Spring 2012 Semester Final Study Guide
Answer Key
1. Be able to identify what these literary terms mean and how to use them:
a. Tone- Words and details a writer uses that reflect the writer’s attitude
toward a subject and evoke an emotional response in the reader.
b. Mood- The feeling or atmosphere that an author creates in a literary work
c. Plot summary-The sequence of events in a narrative that explains
things that happen in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. It
identifies something that happens or is learned in each of the following
divisions of a plot:
1. Exposition- The beginning of the story in which the characters and
setting of the story is introduced.
2. Rising action- Complications, twists, or intensifications to the
conflict which increase reader interest.
3. Climax- Emotional high point of the story.
4. Falling action-The action following the climax.
5. Resolution- The final outcome or end of the story
d. Imagery- When an author “paints a picture” using words that appeal to
the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and/or smell. Imagery is also
known as figurative language.
e. Drama- Also known as a play. It is a story written to be performed by
actors in front of an audience. It is divided into acts and scenes.
1. Acts- A major division in a play. It explains who the characters are,
their relationship to each other, their motivations, and the plot
2. Scenes- A subdivision of an act which indicates a change in setting
and/or a passage of time.
f. Tragedy- A play in which a major character suffers a downfall.
g. Simile- Using” like” or “as” to compare seemingly unlike things
h. Metaphor- A comparison of two things which are alike in some way
without using “like” or “as.”
i. Soliloquy- A long speech delivered by a character who is alone on
stage. Its purpose is to reveal the thoughts and emotions of the
character.
j. Aside- In a play, a short comment made by a character that is heard by
the audience or another character but is not heard by all of the
characters onstage.
k. Dramatic irony- A situation in which the reader or audience of a play
knows something that the characters do not.
l. Verbal irony- When a person says one thing and means another.
m. Primary conflict- The main struggle between opposing forces in a
story or play.
n. Symbolism- Something that represents or stands for something beyond
itself
2. What is the purpose of comic relief?
Comic relief breaks the tension and reduces the audience’s emotional
intensity from the serious drama.
3. What is the primary importance provided by the scene of a play?
It indicates a change in setting and/or a passage of time.
4. Compare and contrast a drama (play) with a novel.
 Both have stories with plots, settings, characters, and conflicts.
 A drama is divided into acts and scenes whereas a novel is not.
 A drama is meant to be performed in front of an audience.
5. What is the primary purpose for a soliloquy?
To reveal the thoughts and feelings of a character who is alone on stage.
6. Compare and contrast the personalities of Romeo and Mercutio, Romeo’s
best friend.
 Romeo is a lovesick romantic – Mercutio is a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” type
 Both are rash, emotional, passionate, and spontaneous
 Neither one is prudent or careful in the decisions they make
7. What was revealed in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet?
 Romeo romanticizes Juliet’s beauty by comparing her to the sun, the
moon, and stars.
 In Juliet’s soliloquy, she wishes Romeo had any other name than
Montague, since that label is the only thing which keeps them apart.
 Juliet reveals her love for Romeo in her soliloquy, not realizing that
he overhears her.
8. What are the primary features of an epic, like Odyssey?
 The main character is a heroic character.
 He struggles against natural and supernatural forces.
 He has a goal and typically is embarked on a long journey.
 His bravery, wits, and skills in battle are tested.
 It proves how people can strive and succeed against great odds.
9. After the Trojan War, what happened that kept Odysseus at sea for an
additional 10 years?
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Odysseus blinds a Cyclops who is Poseidon’s son. As Odysseus and his
crew escape, the Cyclops, Polyphemus, prays to his father to prevent
Odysseus’s return to Ithaca by keeping him lost at sea as long as
possible.
10. Explain why Odysseus went into the Cyclops cave and what happened
there.
 Odysseus was curious as to what the Cyclops looked like, so he left a safe
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cove to go check things out.
When the Cyclops came home, he ate two of Odysseus’s men.
After he fell asleep, Odysseus had the opportunity to kill the giant but
didn’t, since the doorway slab was too heavy and big to budge.
Odysseus devised a plan in which they would blind the Cyclops.
Knowing the giant would cry out in pain after being stabbed, Odysseus told
him in advance that his name was “Nohbdy.” The plan worked, because the
giant, crying out to his brothers for help, said, “Nohbdy hurt me.”
Odysseus and his men slipped out under the sheep after the giant moved
the doorway slab to let his sheep pass.
11. What happened when Odysseus and his crew passed the Sirens?
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Odysseus put beeswax in his men’s ears so they would not be tempted by the
Siren’s song.
Since Odysseus had to listen, he was tied to the mast so as not to jump in the
water to a certain death.
12. Explain why it was difficult for Odysseus to pass Scylla and Charybdis.
 Scylla is a many-headed monster; Charybdis a spewing whirlpool.
 Odysseus was told by the goddess that he had to go right between these two
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dangers and should not fight back.
Odysseus knew he would be losing some or all of his men as he passed Scylla
and Charybdis, and he was sickened by his helplessness.
13. What will happen to Odysseus if he stays on Calypso’s island?
 If Odysseus stays with Calypso, he will become immortal.
14. How does Calypso help Odysseus leave her island?
 Calypso gives Odysseus advice on how to get home.
 Calypso helps build Odysseus a raft