Literary Elements
"I was dubious with the decision of the court. It was rendered under two hours."
What does the word dubious mean?
a. Doubtful c. Trusting
b. Clear d. Cautious
a. Doubtful
Read this excerpt:
No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half its citizens. - Michelle Obama
What theme comes to mind?
a. The impact of the past on the present
b. The inevitability of fate
c. The struggle for equality
d. The loss of innocence
c. The struggle for equality
There's a point, around the age of twenty, when you have to choose whether to be like everybody else the rest of your life, or to make virtue of your peculiarities.
What is the writers perspective on life?
a. Society makes us feel that we have to behave a certain way
b. Adults need to embrace their individualities rather than follow the crowd
c. Trust the process of life
d. Everything in life happens for a reason
b. Adults need to embrace their individualities rather than follow the crowd
Tiny little secrets
Get buried in the dirt,
And if they were dug up,
Someone would probably get hurt,
So, leave them safely there,
To rot amongst the leaves,
Admiring instead,
The truth in summer's green trees.
What is the theme of the poem?
a. Memories is an abstract concept
b. Keeping secrets is morally wrong
c. Forget about past regrets, and focus on the goodness of the present
c. Forget about past regrets, and focus on the goodness of the present
Life is a highway
that takes us throw green pastures,
vast deserts, and rocky mountains.
Sometimes your car breaks
down or you run out of gas,
and sometimes you get lost.
Friends are the roadmaps
that help you get where you're going.
What is this poem an example of?
a. Hyphenated Modifiers
b. Historical Allusion
c. Extended Metaphor
D. Literary Allusion
c. Extended metaphor
Read this excerpt:
She frantically searched the room for the killer, who she knew was hidden somewhere in the darkness. Moving blindly through the space, she wondered whether she would find him and stop him before it was too late and he moved on to his next victim.
Which BEST describes the tone of this excerpt?
a. Pessimistic c. Informal
b. Tense
Read this excerpt:
My childhood had gone by without my knowing, and it seemed as if my heart had frozen. I knew that day and night came and went because of the presence of the moon and the sun, but I had no idea whether it was a Sunday or a Friday.
What theme comes to mind?
a. The conflict between human beings and advancements in science
b. A community's confrontation with nature
c. The struggle for equality
d. The loss of innocence
Jenna broke up with Earnest because he took her for granted and spoke to her with disrespect. She focused on starting a new life without him. A few weeks later, she ran into Earnest at the movies. He had his arm around a perky blonde. Almost immediately, the green-eyed monster took full control of Jenna.
Which is the BEST explanation on how the author provided conflicting perspectives with the excerpt?
a. Jenna first mentioned the new girl as a "perky blonde," but then compares her to a "green-eyed monster"
b. Earnest was loyal to Jenna in the beginning, but Earnest switches up and chooses someone else
c. Jenna wanted to be away from Earnest and on her own, while at the same time was jealous when she saw him with another women
In all chaotic beauty lies a wounded work of art.
Beautiful but torn, wreaking havoc on my heart.
Camouflaged by insecurities, blinded by it all.
I love the way you sit there and barely notice me at all.
What is the best summary of the poem?
a. It is about the pain and suffering of rejection.
b. It is about how the artists artwork was not noticed at all and that it is hurting them
c. It is about the heartbreak of loving someone
a. It is about the pain and suffering of rejection.
My opponent, the wantrepreneur, likes to tell people he's a successful businessman.
Which figurative language device is being used here?
a. Simile
b. Imagery
c. Meiosis
d. Allusion
c. Meiosis
Read this excerpt:
Rodney’s Gourmet Kitchen has fast service, friendly waiters and waitresses and delicious food. Their steaks are fabulous and reasonably priced. Unfortunately, my wine glass came with the benefit of red lipstick, and my soup contained extra protein from the insect variety. It was a deal breaker for me.
What is the author's purpose?
a. To inform readers on what Rodney’s Gourmet Kitchen does
b. To persuade readers not to eat at Rodney’s Gourmet Kitchen
c. To entertain readers and show how ridiculous Rodney’s Gourmet Kitchen is
Read this excerpt:
My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient.
What theme comes to mind?
a. The impact of the past on the present
b. The inevitability of fate
c. The struggle for equality
d. The loss of innocence
a. The impact of the past on the present
Read this excerpt:
Timothy always believed himself to be a fair-minded person. In school, he always proclaimed the importance of equality. The summer after graduation, he earned a lot of money working for his uncle's landscaping business. Although many people applied for the job, including a number of people more qualified than Timothy, he got the job because of his uncle's influence.
