Some more fun literary term questions!
1. The _______________is the point in the story where the fate of the protagonist (the character whose story we follow and whose struggles exemplify the story's theme) changes irrevocably. It is generally thought to be the most exciting part of the story.
2. The ___________________is the series of events or plot complications that will lead to the climax. According to Freytag's "dramatic pyramid structure" it occurs after the exposition which sets up the setting and situation, and after the inciting event which kicks the story in motion. The inciting event begins the movement of the ________________and is the start of the second act.
3. The __________ _________is that part of the story that occurs after the climax and includes the unraveling of the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist.
4. A _____________is a set of circumstances that contradicts what one would intuitively believe. There are many different types of _______________but one of the most famous would be the "Grandfather Paradox" or the "Time Paradox". In this situation a character named Rowan travels back in time to kill his grandfather, but if he kills his grandfather, then neither he nor his father would have been born. However, if neither he nor his father had been born, then his grandfather would not have been killed and then Rowan and his father would have been born and Rowan would travel back in time to kill his grandfather.....
5. ___________is a technique of writing that exaggerates the foibles, the foolishness, the stupidity and/or the cruelty of a society, or a group within the society, or an organization, in order to encourage change. The flaws of the group are exposed and exaggerated in order to make clear the odiousness or stupidity of the behavior. The ___________ may be humorous but not necessarily; the chief purpose of this type of writing is to shock and outrage the readers who will then demand some sort of change in society. A good example of this would be Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in which Swift suggests that Irish babies should be eaten as an economical way to cut down on the starvation and poverty of the Irish. His savage ___________________was aimed primarily at the British for their cruelty in exploiting the Irish but it also took aim at the Irish for not doing more to better their plight.
6. A ___________________is a literary work which imitates another work in a humorous, mocking, ironic or affectionate manner.
An example of this would be the Ernest Hemingway imitation contest where the writer who does the best imitation of bad Hemingway writing gets a free trip to "Harry's Bar" in Paris.
7. A ____________________is a play on words. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is one of the best known examples of a _________________ in literature for earnest is the name of a character in the play but it is also the quality that one of the female characters is looking for in a suitor - a quality that Oscar Wilde lampoons for it is one that is lacking in most people of the upper class.
8. A ________________ is a recurring symbol in any literary work.
9. A ____________________is a thing which is used to represent a concept over and beyond the object's obvious meaning. The _____________ has a universal archetypal meaning which resonates in the unconscious of all people. Some objects that are used to represent more than their obvious, objective meanings are rivers which may represent life, the life force, the unconscious, or time (as in HUCKLEBERRY FINN) and the forest which may represent the unconscious, the unknown, the wild, untameable, evil or sexuality (as in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"). Many times the symbol may be specific to a particular literary work but the universality or appropriateness of the object is understood within the context of the story. For example, the Georgian seeds in THE POISONWOOD BIBLE may represent Nathan Price's failed attempt to transplant an unusable philosophy to another country.
10. In ROMEO AND JULIET an example of ______________ _________________ would be when Juliet tells her mother that she wishes to "lay her hands" on Romeo after he has killed Tybalt.
1. The _______________is the point in the story where the fate of the protagonist (the character whose story we follow and whose struggles exemplify the story's theme) changes irrevocably. It is generally thought to be the most exciting part of the story.
2. The ___________________is the series of events or plot complications that will lead to the climax. According to Freytag's "dramatic pyramid structure" it occurs after the exposition which sets up the setting and situation, and after the inciting event which kicks the story in motion. The inciting event begins the movement of the ________________and is the start of the second act.
3. The __________ _________is that part of the story that occurs after the climax and includes the unraveling of the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist.
4. A _____________is a set of circumstances that contradicts what one would intuitively believe. There are many different types of _______________but one of the most famous would be the "Grandfather Paradox" or the "Time Paradox". In this situation a character named Rowan travels back in time to kill his grandfather, but if he kills his grandfather, then neither he nor his father would have been born. However, if neither he nor his father had been born, then his grandfather would not have been killed and then Rowan and his father would have been born and Rowan would travel back in time to kill his grandfather.....
5. ___________is a technique of writing that exaggerates the foibles, the foolishness, the stupidity and/or the cruelty of a society, or a group within the society, or an organization, in order to encourage change. The flaws of the group are exposed and exaggerated in order to make clear the odiousness or stupidity of the behavior. The ___________ may be humorous but not necessarily; the chief purpose of this type of writing is to shock and outrage the readers who will then demand some sort of change in society. A good example of this would be Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in which Swift suggests that Irish babies should be eaten as an economical way to cut down on the starvation and poverty of the Irish. His savage ___________________was aimed primarily at the British for their cruelty in exploiting the Irish but it also took aim at the Irish for not doing more to better their plight.
6. A ___________________is a literary work which imitates another work in a humorous, mocking, ironic or affectionate manner.
An example of this would be the Ernest Hemingway imitation contest where the writer who does the best imitation of bad Hemingway writing gets a free trip to "Harry's Bar" in Paris.
7. A ____________________is a play on words. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is one of the best known examples of a _________________ in literature for earnest is the name of a character in the play but it is also the quality that one of the female characters is looking for in a suitor - a quality that Oscar Wilde lampoons for it is one that is lacking in most people of the upper class.
8. A ________________ is a recurring symbol in any literary work.
9. A ____________________is a thing which is used to represent a concept over and beyond the object's obvious meaning. The _____________ has a universal archetypal meaning which resonates in the unconscious of all people. Some objects that are used to represent more than their obvious, objective meanings are rivers which may represent life, the life force, the unconscious, or time (as in HUCKLEBERRY FINN) and the forest which may represent the unconscious, the unknown, the wild, untameable, evil or sexuality (as in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"). Many times the symbol may be specific to a particular literary work but the universality or appropriateness of the object is understood within the context of the story. For example, the Georgian seeds in THE POISONWOOD BIBLE may represent Nathan Price's failed attempt to transplant an unusable philosophy to another country.
10. In ROMEO AND JULIET an example of ______________ _________________ would be when Juliet tells her mother that she wishes to "lay her hands" on Romeo after he has killed Tybalt.
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