Root Word and Literary Terms Pre-Quiz 2025

indirect reference; relies on reader to make connection

• allusion
• aesthetics
• ambiguity
• analogy
• anecdote

statement with two or more meanings; can be interpreted in multiple ways

• ambiguity
• aesthetics
• allusion
• analogy
• anecdote

likeness between things that are otherwise entirely different

• analogy
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• anecdote

very short tale; story of one person's experience

• anecdote
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

protagonist with nontraditional attributes of a hero

• anti-hero
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

brief and wise observation about life (e.g. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.")

• aphorism
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

characters, images, or themes that embody universal meanings (e.g. the hero's journey)

• archetype
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

principle or law that regulates the criterion by which something is judged; law that regulates which literature is considered important

• canon
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

purging of emotions by the audience

• catharsis
• aesthetics
• allusion
• ambiguity
• analogy

word or phrase preceding or following a character's name or used repeatedly to describe him or her (e.g. "the gray-eyed goddess")

• diction
• epigraph
• epithet
• farce
• hyperbole