | 18 |
| 9722114267 | foil | A minor character whose personality or attitude contrasts with that of the main character. Juxtaposing one character against another intensifies the qualities of both, to advantage or sometimes to disadvantage. |  | 19 |
| 9722114270 | frame | A structure that provides premise or setting for a narrative. | 20 | |
| 9722114271 | free verse | A kind of poetry without rhymed lines, rhythm, or fixed metrical feet. | 21 | |
| 9722114277 | idyll | A lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place. | 22 | |
| 9722114282 | litotes | A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. | 23 | |
| 9722114284 | lyric poetry | Personal, reflective poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings about the subject. | 24 | |
| 9722114289 | motif | A phrase, idea, or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature. | 25 | |
| 9722114295 | paradox | A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true | 26 | |
| 9722114296 | pastoral | A work of literature dealing with rural life | 27 | |
| 9722114306 | sonnet | A popular form of verse consisting of fourteen lines and a prescribed rhyme scheme. | 28 | |
| 9722114307 | stanza | A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter, rhyme, or some other plan | 29 | |
| 9722114308 | stream of consciousness | A style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind | 30 | |
| 9722114317 | verbal irony | A discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words | 31 | |
| 9722114319 | verisimilitude | Similar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is. | 32 | |
| 9722114320 | voice | The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker | 33 | |
| 9722289353 | Villanelle | A 19 line form using only two rhymes and repeating two of the lines according to a set pattern | 34 | |
| 9722289354 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa | 35 | |
| 9722289355 | slant/near rhyme | Rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, but the preceding vowel sounds don't | 36 | |
| 9722289356 | Quatrain | 4 line stanza | 37 | |
| 9722289357 | Ode | A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject. | 38 | |
| 9722289358 | non sequitur | something that does not logically follow | 39 | |
| 9722289359 | Meter | A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry | 40 | |
| 9722289360 | Metonymy | the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant | 41 | |
| 9722289361 | metaphysical poetry | exploration of complex ideas through extended metaphors and paradox (John Donne) | 42 | |
| 9722289362 | Light verse | A variety of poetry meant to entertain or amuse, but sometimes with a satirical thrust | 43 | |
| 9722289363 | dramatic monologue | a poem in which a speaker addresses a silent listener | 44 | |
| 9722289364 | Coming of Age Story (Bildungsroman) | The story of a young man or young woman's transition from childhood to adulthood. | 45 | |
| 9722289365 | Caesura | A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line. | 46 |
