Question 1

Anagnorisis

Accepted Answer

The hero becoming aware of a sitaution or true character; discovery

(Oedipus discovering his true identity and learning that he married his mother in Oedipus Rex)

Question 2

Caesura

Accepted Answer

A pause or interruption in a poem

(“To be or not to be, [pause] that is the question”—Hamlet; caesura is a pause, while enjambment removes a pause)

Question 3

Cacophony vs. Euphony

Accepted Answer

Cacaphony: a harsh and discordant mixture of sounds

Euphony: a harmonious and pleasant combination of words

Question 4

Hamartia

Accepted Answer

A hero’s fatal flaw leading to their downfall

(Hamlet’s indecisiveness and inability to act)

Question 5

Metonymy

Accepted Answer

Referring to a thing/concept/idea by the name of a different thing/concept/idea

(“the pen is mightier than the sword”—the “pen” is a metonym for writing, and the “sword” is a metonym for military strength; similar to synecdoche)

Question 6

Synecdoche

Accepted Answer

A figure of speech where a part is used to represent the whole, or vice-versa

(“It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down”—Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby uses synecdoche with “the ear” to imply that the whole person is listening to Daisy’s voice)

Question 7

Anaphora

Accepted Answer

Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

(“I have a dream...” in MLK’s I Have a Dream speech)

Question 8

Deus Ex Machina

Accepted Answer

a person/thing introduced to a situation unexpectedly that provides a solution to a seemingly insoluble problem

(in Lord of the Flies, a navy ship docks onto the island to save the boys)

Question 9

Chiasmus

Accepted Answer

When words/concepts are repeated in a reverse order

(“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action”—Hamlet)

Advanced Literary Devices, AP Literature Flashcards