Stylistic Means Exercise

The following tasks are to check your understanding of stylistic means in fictional and non-fictional texts. Off you go! The answers are given in the pulldown boxes as usual.

Carol behaved like a bull in a china shop
Elements of fiction such as character, setting, language, tone, plot, and atmosphere are called ...
Subdivision of an act in a comedy or a tragedy
A seemingly unfinished story (typical element of short stories)
Contrast between what is said and what is intended
The German word "Bildersprache"
What goes on inside a character's mind, his thoughts and feelings; what reflects his character development
Highest point of tension; the suspense of a story is at its highest point
An introduction in a fictional text which gives necessary information about main characters, setting, and conflict
"All in vain; because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim ..." (Poe)
A narrator with a limited point of view who gives the reader information restricted to the knowledge and view of that character
A kind of report that concentrates on particular people as the starting point for the reader to draw general conclusions
"They heard! - they suspected! - they knew!" (Poe)
Statement to be proved in an essay
An author's technique of saying less than necessary; the opposite of exaggeration
Use of words whose sound mirrors their meaning in a specific context
The sequence of events in a literary work
The person who tells the reader the story and who must never be mixed up with its author
At that point in a story the action takes a different direction
Lesson taught by a didactic piece of literature
Choice of words: vulgar, slang, colloquial, poetic, obsolete, literary, scientific etc.
A narrator who knows everything about the characters' thoughts, feelings and motives
"He wanted to walk close by her side, he wanted to speak with her, he wanted to love her"
Speech delivered by a character alone on the stage in which he / she reveals his / her inner feelings
Term which means the use of comparisons, metaphors, and symbols
Piece of fiction in which the passage from childhood to adolescence and maturity is portrayed
Use of exaggeration / overstatement in order to create humorous effects or to emphasise an idea
Examples of it are the novel, the short story, the play, the poem ...
Synonym of "choice of words"
An expression or idea that has been used so often that everybody takes it for granted and nobody questions it
"Why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?" (Shakespeare)
"...but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder - louder - louder." (Poe)
"He gave her a warm welcome." / "My foolish friend"
Resolution of a conflict at the end of a story or play
Events are arranged in purpose in such a way that future events are prepared for. The reader "feels" the outcome of a plot.
An article usually found on the front page of a newspaper; it spreads the opinion of a newspaper on a topical subject
An explicit comparison introduced with words such as "like" or "as"
The tone or mood of a piece of fiction that is conveyed to the reader by the effective use of description, dialogue, choice of words, setting and character
Critical essay on a new book, film, or play
Part of a story immediately following the exposition
An implied comparison, e.g. "bed of roses", "fountain of youth"
Main male or female character in a piece of fiction


© 2002-2012 J. Menrath	Besucher:	Last Update: 10/10/2012