[CSET] SUBTEST I
# Term Definition
1 Absurdist Fiction a novel or play that presents humanity’s plight
as meaningless and without purpose; genre
arose in the 20th century and often reflects a
reaction against war, society, and stresses of
modern life EX: Waiting for Godot (by Samuel
Beckett), Catch-22
2 Allegory fictional narrative that contains a second,
symbolic meaning in addition to its overt story;
characters represent human qualities such as
virtues and vices or abstract concepts such as
death EX: Pilgrim's Progress (by John
Bunyan;Christian's journey to faith and
redemption), Animal Farm, The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe
3 Ballad a songlike poem that tells a story and often has
a refrain, or repeated line or lines; many are in
iambic form with alternating lines of four
stresses and three stresses
4 Comic Novel feature of British and American literature;
amuses the reader with larger-than-life
characters and outlandish events EX: Evelyn
Waugh, P.G. Wodehouse, Mark Twain
5 Dystopia narrative that depicts an anti-utopian, a world
where ordinary people live regimented lives at
the whim of a totalitarian government EX: Brave
New World, 1984, We
6 Epic long narrative poetic work in a formal or
elevated style that features a heroic lead
character who often must undertake a journey
or a great trial to overcome a powerful foe EX:
Ramayana (written in Sanskrit), Odyssey
7 Essay prose work written in the first-person
expressing strong opinions about some topic or
life experience EX: Montaigne's Essays, Ralph
Waldo Emerson "Self-Reliance"
8 Epistolary Novel written in the form of letters, diaries, and
journal entries EX: The Color Purple, Dracula,
Clarissa (by Samuel Richardson)
,[CSET] SUBTEST I
# Term Definition
9 Fable tale that provides a moral lesson and features
animals with human characteristics EX: Aesop's
Fables "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Cicada
and the Ant" (by La Fontaine)
10 Fairy Tale a story that features fantasy characters from
folklore and usually ends happily EX: The
Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen ("The
Ugly Ducking")
11 Fantasy a genre that blends historical material, such as
Viking warriors or British knights, with invented
elements such as wizards with magical powers
and mythical creatures such as dragons and
unicorns (sometimes called "sword and
sorcery") EX: Lord of the Rings
12 Farce comic play that employs stock situations and
characters and exaggerated emotion; often
considered the lowest form of dramatic comedy
13 Legend a traditional story that has become part of the
collective experience of a nation, ethnic group,
or culture; features characters that are not
historical but seem to have existed at some time
in the distant past EX: King Arthur, Spanish
fountain of youth
14 Lyric Poem a brief work in verse that addresses the reader
directly and expresses the poet's feelings and
perceptions
15 Myth an ancient story that presents the exploits of
gods or heroes to explain some aspect of life or
nature EX: Persephone
16 Novel a long work of prose fiction that is often realistic
and tends to address the concerns of the society
in which it is produced EX: Sense and Sensibility,
David Copperfield, War and Peace, The Great
Gatsby, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The
Color Purple
, [CSET] SUBTEST I
# Term Definition
17 Parody a work written in imitation of an author's style
or of a genre in order to make fun of it and
mock its conventions EX: Mark Beerbohm "The
Mote in the Middle Distance" (parodied that
imitated Henry James's ornate writing style)
18 Poem a literary work that is generally written in
rhythmic lines of various lengths that may be
divided into groups called stanzas
19 Haiku a Japanese poetic form consisting of three lines
with 5, 7, and 5 syllables; a haiku in English
typically includes a seasonal word or image as
part of a comparison of two things
20 Limerick a comic five-line poem (rhyme scheme AABBA)
that seems to have originated in England in the
early 1700s
21 Ode a meditative poem written in praise of someone
or about a serious subject EX: Keats's "Ode on a
Grecian Urn"
22 Pastoral a poem that depicts rural life or the life of
shepherds in an idealized form, often for urban
audiences EX: Christopher Marlowe's "The
Passionate Shepherd to His Love"
23 Sonnet a fourteen-line poetic form that originated in
Italy and later became popular in Shakespeare's
England
24 Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet consists of two quatrains (four-line stanzas
rhymed ABBA) and six lines variously rhymed in
pairs
25 Shakespearean Sonnet three quatrains (rhymed ABAB) and a closing
couplet (two rhymed lines)
26 Triolet An eight-line poetic form based on French
models; a triolet's first, fourth, and seven lines
are identical, as are its second and final lines EX:
Thomas Hardy's "How Great My Grief"
