The repetition of the first consonant sound in a consecutive
series of words.
What is alliteration.
100
A lack of interest.
What is apathy.
100
Any character who by his contrast to another character brings out the personality of the latter
What is a character foil.
100
Complex, many-sided, fully developed by the
author.
What is a round character.
100
The list of dramatic characters in a play.
What is dramatis personae.
200
A figure of speech employing deliberate exaggeration.
e.g. he drank oceans of tea.
What is hyperbole.
200
The tension and anxiety felt by the audience towards one or more characters whose fate is uncertain.
What is suspense.
200
Action that takes place before the story line opens.
What is antecedent action.
200
The character in a drama or novel who presents the greatest
opposition to the central figure (protagonist).
What is the antagonist.
200
A play on words having similar sounds but different meanings, usually for comic effect.
What is a pun.
300
The result of a statement saying one thing while meaning the opposite, or of situations developing contrary to expectation.
What is irony.
300
The deliberate combination of incongruous or contradictory
words, usually for the purpose of shocking the reader into awareness; a condensed paradox. eg. bittersweet
What is oxymoron.
300
A clash between two opposing forces. The clash may be physical, mental, emotional, moral, social, etc.; the struggle between two opposing forces.
What is conflict.
300
Undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his character, personality, or outlook.
What is a dynamic or developing character.
300
Any recurring image or idea in an artistic work which serves to unify its diverse elements.
What is motif.
400
A rhetorical device in which one object is directly compared to another object.
e.g. 'All the world's a stage'
What is metaphor.
400
A speech made by a character alone on the stage. The device is used to reveal to the audience the private workings of a central character's mind and to fill in important background information.
What is soliloquy.
400
the highest point of emotional response when the conflict is being resolved favourably or unfavourably; the high point, the decisive confrontation in any play or novel.
What is the climax.
400
Characterized by one or two traits only; often minor.
What is a flat character.
400
(meaning literally 'god out of a machine') is a term used to
describe the entry into a dramatic sequence of some implausible event or coincidence; when the coming is contrived or artificial.
e.g. last-minute rescue (as in Lord of the Flies)
What is deus ex machina.
500
The suggested meaning of words because of personal or cultural experience as opposed to DENOTATION which is the dictionary meaning.
What is connotation.
500
Any work which criticizes people, ideas, or institutions by holding them up to ridicule. It usually differs from other forms of laughter-evoking literature in its more serious content.
What is satire.
500
The building up of events and conflicts in a drama or
narrative which leads eventually to the climax.
What is rising action.
500
The stereotyped figure who has occurred so
often in fiction that his nature is immediately known;
e.g. the strong, silent sheriff; the mad scientist.
What is a stock character.
500
The running together of cadence and thought in two
consecutive lines of poetry.