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AP English Literature Terms Flashcards

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7096089496AllegoryA story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for something else0
7096089497BalladA narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style.1
7096089498BildungsromanA novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education2
7096089499ElegyA lyric poem that laments the dead3
7096089500Lyric PoemA poem of a single speaker who expresses his thoughts and feelings4
7096089501PastoralLiterature that describes country or rural life5
7096089502SatireA style of writing that ridicules human weaknesses, vice or folly in order to promote social reform6
7096089503SonnetA lyric poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter7
7096089504TragedyA type of drama in which the characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the worse8
7096089505VillanelleA nineteen-line lyric poem that relies heavily on repetition9
7096089506CoupletA pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem10
7096089507CaesuraA strong pause within a line of verse11
7096089508End RhymeA rhyme that occurs at the end of lines12
7096089509EnjambmentA run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next13
7096089510SpeakerThe voice in a poem that talks to the reader (not to be confused with the poet)14
7096089511AlliterationA repetition of initial consonant sounds15
7096089512Biblical AllusionA reference to a statement, person, place or event that is known from the Bible16
7096089513AssonanceA repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words17
7096089514EpiphanyA moment of sudden revelation or insight18
7096089515HyperboleA gross exaggeration for effect; overstatement19
7096089516ParadoxA statement that appears to contradict itself but contains a truth beneath the surface20
7096089517PersonificationThe endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities21
7096089518SimileA comparison of two unlike things using like or as22
7096089519MetaphorA comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or as23
7096089520FoilCharacters that contrast and emphasize the traits of the hero24
7096089521MoodThe general emotional effect of a poem, story or scene from a story25
7096089522JuxtapositionTwo contrasting elements placed side by side26
7096089523OxymoronContradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect27
7096089524RepetitionTechnique in which a sound, word, phrase or line is repeated for emphasis28
7096089525ImageryDescriptions that appeal to one of the 5 senses29
7096089526SymbolA concrete object that stands for itself and for something broader than itself as well30
7096089527SoliloquyA speech in a play that is meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on the stage31
7096089528Slant RhymeA rhyming sound that is not exact32
7096089529OverstatementA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth33
7096089530EuphemismA more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept34
7096089531Archaismthe use of deliberately old-fashioned language, sometimes used to create a feeling of antiquity35
7096089532Epithetan adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned36
7096089533SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole37
7096089534OdeA lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner38
7096089535AnaphoraA rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.39
7096089536OctaveAn eight-line stanza40
7096089537QuatrainA four-line stanza41
7096089538SestetA six-line stanza42
7096089539ClicheA worn-out idea or overused expression43
7096089540Classical AllusionA reference to a statement, person, place or event that is known from Greek or Roman mythology44
7096089541ParodyA work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule45
7096089542ApostropheA figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love46
7096089543Internal Rhymea rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of verse47
7096089544Blank Verseunrhymed iambic pentameter48
7096089545ArchetypeA recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found in myth and literature across different cultures and eras49

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