Which is the BEST explanation on how the author provided conflicting perspectives with the excerpt?
a. If Timothy was as fair-minded as he thought he was, he wouldn't have taken a position from someone who is better qualified
b. Timothy believed in himself in the beginning, but at the end he feels that he only got the job because of his uncle's influence
c. Timothy wanted to graduate college in the beginning, but at the end he believes owning a business is more important than college.
a. If Timothy was as fair-minded as he thought he was, he wouldn't have taken a position from someone who is better qualified
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at the close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
What is the best summary of these lines?
a. Do not give into old age and death calmly. Defy it!
b. Death and old age is inevitable, embrace it.
c. Always stay in the moment and enjoy the time that you have in life.
a. Do not give into old age and death calmly. Defy it!
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Which figurative language device is being used here?
a. Simile
b. Imagery
c. Meiosis
d. Allusion
d. Allusion *Eden = biblical allusion*
Read this excerpt:
Thank you for explaining that my eye cancer isn't going to make me deaf. I feel so fortunate that an intellectual giant like yourself would deign to operate on me.
What is the tone of this excerpt?
a. Optimistic c. Enthusiastic
b. Pessimistic d. Sarcastic
d. Sarcastic
Read this excerpt:
We cannot control the way people interpret our ideas or thoughts, but we can control the words and tones choose to convey them... Never underestimate the power of a single word, and never recklessly throw around words.
What theme comes to mind?
a. The impact of the past on the present
b. The importance of expression
c. The struggle for equality
d. The loss of innocence
b. The importance of expression
Read the excerpt:
Thomas Wentworth won his country's debate team challenge. He enjoys debating, and he knows it would be beneficial to include the victory on his college applications. His brother Johnathon, however, was not impressed. He would rather be shooting hoops than talking up a storm on stage.
What is Johnathon's perspective concerning debate teams?
a. He is jealous of Thomas's success
b. He thinks they are a waste of time
c. He believes they will help him get into college
b. He thinks they are a waste of time
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limps with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts (from far where I abide)
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee...
Lo, thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.
What is the meaning of the poem?
a. Our minds are powerful tools
b. Even when our bodies are tired and need sleep, our minds sometimes take over and keep us up by worrying
c. Listen to your body and this will cause you to feel less stressed
b. Even when our bodies are tired and need sleep, our minds sometimes take over and keep us up by worrying.
Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
What is being said about life with this excerpt?
a. Life is sad, but it is silly to want a longer life
b. Life is short and meaningless
c. Life is fun, but we all have to die sometime
d. Life is lonely without adventure
b. Life is short and meaningless
The towering tents are striped in white and black, no gold and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world.
Which BEST describes the mood of this excerpt?
a. Mournful and vicious
b. Imaginative and vibrant
c. Mysterious and dreamlike
C. Mysterious and Dreamlike
As you know, there are several classes of truth. There are the truths that pour out on confessional blogs and youtube channels. There are the supposed truths exposed in gossip magazines and on reality television, which everyone knows are just lies in truth clothing. Then there are the truths that show themselves to you along, in the darkness of the night.
What theme comes to mind?
a. The impact of the past on the present
b. The struggle for equality in our soceity
c. The importance of expression
d. The tension between the ideal and the real
d. The tension between the ideal and the real
Read the excerpt:
When the masses are against you, when fear is on every side, and when it seems like you are standing alone, that is when you should stand the tallest. This is when you plant yourself like a mountain, and you do what your heart knows is right. Even if death will be your only reward.
What is the writer's perspective on life?
a. The writer believes that equality is the most important aspect of life
b. The writer believes in believing in yourself and others
c. The writer believes in the importance of standing up for his or her beliefs, even if it jeopardizes his or her life.
c. The writer believes in the importance of standing up for his or her beliefs, even if it jeopardizes his or her life.
(1) Sitting between the sea and the buildings
(2) He enjoyed painting the sea's portrait
(3) But just as children imagine a prayer
(4) Is merely silence, he expected his subject
(5) To rush up the sand, and, seizing a brush,
(6) Plaster its own portrait on the canvas
Which is the best explanation of the ambiguity of the poem? *ambiguity means the quality of being open to one or more interpretations*
a. It is about how the painter feels like a child, but wanted his subject to be more present.
b. It is about the joy of creating a scene on canvas, but at the same time, it is about the difficulty in doing so.
c. It is about how the sea is a beautiful subject to paint, but that it is difficult.
b. It is about the joy of creating a scene on canvas, but at the same time, it is about the difficulty in doing so.
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet
Which literary period does this represent?
a. Classical (1200 BCE- 455 CE)
b. Medieval (455 CE - 1485 CE)
c. Renaissance (1300-1660)
d. Romantic (1790 - 1870)
c. Renaissance (1300-1600)