MFA Creative Writing and Literary Forms 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the 'Freytag's Pyramid' model used for in narrative analysis?
- Analyzing poetic meter and rhyme
- Mapping the five-stage arc of dramatic structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement (Correct answer)
- Classifying genres of fiction
- Evaluating character development across a novel
Correct answer: Mapping the five-stage arc of dramatic structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement
Freytag's Pyramid is a dramatic structure model outlining exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution as the five stages of a narrative arc.
Question 2: What distinguishes a 'metaphor' from a 'simile' in literary writing?
- A metaphor uses 'like' or 'as'; a simile does not
- A simile uses 'like' or 'as' to compare; a metaphor makes a direct comparison without those words (Correct answer)
- A metaphor compares abstract concepts; a simile compares physical objects
- A simile is longer and more developed than a metaphor
Correct answer: A simile uses 'like' or 'as' to compare; a metaphor makes a direct comparison without those words
A simile explicitly signals comparison with 'like' or 'as' ('life is like a box of chocolates'), while a metaphor declares the comparison directly ('life is a journey').
Question 3: In the MFA workshop context, what is the primary purpose of a 'critique' or 'workshop session'?
- To publish the student's work in a literary journal
- To give the writer detailed feedback on craft while the writer listens without defending the work (Correct answer)
- To grade the work according to a rubric
- To compare the student's work to published authors
Correct answer: To give the writer detailed feedback on craft while the writer listens without defending the work
In an MFA workshop, classmates critique the work to help the writer improve; the writer traditionally listens without interruption to absorb undefended feedback.
Question 4: What is 'ekphrasis' in literary writing?
- A narrative technique that slows time during a key scene
- A literary description of or response to a work of visual art (Correct answer)
- A form of experimental prose poetry without punctuation
- A dramatic monologue spoken by a fictional character
Correct answer: A literary description of or response to a work of visual art
Ekphrasis is the literary practice of describing, interpreting, or responding to a visual artwork in words, as in Keats's 'Ode on a Grecian Urn.'
Question 5: What is a 'sestina' in poetry?
- A 14-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme
- A 39-line poem with six stanzas of six lines each, using six repeating end-words in a set rotation (Correct answer)
- A haiku variant with six syllables per line
- A six-couplet narrative poem in iambic pentameter
Correct answer: A 39-line poem with six stanzas of six lines each, using six repeating end-words in a set rotation
A sestina consists of six six-line stanzas plus a three-line envoi, with the same six end-words repeated in a rotating pattern across all stanzas.
Question 6: What does 'in medias res' mean as a narrative technique?
- Ending a story at its most suspenseful point
- Beginning the story in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning (Correct answer)
- Writing an extended prologue before the main events
- Using multiple narrators simultaneously
Correct answer: Beginning the story in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning
'In medias res' is Latin for 'into the middle of things' — a technique where the narrative begins mid-action, with backstory revealed gradually.
MFA Creative Writing and Literary Forms 2
What is the 'Freytag's Pyramid' model used for in narrative analysis?