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AP English Literature Terms Flashcards

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6696242722foreshadowingto hint at or to present an indication of the future beforehand0
6696242723enjambmentthe continuation of a sentence from one line of a poem to the next1
6696242724pastorala work that describes the simple life of country folk who live in a timeless, painless life in a world full of beauty, music and love; bucolic, idyll2
6696242725odea lyric poem that is somewhat serious in subject and treatment, elevated in style and sometimes uses elaborate stanza structure, which is often patterned in sets of three3
6696242726antithesisthe juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, grammatical structure, or ideas4
6696242727apostrophean address or invocation to something that is inanimate5
6696242728denotationa direct and specific meaning, often reffered to as the dictionary definition of a word6
6696242729blank versethe verse form consisting of unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter7
6696242730caesurapause in a line of verse, indicated by natural speech patterns rather than due to specific metrical patterns8
6696242731antagonistany force that is in opposition to the main character9
6696242732colloquialordinary language, the vernacular10
6696242733themea generalized, abstract paraphrase of the dominant idea or concern of a work11
6696242734couplettwo rhyming lines of iambic pentameter that together present a single idea or connection12
6696242735dialectthe language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group of people13
6696242736synechdochewhen a part is used to signify a whole, as in "All hands on deck!" (hands = sailors)14
6696242737dictionthe specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose, or effect15
6696242738syntaxthe way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences16
6696242739flashbackretrospection, where an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narrative17
6696242740elegya poetic lament upon the death of a particular person, usually ending in consolation18
6696242741epica poem that celebrates, in a continuou narrative, the achievements of mighty heroes and heroines, often concerned with the founding of a nation or developing of a culture19
6696242742allusiona reference to a literary or historical event, person, or place20
6696242743extended metaphora detailed and complex metaphor that extends over a long section of a work; also called a conceit21
6696242744farcea play or scene in a play or book that is characterized by broad humor, wild antics, and often slapstick and physical humor22
6696242745in-media-resrefers to opening a story in the middle of the action, necessitating filing in past details by exposition or flashback; literally, "in the midst of things"23
6696242746formal dictionlanguage that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal24
6696242747expositionthat part of the structure of a plot that sets the scene, introduces and identifies characters, and establishes the situation at the beginning of a story or play25
6696242748satirea literary work that holds up human failing to ridicule26
6696242749alliterationthe sequential repetition of similar initial sound, usually applied to consonants, usually heard in closely proximate stressed syllables27
6696242750stylea distinctive manner of expression expressed through an author's diction, rhythm, imagery, and more28
6696242751free versepoetry that is characterized by varying line lengths, lack of traditional meter, and non-rhyming lines29
6696242752genrea type or class of literature such as epic or narrative or poetry30
6696242753hyperboleoverstatement characterized by exaggerated language31
6696242754iambica metrical foot in poetry that consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable32
6696242755conceita comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature; in particular, an extended metaphor within a poem33
6696242756motifa recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of a character or event34
6696242757dramatic monologuealso, a soliloquy; a monologue set in a specific situation and spoken to an imaginary audience35
6696242758imagerybroadly defined, any sensory detail or evocation in a work; more narrowly, the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object36
6696242759informal dictionlanguage that is not as lofty or impersonal as formal diction; similar to everyday speech37
6696242760ironya situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant38
6696242761lyricany short poem in which the speaker expresses intense personal emotion rather than desciribing a narrative or dramatic situation; a sonnet and ode are two examples39
6696242762consonancethe repetition of a sequence of two or more consonants, but with a change in the intervening vowels40
6696242763mooda feeling or ambiance resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator's attitude and point of view41
6696242764metaphorone thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting a likeness or analogy between them; an implicit comparison of two unlike things42
6696242765villanellea verse form consisting of nineteen lines divided into six stanzas- five tercets and one quatrain; the first and third line of the first tercet rhyme, and this rhyme is repeated through each of the next four tercets and in the last two lines of the concluding quatrain43
6696242766allegorya prose or poetic narrative in which the characters, behavior, and even the setting demonstrates multiple levels of meaning and significance; often is a universal symbol or personified abstraction44
6696242767tonethe attitude a literary work takes toward its subject and theme45
6696242768narrative structurea textual organization based on sequences of connected events, usually presented in a straightforward, chronological framework46
6696242769narratorthe character who tells the story47
6696242770connotationwhat is suggested by a word, apart from what it explictly describes48
6696242771omniscientalso called unlimited focus; a perspective that can be seen from multiple characters49
6696242772oxymorona figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, sometimes resulting in a humorous image or statement50
6696242773parablea short fiction that illustrates an explicit moral lesson through the use of analogy51
6696242774realismthe practice in literature of attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail52
6696242775juxtapositionthe location of one thing as being adjacent with another; this placement of two items side by side creates a certain effect, reveals an attitude, or accomplishes some purpose of the writer53
6696242776anecdotea brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature54
6696242777structurethe organization or arrangement of the various elements in a work55
6696242778parallel structurethe use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts; maintains balance and symmetry56
6696242779archetyperecurrent designs, patterns of action, character types, themes, or images which are identifiable in a wide range of literature57
6696242780refraina repeated stanza or line(s) in a poem or song58
6696242781quatraina poetic stanza of four lines59
6696242782rhymethe repetition of the same or similar sounds, most often at the ends of lines60
6696242783similea direct, explicit comparison of two things, usually using like or as to draw the connection61
6696242784solioquya monologue in which the character in a play is alone and speaking only to himself or herself62
6696242785protagonistthe main character in a work who may or may not be heroic63
6696242786assonancerepetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually those found in stressed syllables of close proximity64
6696242787personificationtreating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by endowing it with human qualitites65
6696242788Shakespearean sonneta sonnet form divided into three quatrains and one couplet; also called an English sonnet66
6696242789onomatopoeiaa work capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes67
6696242790speakerthe person, not necessarily the author, who is the voice of the poem68
6696242791symbolisma person, place, thing, event, or pattern in a literary work that designates itself and at the same time figuratively represents something else69
6696242792Petrarchan sonneta sonnet form divided into an octave and a sestet; also called an Italian sonnet70
6696242793settingthe time and place of the action in a story, poem, or play71
6696242794tragedya drama in which a character, usually of noble or high rank, is brought to a disastrous end in confrontation with a superior force72
6696242795sestinaa highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet; the same set of six words ends the lines of each of the six-line stanzas, but in a different order each time73
6696242796paradoxa statement that seems contradictory but may actually be true74
6696242797rhythmthe modulation of weak and strong (stressed and unstressed) elements in the flow of speech75
6696242798terza rimaa verse form consisting of three-line stanzas in which the second line of each rhymes with the first and third of the next76
6696276772cacophonyharsh discordance of sound; dissonance; a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds77
6696293351heroic coupleta pair of rhyming iambic pentameters, much used by Chaucer and the poets of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Alexander Pope78
6696346995didacticintended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive79
6696364703end stopped linepoetic device in which a pause comes at the end of a syntactic unit80
6696374878euphonythe use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range or noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create81
6696391814internal rhymepoetic device which can be defined as metrical lines in which its middle words and its end words rhyme with each other (also called middle rhyme)82
6696403860metonymya type of metaphor in which an object is used to describe something that's closely related to it (ex: when describing a king you might use "the crown" instead)83
6696414874sonnetsmall or little song or lyric, 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter (each line has 10 syllables)... made of the "octave" and "sestet"84
6696432487slant rhymea rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match85

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