Characterization
The central character in a story who initiates or drives the action.
Who is the protagonist?
A question asked for effect that doesn’t actually require an answer.
What is a rhetorical question?
The insight about human life revealed in a literary work.
What is the theme?
The distinctive way a writer uses language, defined by diction, syntax, and tone.
What is style?
A four-line poem or a unit of four lines within a poem.
What is a quatrain?
A character who serves as a contrast to another character, often highlighting key traits.
Who is a dynamic character?
A relatively short story teaching a moral or lesson about leading a good life.
What is a parable?
Hints or clues that suggest what will happen later in the plot.
What is foreshadowing?
A word or phrase used in everyday conversation that is unsuitable for formal writing.
What is a colloquialism?
A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as.”
What is a simile?
A character who changes in an important way as a result of the story’s action.
Who is a dynamic character?
A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work, often hinting at its theme.
What is an epigraph?
A reference to someone or something from history, literature, religion, or another cultural field.
What is an allusion?
A sentence structure that uses connecting words to explicitly show relationships between clauses.
What is hypotactic?
A repeated word, phrase, or line in a poem for effect.
What is a refrain?
The ultimate obstacle or undoing of the protagonist, often in the form of a character or force.
What is a nemesis?
The art of effective and persuasive communication.
What is rhetoric?
A story in which a heroic character comes to an unhappy end or dies.
What is a tragedy?
A statement that says less than what is meant, often for ironic effect.
What is understatement?
The rise and fall of the voice produced by alternating stressed and unstressed
What is rhythm?
A central character who lacks qualities traditionally associated with heroes, such as courage or grace.
Who is an antihero?
A form of writing that ridicules human shortcomings or institutions in an attempt to provoke change.
What is satire?
The placement of unassociated ideas or images next to each other for contrast or surprise.
What is juxtaposition?
A sentence that places the main idea at the end, after introductory elements.
What is a periodic sentence?
A speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are present.
What is a soliloquy?