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AP English Literature Vocabulary Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
7307413188NarrationThe recounting of a sequence of events or actions.0
7307421974ConflictThe struggle the protagonist goes through in a story.1
7307425450ProtagonistMain character.2
7307429317PlotThe sequence of events or incidents.3
7307430757ChronologicalThe story's actions follow one after another in time.4
7307433996AntagonistThe person or force opposing the protagonist.5
7307438023StructureRefers to the way a story is assembled.6
7307439851SuspenseThe quality in the story which makes the reader keep wondering what will happen next or how will this turn out.7
7307441571MysteryAn unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation.8
7307443105DilemmaA position in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable.9
7307447647SurpriseWhen we don't know what will happen or why.10
7307452966ExpositionThe laying out of the materials in the story - the main characters, their backgrounds, abilities, interests, and basic assumptions.11
7307457476ComplicationThe onset and development of the major conflict. (Can be called rising action.)12
7307467040CrisisThe part of the action where the conflict reaches its greatest tension.13
7307468960ClimaxIt is the logical conclusion of the preceding actions; no new major developments follow it. The high point of the story.14
7307471104DénoumentThe completing of the story. (Similar to falling actions)15
7307477679CharacterA person or being in a story.16
7307482642Theme or ideaA suggested lesson or opinion at the heart of a story.17
7307486931StyleDescribes the landscape of an author's overall work. It is primarily determined by recognizable trends in syntax, kinds of allusions, images, etc.18
7307487999Point of ViewGives a quick insight into the occasion, rhetorical purpose and the speaker's relationship with the audience. It can be first, second, or third.19
7307491731ToneThe outward effect of a speaker's attitude towards his topic. It is implied through diction, denotation, imagery and any other place the speaker makes choices.20
7307493692AllegoryA moral tale where each character or facet directly symbolizes something else.21
7307497258DescriptionText that explains the features of a thing and paints a picture in a person's mind.22
7307504437IronyA contrast between the expected and the reality.23
7307507203SymbolismAn event, character, word or action that has a deeper meaning within the story.24
7594571441SynecdocheUsing the part to represent the whole25
7594580402MetonymySome significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience26

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