Literary Terminology Trivia

1. Eric Arthur Blair's penname is used to reference the suppression of liberty and distortion of truth on a governmental level...indeed, the complete control of the state. What is this type of rule called?

From Quiz Literary Allusions of the 20th Century

Answer: Orwellian

The storylines of classics from '1984' to 'Animal Farm' best exemplify the 'Orwellian', or totalitarian, themes of George Orwell (1903-1950). Perhaps the most notable example of an Orwellian society is the presence of the always unseen surveillance entity called 'Big Brother' from '1984', published in 1949.

From Quiz Short Story Elements

Answer: exposition

Exposition can happen anywhere in the story, in the very beginning, in the middle, as characters and new situations are introduced, or sometimes, in the short story format, readers aren't given the entire background until the very end as a way of putting more emphasis to the overall plot.

From Quiz Literary Forms, Tricks and Games: Terminology.

Answer: epitaph

The term epitaph is also applied by extension to "anything written as if to be inscribed on a tomb". An epigram is any inscription suitable for carving on a monument. Later the term was also used for any brief and pithy verse pointing out a moral. An epistrophe is the ending of a series of lines, phrases, clauses or sentences with the same word or words. An epithet is an adjective or phrase that is used to express the characteristic of a person or thing. Examples: Ivan the Terrible; Richard the Lionheart.

From Quiz 'Formalism': An Interesting Theory

Answer: Russia

The main branch of Formalism is Russian Formalism. Its orgins as a literary theory come from the Russian Revolution period as a response to the conventional study of literature.

From Quiz Literary Terminology Hodgepodge

Answer: Vehicle

The tenor is the idea being represented by the vehicle. The vehicle is the actual image used. Thus, when we say "My God is a rock," the vehicle is "rock" and the tenor is "strength", "permanence", etc.

From Quiz Terminology: Literary and Rhetorical

Answer: antanaclasis

This quote comes from John Milton's "Paradise Lost." Antanaclasis is a term used to refer to the rhetorical device of repeating a word within a line, but using it in a different sense the second time. "Threefold" means three times when first used, but "three folds" refers to the bars in the gates.

From Quiz Literary Criticism

Answer: Formalist critics

This approach to literature is now called "Formalism" because it is no longer as "new" as it once was. Formalism moved away from the historical/biographical approach that had previously dominated literary criticism, and focused on close reading of the text to consider it as a self-contained object.

From Quiz Literary Labels And Terminology.

Answer: ghost stories

Dickens lived from 1812 till 1870. 'Christmas Carol' was published in 1843. Pushkin from 1799 till 1837. 'Queen of Spades' was published in 1834. Washington Irving lived from 1783 till 1859. 'Sleepy Hollow' was published in 'Sketch-Book' (1815). Henry James lived from 1843 till 1916. 'The Turn of the Screw' was published in 1898.

From Quiz Literary Allusions: Where From?

Answer: Charles Dickens

The Artful Dodger is from 'Oliver Twist.' Today, skillful crooks are often called 'artful dodgers.'

From Quiz Word Origins from Literature

Answer: Rabelais

Rabelais - who gives rise to the term 'Rabelaisian' for one who is somewhat coarse.

From Quiz Theory

Answer: Sigmund Freud

Even though Sigmund Freud's ideas have largely been discredited, some literary critics use psychoanalysis to explore the 'true' meaning behind actions and symbols within a text. Psychoanalytic criticism can try to uncover repressed ideas in either the writer or the characters. This kind of criticism has been used to explain Hamlet's actions. He knew that he needed to kill his uncle, and he had the means to do so. So why did he hesitate for most of the play? Some critics thought his hesitation linked to Freud's Oedipus complex. He wanted to punish his uncle for taking his mother, but he couldn't because he was guilty of the same desire.

From Quiz Literary Allusions of the 20th Century

Answer: A 'Peyton Place'

From the 1956 book of the same name by Grace Metalious, as well as the subsequent hit movie (starring Lana Turner) and U.S. TV series (with Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal), it forever cast a dark shadow on America's conception of small-town life. The TV series also starred Leslie Nielsen, Lee Grant and George McCready.

From Quiz Short Story Elements

Answer: plot

Plot is one of the basic four elements. In simpler terms, plot is what happens in the story.

