Literary Terms Practice

Which of the following best defines characterization?

• The order in which events occur in a story

• The way an author reveals a character’s personality and traits

• The central message or lesson in a text

• The perspective from which a story is told

Which question would help you identify a story’s plot?

• What lesson does the character learn?

• What series of events happen from beginning to end?

• How does the author make the reader feel?

• What deeper meaning is represented by an object?

If an author writes with sarcasm and criticism, which element are they shaping?

• Tone

• Mood

• Plot

• Characterization

A reader describes a story as creepy and unsettling. Which literary element is being identified?

• Theme

• Tone

• Mood

• Point of view

A novel that hides the identity of a criminal until the very end is using what literary device?

• Tension

• Symbol

• Irony

• Suspense

When an author delays revealing important information to keep the reader anxious about what will happen next, this creates—

• Mood

• Tension

• Theme

• Point of view

Which of the following is an example of point of view?

• Third-person omniscient narrator

• The character’s anger toward his rival

• A dark and stormy setting

• The use of a dove to represent peace

In literature, a symbol is—

• An object, character, or image that stands for something beyond itself

• A lesson that the author wants the reader to learn

• The emotions the reader feels while reading

• The sequence of events in the story

Which of the following is an example of an allegory?

• A fable in which animals speak and represent human vices and virtues

• A suspenseful scene in which the hero narrowly escapes danger

• A narrator who tells the story from first-person perspective

• A surprise ending that changes the meaning of the story

Which literary element is created when the author keeps the reader anxious about what will happen next by delaying important information?

• Mood

• Theme

• Tension

• Allegory