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AP English Literature Flashcards

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6702686306AmbiguityWhen an author leaves out details/information or is unclear about an event so the reader will use his/her imagination to fill in the blanks.0
6702686307AnaphoraRepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines in a poem.1
6702686308AnecdoteA short story or joke told at the beginning of a speech to gain the audience's attention.2
6702686309AntagonistThe protagonist's adversary.3
6702686310Anti-climaticWhen the ending of the plot in poetry or prose is unfulfilling or lackluster.4
6702686311ApostropheWhen a character speaks to a character or object that is not present or is unable to respond5
6702686312AssonanceThe repetition of the same vowel sound in a phrase or line of poetry.6
6702686313Blank verseName for unrhymed iambic pentameter. An iamb is a metrical foot in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. In iambic pentameter there are five iambs per line making ten syllables.7
6702686315ClimaxThe turning point in the plot or the high point of action.8
6702686316Colloquial languageInformal, conversational language. Colloquialisms are phrases or sayings that are indicative of a specific region.9
6702686317ConnotationAn idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, ie. Bat=evil.10
6702686318ConventionAn understanding between a reader and a writer about certain details of a story that does not need to be explained.11
6702686319ConsonanceThe repetition of consonant sounds in a phrase or line of poetry. The consonant sound may be at the beginning, middle, or end of the word.12
6702686320CoupletTwo rhyming lines in poetry.13
6702686321Deus ex machinaTerm that refers to a character or force that appears at the end of a story or play to help resolve conflict. Word means "god from a machine." In ancient Greek drama, gods were lowered onto the stage by a mechanism to extricate characters from a seemingly hopeless situation. The phrase has come to mean any turn of events that solve the characters' problems through an unexpected and unlikely intervention.14
6702686323DictionWord choice or the use of words in speech or writing.15
6702686324DenouementThe final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.16
6702686325DoppelgangerThe alter ego of a character-the suppressed side of one's personality that is usually unaccepted by society. ie. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson- Mr. Edward Hyde (hide) is Dr. Jekyll's evil side17
6702686326ElegyA poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person.18
6702686327Emotive languageDeliberate use of language by a writer to instill a feeling or visual.19
6702686328EnjambmentThe continuation of reading one line of a poem to the next with no pause, a run-on line.20
6702686329EpicAn extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.21
6702686330EpilogueA short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a play, or in a novel the epilogue is a short explanation at the end of the book which indicates what happens after the plot ends.22
6702686331EpiphanySudden enlightenment or realization, a profound new outlook or understanding about the world usually attained while doing everyday mundane activities.23
6702686332EpistolaryUsed to describe a novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to another.24
6702686333EuphemismThe act of substituting a harsh, blunt, or offensive comment for a more politically accepted or positive one. (short=vertically challenged)25
6702686334EuphonyA succession of words which are pleasing to the ear. These words may be alliterative, utilize consonance, or assonance and are often used in poetry but also seen in prose.26
6702686335ExpansionAdds an unstressed syllable and a contraction or elision removes an unstressed syllable in order to maintain the rhythmic meter of a line. This practice explains some words frequently used in poetry such as th' in place of the, o'er in place of over, and 'tis or 'twas in place of it is or it was.27
6702686336FableA usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing as characters animals that speak and act like humans.28
6702686337Feminine endingTerm that refers to an unstressed extra syllable at the end of a line of iambic pentameter.29
6702686338Figurative languageSpeech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning. Speech or writing employing figures of speech.30
6702686339FlashbackWhen a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the story31
6702686340Flat characterA literary character whose personality can be defined by one or two traits and does not change over the course of the story. Flat characters are usually minor or insignificant characters.32
6702686341FoilA character that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another.33
6702686342FolkloreThe traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.34
6702686343FootThe metrical length of a line is determined by the number of feet it contains. Monometer: One foot Dimeter: Two feet Trimeter: Three feet Tetrameter: Four feet Pentameter: Five feet Hexameter: Six feet Heptameter: Seven feet The most common feet have two to three syllables, with one stressed.35
6702686344IambAn iambic foot has two syllables. The first is unstressed and the second is stressed. The iambic foot is most common in English poetry.36
6702686345TrocheeA trochaic foot has two syllables. The first is stressed and the second is unstressed.37
6702686346DactylA dactylic foot has three syllables beginning with a stressed syllable; the other two unstressed.38
6702686347AnapestAn anapestic foot has three syllables. The first two are unstressed with the third stressed.39
6702686348ForeshadowingClues in the text about incidents that will occur later in the plot, foreshadowing creates anticipation in the novel.40
6702686349Free verseType of verse that contains a variety of line lengths, is unrhymed, and lacks traditional meter.41
6702686350GenreA category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content.42
6702686351Gothic novelA genre of fiction characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, often set in a dark castle or other medieval setting.43
6702686352HeroineA woman noted for courage and daring action or the female protagonist.44
6702686353HubrisUsed in Greek tragedies, refers to excessive pride that usually leads to a hero's downfall.45
6702686354HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or comic/dramatic effect.46
6702686355IllocutionLanguage that avoids meaning of the words. When we speak, sometimes we conceal intentions or side step the true subject of a conversation. Writing illocution expresses two stories, one of which is not apparent to the characters, but is apparent to the reader. For example, if two characters are discussing a storm on the surface it may seem like a simple discussion of the weather, however, the reader should interpret the underlying meaning-that the relationship is in turmoil, chaos, is unpredictable. As demonstrated the story contains an underlying meaning or parallel meanings.47