From Quiz Literary Terminology Hodgepodge

Answer: Happy

According to the theory of physiology during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, there were four main fluids in the human body that determined temperament. In a sanguine person, blood is dominant, and so they will be happy or ruddy. A phlegmatic person was lethargic, a choleric angry, and a splenetic melancholy (also sometimes associated with anger).

From Quiz Literary Criticism

Answer: Historical

A formalist approach specifically excludes the life and times of the author, and looks only at the text. It is not necessary (i.e. required) for a critic to know the author's background for a mimetic approach, though it may prove helpful.

From Quiz Literary Labels And Terminology.

Answer: Sebastian Brandt, 'The Ship of Fools'

The dates are: Brandt 1494, Erasmus 1509, Swift 1726, K.A. Porter 1962. Also 'Candide' by Voltaire (1759) has been classified within this category, although the usual label is conte philosophique, or philosophic tale.

From Quiz Literary Allusions: Where From?

Answer: 1984

'1984' was by George Orwell. Big Brother refers to intrusive government.

From Quiz Word Origins from Literature

Answer: James Hilton

'Lost Horizon' was the novel.

From Quiz Theory

Answer: Postmodernism

Modernism dominated the arts in the first half of the twentieth century. Writers moved away from realism and omniscient narrators, and experimented more in their work. Postmodernist writers used experimentation, too. They blurred the lines between 'high' and 'low' art by incorporating elements of both in their work. They mixed different genres and styles, and celebrated earlier literary styles by creating pastiches. Angela Carter's short stories were arguably pastiches of the fairy tales that inspired them. In her introduction to 'The Bloody Chamber', Helen Simpson explained how Carter was also inspired by speculative thinking in science fiction, and the signs and symbols used by nineteenth century symbolist poets. The way different genres were blended in 'The Bloody Chamber' is what Dr Rita is going to explore through a postmodernist lens.

From Quiz Literary Allusions of the 20th Century

Answer: The Peter Principle

From the series of books by Lawrence J. Peter which were first published in 1970. Among his more famous listings include Ulysses S. Grant, who went from heroics on the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War to two scandal-ridden terms of office as President.

From Quiz Literary Forms, Tricks and Games: Terminology.

Answer: anacoluthon

The normal continuation might have been: ...you will end up in prison, as a drop-out, etc. Anastrophe is the inversion of the normal syntactic order of words: "To church went she". Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences or lines. Epistrophe is similar...but at the end of sentences.

From Quiz 'Formalism': An Interesting Theory

Answer: Poem

As I discovered when trying to apply Formalism to a longer text, its use becomes limited because of complications such as the plot and characterization. A relatively short poem is ideal for the application of Formalism as it can be analyzed as a whole, and is more likely to contain interesting use of language than a novel.

From Quiz Literary Terminology Hodgepodge

Answer: Two or more actors exit the stage

The term manet means he (or she) remains on stage, while exeunt omnes means that all of the characters exit.

From Quiz Terminology: Literary and Rhetorical

Answer: paradox

This is quoted from Donne's "Holy Sonnets." A paradox is a seeming contradiction that is, in fact, actually true.

From Quiz Literary Criticism

Answer: The intentional fallacy

The affective fallacy is the belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by its effect on the reader. The pathetic fallacy is attributing human emotions to non-human objects, such as nature.

From Quiz Literary Labels And Terminology.

Answer: closet drama

Other examples include 'Samson Agonistes' by John Milton and Shelley's 'Prometheus Unbound'.

From Quiz Literary Allusions: Where From?

Answer: Mutiny on the Bounty

'Captain Bligh' refers to a person who is cruel, unreasonable, and tyrannical.

From Quiz Word Origins from Literature

Answer: Sinclair Lewis

Lewis also wrote 'Arrowsmith' and 'Main Street' and picked up a Nobel Prize.

From Quiz Theory

Answer: Tensions between social class

Marxist criticism in literature was inspired by the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Like feminist criticism, Marxism can be applied to the characters in the text, as well as the writer and their own historical context. In 'A Streetcar Named Desire', Blanche was a bankrupt Southern belle who had no choice but to move in with her sister, Stella. The two sisters grew up in a relatively wealthy family, but the money had dwindled down to nothing, and when Blanche lost her job as a teacher, that was the last straw. When Blanche arrived in the New Orleans French Quarter, she was yet to meet Stella's husband, Stanley. Their social backgrounds were worlds apart: Blanche came from a sprawling plantation home, but Stanley lived in a two-room flat. He was rude and violent, and there was clear tension between the two of them.

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