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CLEP Common Literary Forms And Genres

Subjects : clep, literature
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
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This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A novel that tells a nonfictional - autobiographical story but uses novelistic techniques - such as fictionalized dialogue or anecdotes - to add color - immediacy - or thematic unity.






2. A work of didactic literature that aims to influence the reader on a specific social or political issue.






3. A fictional prose narrative of significant length.






4. A form of nonfictional discussion or argument that Michel de Montaigne pioneered in the 1500s.






5. An autobiographical work. Rather than focus exclusively on the author's life - it pays significant attention to the author's involvement in historical events and the characterization of individuals other than the author.






6. A short poetic composition that describes the thoughts of a single speaker.






7. A poetic work that features the strong rhythms of free versebut is presented on the page in the form of prose - without line breaks.






8. Fiction that concerns the nature of fiction itself - either by reinterpreting a previous fictional work or by drawing attention to its own fictional status.






9. A formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure - or - occasionally - a meditation on death itself. In Greek and Latin poetry - the term applies to a specific type of meter (alternating hexameters and pentameters) regardless of cont






10. A lengthy narrative that describes the deeds of a heroic figure - often of national or cultural importance - in elevated language. Strictly - the term applies only to verse narratives like Beowulf or Virgil's Aeneid - but it is used to describe prose






11. A work that imitates the style of a previous author - work - or literary genre. Alternatively - the term may refer to a work that contains a hodgepodge of elements or fragments from different sources or influences. It differs from parody in that its






12. A story about a heroic figure derived from oral tradition and based partly on fact and partly on fiction.






13. A form of high-energy comedy that plays on confusions and deceptions between characters and features a convoluted and fast-paced plot.






14. A novel in which the author's aim is to tell a story that illuminates and draws attention to contemporary social problems with the goal of inciting change for the better. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin - which exposed the horrors of Africa






15. A short pastoral poem in the form of a dialogue between two shepherds. Virgil's Eclogues is the most famous example of this genre.






16. Bertolt Brecht's Marxist approach to theater - which rejects emotional and psychological engagement in favor of critical detachment.






17. Fiction that is set in an alternative reality






18. A serious play that ends unhappily for the protagonist.






19. A nonrealistic story - in verse or prose - that features idealized characters - improbable adventures - and exotic settings.






20. A play from the Middle Ages featuring saints or miraculous appearances by the Virgin Mary.






21. A succinct - witty statement - often in verse. For example - William Wordsworth's observation 'The child is the father of the man.'






22. A novel set in an earlier historical period that features a plot shaped by the historical circumstances of that period.






23. Traditionally - a folk song telling a story or legend in simple language - often with a refrain.






24. Originally - a realistic novel detailing a scoundrel's exploits. The term grew to refer more generally to any novel with a loosely structured - episodic plot that revolves around the adventures of a central character.






25. A story about the origins of a culture's beliefs and practices - or of supernatural phenomena - usually derived from oral tradition and set in an imagined supernatural past.






26. An autobiographical poetic genre in which the poet discusses intensely personal subject matter with unusual frankness.






27. Disturbing or absurd material presented in a humorous manner - usually with the intention to confront uncomfortable truths. Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is a notable example.






28. A celebration of the simple - rustic life of shepherds and shepherdesses - usually written by a sophisticated - urban writer.






29. A narrative work that reports true events.






30. Any composition not written in verse.






31. A ritualized form of Japanese drama that evolved in the 1300s involving masks and slow - stylized movement.






32. The brief narration of a single event or incident.






33. A composition that is meant to be performed. The term often is used interchangeably with play.






34. A play that confronts a contemporary social problem with the intent of changing public opinion on the matter.






35. A short narrative that illustrates a moral by means of allegory.






36. A humorous imitation of a serious work of literature. The humor often arises from the incongruity between the imitation and the work being imitated. For example - Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock uses the high diction of epic poetry to talk abou






37. A short prose or verse narrative - such as those by Aesop - that illustrates a moral - which often is stated explicitly at the end.






38. An invented narrative - as opposed to one that reports true events.






39. A play consisting of a single act - without intermission and running usually less than an hour.






40. Literature intended to instruct or educate. For example - Virgil's Georgics contains farming advice in verse form.






41. A genre of fiction that presents an imagined future society that purports to be perfect and utopian but that the author presents to the reader as horrifyingly inhuman.






42. A short play based on a biblical story.






43. A poem that contains words that a fictional or historical character speaks to a particular audience. Alfred - Lord Tennyson's 'Ulysses' is a famous example.






44. A concise expression of insight or wisdom: 'The vanity of others offends our taste only when it offends our vanity' (Friedrich Nietzsche - Beyond Good and Evil).






45. A novel written in the form of letters exchanged by characters in the story - such as Samuel Richardson's Clarissa or Alice Walker's The Color Purple. This form was especially popular in the 1700s.






46. A novel that focuses on the social customs of a certain class of people - often with a sharp eye for irony. Jane Austen's novels are prime examples of this genre.






47. The nonfictional story of a person's life - told by that person.






48. A short poetic expression of grief. It differs from an elegy in that it often is embedded within a larger work - is less highly structured - and is meant to be sung.






49. A play such as Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale that mixes elements of tragedy and comedy.






50. A serious lyric poem - often of significant length - that usually conforms to an elaborate metrical structure.