6702686356ImageryThe use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.48
6702686357In medias resA story that begins in the middle of things.49
6702686358InversionIn poetry is an intentional digression from ordinary word order which is used to maintain regular meters. For example, rather than saying "the rain came" a poem may say "came the rain". Meters can be formed by the insertion or absence of a pause.50
6702686361IronyWhen one thing should occur, is apparent, or in logical sequence but the opposite actually occurs. Example: A man in the ocean might say, "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink."51
6702686363Dramatic IronyWhen the audience or reader knows something characters do not know52
6702686364Verbal IronyWhen one thing is said, but something else, usually the opposite, is meant53
6702686365Cosmic IronyWhen a higher power toys with human expectations54
6702686366Masculine endingStressed extra syllable at the end of a line.55
6702686367MemoirAn account of the personal experiences of an author.56
6702686368MeterThe measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.57
6702686369MetaphorA figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison; this comparison does not use like or as.58
6702686371MetonymyThe use of a word or phrase to stand in for something else which it is often associated. ie. Lamb means Jesus59
6702686373MotifA dominant theme or central idea.60
6702686374NarratorSomeone who tells a story. First person: The narrator is a character in the story Third person objective: The narrator does not tell what anyone is thinking; the "fly on a wall" Third person limited: The narrator is able to tell the thoughts of one character Third person omniscient: The narrator is able to tell the thoughts of any character61
6702686375NovellaA short novel usually under 100 pages.62
6702686376Neutral languageLanguage opposite from emotive language as it is literal or even objective in nature.Oblique rhyme-Imperfect rhyme scheme.63
6702686377OdeA lyric poem of some length, usually of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanzaic structure. An ode celebrates something. John Keats is known for writing odes.64
6702686378OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.65
6702686379ParadoxStatement which seems to contradict itself. i.e. His old face was youthful when he heard the news.66
6702686380ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. i.e. SNL or Weird Al Yankovich.67
6702686381PersonificationA figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.68
6702686382Poetic justiceThe rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice in the resolution of a plot. The character, as they say, gets what he/she deserves.69
6702686383PrequelA literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a preexisting work or a sequel.70
6702686384PrologueAn introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.71
6702686385ProseOrdinary speech or writing without metrical structure, written in paragraph form. Novels and short stories are referred to as prose.72
6702686386ProtagonistThe main character in a drama or literary work.73
6702686387PunPlay on words, when two words have multiple meanings and spellings and are used in a humorous manner.74
6702686388Rhymethe repetition of sounds in words75
6702686389Rhyme schemeThe act of assigning letters in the alphabet to demonstrate the rhyming lines in a poem.76
6702686390Rising actionThe events of a dramatic or narrative plot preceding the climax.77
6702686391Rites of passageAn incident which creates tremendous growth signifying a transition from adolescence to adulthood.78
6702686392Round characterA character who is developed over the course of the book, round characters are usually major characters in a novel.79
6702686393ResolutionSolution to the conflict in literature.80
6702686394SatireA literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit; the goal is to change the behavior/issue. Authors known for satires are Jonathan Swift and George Orwell.81
6702686395SimileA figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as.82
6702686396SlangA kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.83
6702686397SoliloquyA dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener. Typical in plays.84
6702686398SonnetA poem with fourteen lines. An Italian sonnet subdivides into two quatrains and two tercets; while an English sonnet subdivides into three quatrains and one couplet. A volta is a sudden change of thought which is common in sonnets.85
6702686399StyleThe combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.86
6702686400SymbolismSomething that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.87
6702686401TragedyA drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.88
6702686402ToneReflects how the author feels about the subject matter or the feeling the author wants to instill in the reader.89
6702895090allegoryThe device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.90
6702895091alliterationThe repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells"). Although the term is not frequently in the multiple choice section, you can look for alliteration in any essay passage. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.91
6702895092allusionA direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.92
6702895094analogyA similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.93
6702895095antecedentThe word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. The AP language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences. A question from the 2001 AP test as an example follows: "But it is the grandeur of all truth which can occupy a very high place in human interests that it is never absolutely novel to the meanest of minds; it exists eternally, by way of germ of latent principle, in the lowest as in the highest, needing to be developed but never to be planted." The antecedent of "it" (bolded) is...? [answer: "all truth"]94
6702895096antithesisthe opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite.95
6702895097aphorismA terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.96
6702895098apostropheA figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, "Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: / England hath need of thee." Another example is Keats' "Ode to a Grecian Urn," in which Keats addresses the urn itself: "Thou still unravished bride of quietness." Many apostrophes imply a personification of the object addressed.97
6702895099atmosphereThe emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. Even such elements as a description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere. Frequently atmosphere foreshadows events. Perhaps it can create a mood.98
6702895130anaphoraA sub-type of parallelism, when the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. MLK used anaphora in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech (1963).99

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