Writers’ Quiz by
Warren Bull
How many of
these literary terms can you define before reading the definitions?
Freytag's Pyramid:
A pyramidal diagram of the structure of a
dramatic work; symbolizes Gustav Freytag's theory of dramatic structure. This
"dramatic arc," as it is known, comprises five parts: exposition
(inciting incident), rising action, climax, falling action (resolution), and
dénouement.
Metonymy:
A figure of speech in which a word is replaced
by something that is associated with it; it may provide a common meaning for
that word.
Synecdoche:
A figure of speech by which a part is substituted for the whole
(such as "50 sail" for "50 ships"), the whole for a part
(such as "society" for "high society"), the species for the
genus (such as "cutthroat" for "assassin"), the genus for
the species (such as a "creature" for "a man"), or the name
of the material for the thing made (such as "boards" for "the
stage").
Assonance:
Using words that have the same or very similar
vowel sounds near one another (as in "summer fun" and "rise high
in the bright sky"); vowels are repeated but consonants are not; popular
in poetry and prose.
Anaphora:
Several
consecutive sentences all starting with the same words. For example – I will
not give up. I will do it. I will succeed.
Nut Graf:
In
journalism, the paragraph that contains the main point of the story.
Widows and Orphans:
In
publishing, a “widow” is the last line of a paragraph, printed alone at the top
of a page. An “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph, printed alone at the
bottom of a page.
Recursive Process:
Moving back
and forth between the planning, drafting and revising stages of writing.
Exegesis:
The art of close
reading in order to interpret a text. We often utilize this technique for
poetry, but for fiction it works as well to tease out the effect of certain
words or phrases, uses of repetition, references to earlier events in the text,
or hints about what is to come.
Mimesis:
“The Greek word
for imitation. . . . A literary work that is understood to be reproducing an
external reality or any aspect of it is described as mimetic."
Chris Baldick, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
Literary Terms (Oxford UP, 1990)
If you knew any
of these, you scored better than I did.
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