# Term Definition
1 Absurdist Fiction a novel or play that presents humanity’s plight
as meaningless and without purpose; genre
arose in the 20th century and often reflects a
reaction against war, society, and stresses of
modern life EX: Waiting for Godot (by Samuel
Beckett), Catch-22
2 Allegory fictional narrative that contains a second,
symbolic meaning in addition to its overt story;
characters represent human qualities such as
virtues and vices or abstract concepts such as
death EX: Pilgrim's Progress (by John
Bunyan;Christian's journey to faith and
redemption), Animal Farm, The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe
3 Ballad a songlike poem that tells a story and often has
a refrain, or repeated line or lines; many are in
iambic form with alternating lines of four
stresses and three stresses
4 Comic Novel feature of British and American literature;
amuses the reader with larger-than-life
characters and outlandish events EX: Evelyn
Waugh, P.G. Wodehouse, Mark Twain
5 Dystopia narrative that depicts an anti-utopian, a world
where ordinary people live regimented lives at
the whim of a totalitarian government EX: Brave
New World, 1984, We
6 Epic long narrative poetic work in a formal or
elevated style that features a heroic lead
character who often must undertake a journey
or a great trial to overcome a powerful foe EX:
Ramayana (written in Sanskrit), Odyssey
7 Essay prose work written in the first-person
expressing strong opinions about some topic or
life experience EX: Montaigne's Essays, Ralph
Waldo Emerson "Self-Reliance"
8 Epistolary Novel written in the form of letters, diaries, and
journal entries EX: The Color Purple, Dracula,
Clarissa (by Samuel Richardson)
,[CSET] SUBTEST I
# Term Definition
9 Fable tale that provides a moral lesson and features
animals with human characteristics EX: Aesop's
Fables "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Cicada
and the Ant" (by La Fontaine)
10 Fairy Tale a story that features fantasy characters from
folklore and usually ends happily EX: The
Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen ("The
Ugly Ducking")
11 Fantasy a genre that blends historical material, such as
Viking warriors or British knights, with invented
elements such as wizards with magical powers
and mythical creatures such as dragons and
unicorns (sometimes called "sword and
sorcery") EX: Lord of the Rings
12 Farce comic play that employs stock situations and
characters and exaggerated emotion; often
considered the lowest form of dramatic comedy
13 Legend a traditional story that has become part of the
collective experience of a nation, ethnic group,
or culture; features characters that are not
historical but seem to have existed at some time
in the distant past EX: King Arthur, Spanish
fountain of youth
14 Lyric Poem a brief work in verse that addresses the reader
directly and expresses the poet's feelings and
perceptions
15 Myth an ancient story that presents the exploits of
gods or heroes to explain some aspect of life or
nature EX: Persephone
16 Novel a long work of prose fiction that is often realistic
and tends to address the concerns of the society
in which it is produced EX: Sense and Sensibility,
David Copperfield, War and Peace, The Great
Gatsby, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The
Color Purple
, [CSET] SUBTEST I
# Term Definition
17 Parody a work written in imitation of an author's style
or of a genre in order to make fun of it and
mock its conventions EX: Mark Beerbohm "The
Mote in the Middle Distance" (parodied that
imitated Henry James's ornate writing style)
18 Poem a literary work that is generally written in
rhythmic lines of various lengths that may be
divided into groups called stanzas
19 Haiku a Japanese poetic form consisting of three lines
with 5, 7, and 5 syllables; a haiku in English
typically includes a seasonal word or image as
part of a comparison of two things
20 Limerick a comic five-line poem (rhyme scheme AABBA)
that seems to have originated in England in the
early 1700s
21 Ode a meditative poem written in praise of someone
or about a serious subject EX: Keats's "Ode on a
Grecian Urn"
22 Pastoral a poem that depicts rural life or the life of
shepherds in an idealized form, often for urban
audiences EX: Christopher Marlowe's "The
Passionate Shepherd to His Love"
23 Sonnet a fourteen-line poetic form that originated in
Italy and later became popular in Shakespeare's
England
24 Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet consists of two quatrains (four-line stanzas
rhymed ABBA) and six lines variously rhymed in
pairs
25 Shakespearean Sonnet three quatrains (rhymed ABAB) and a closing
couplet (two rhymed lines)
26 Triolet An eight-line poetic form based on French
models; a triolet's first, fourth, and seven lines
are identical, as are its second and final lines EX:
Thomas Hardy's "How Great My Grief"
