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AP English Literature Vocabulary Terms Flashcards

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6546857792AllegoryA story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.0
6546857793AlliterationRepetition of the same or similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together. Example: "The soul selects her own society."1
6546857794AllusionA reference to a person, event, or work of art that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture.2
6546857795AmbiguityDeliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work3
6546857796AnaphoraRepetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. Ex: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, ...it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."4
6546857797AnecdoteA short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point.5
6546857798AntagonistOpponent or force that struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.6
6546857799AnticlimaxThe intentional use of fancy language to describe the trivial or commonplace, or a sudden transition from a significant thought to a trivial one in order to achieve a humorous or satiric effect.7
6546857800AntiheroCentral character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. May lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.8
6546857801AntithesisThe juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced words, phrases, grammatical structures, or ideas.9
6546857802AphorismA pithy/brief observation that contains a general truth, such as, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Or, "haste makes waste."10
6546857803ApostropheCalling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea.11
6546857804ArchetypeAn idealized model of a person, object, or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned, or emulated.12
6546857805AsideA comment made by a stage performer that is intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly not by other characters.13
6546857806AssonanceThe repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together. Example: "Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."14
6546857807AsyndetonCommas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of "Lions, tigers, and bears!" the writer uses, "Lions, tigers, bears!"15
6546857808BalladAn emotional poem or form of verse, often a narrative, set to music.16
6546857809BildungsromanA special kind of novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of its main character from his or her childhood to maturity, or some portion thereof.17
6546857810Blank versePoetry written without rhymes, but which retains a set metrical pattern, usually iambic pentameter.18
6546857811CacophonyUnpleasant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables which are grating to the ear, usually inadvertent, but sometimes deliberately used in poetry for effect.19
6546857812CaesuraA pause in a line of verse, indicated by speech patterns rather than due to specific metrical patterns.20
6546857813CatharsisA sudden emotional breakdown or climax that consists of overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter, or any extreme change in emotion. In Greek theatre, a purging of emotion.21
6546857814ChiasmusIn poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed. Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."22
6546857815ClicheA word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse.23
6546857816ColloquialismA word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation. Slang.24
6546857817ConceitA comparison of two unlikely, or vastly different things, that is drawn out within a piece of literature, and likened through the use of similes and metaphors.25
6546857818ConnotationAn idea suggested by a word, apart from what it explicitly describes. The feeling that goes with a word.26
6546857819ConsonanceThe repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. This repetition often takes place in quick succession such as in pitter, patter.27
6546857820CoupletTwo consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.28
6546857821DenotationThe direct, specific, and literal meaning of a word.29
6546857822Deus ex machinaAny artificial device or coincidence used to bring about a convenient and simple solution to a plot.30
6546857823DialectA way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area.31
6546857824Diction1: The choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language in a literary work. 2: The manner or mode of verbal expression, particularly with regard to clarity and accuracy.32
6546857825Dramatic ironyAn occasion in a play, film, or other work in which a character's words or actions convey a meaning unperceived by the character but understood by the audience.33
6546857826ElegyA serious poem upon the death of a particular person, usually ending in consolation.34
6546857827EnjambmentThe continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line of poetry; when a phrase carries over a line-break without a major pause.35
6546857828EpicA poem that celebrates, in a continuous narrative, the achievements of mighty heroes and heroines, often concerned with the founding of a nation or developing of a culture.36
6546857829EpigraphA quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.37
6546857830EpistropheDevice of repetition in which the same expression (a single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. "Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there.... An' when our folk eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build - why, I'll be there...."38
6546857831EuphemismThe substitution of a comfortable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something unpleasant.39
6546857832EuphonyHarmony or beauty of sound which provides a pleasing effect to the ear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect.40
6546857833ExpositionIn drama, the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the play.41
6546857834Extended MetaphorA detailed and complex metaphor that extends over a long section of a work. May also be called a "conceit" or "epic metaphor."42
6546857835FarceA type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.43
6546857836FlashbackA retrospection where an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narrative.44
6546857837FoilA character who functions to contrast against another character, usually the main character, in order to show more clearly their traits.45
6546857838ForeshadowingThe use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot.46
6546857839Formal DictionLanguage that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal.47
6546857840Frame narrativeA story within a story, within sometimes yet another story, as in, for example, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Heart of Darkness.48
6546857841Free verseA kind of poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.49
6546857842GenreA category of literary work which may refer to both the content of a given work — tragedy, comedy, pastoral — and to its form, such as poetry, novel, or drama. This term also refers to types of popular literature, as in science fiction or detective story.50
6546857843HamartiaThe error in judgment a character makes, because of their tragic flaw, which results in their downfall. Literally means "missing the mark" in Greek.51
6546857844HubrisExcessive pride or ambition that leads to a character's downfall.52
6546857845HyperboleA figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times...."53
6546857846IambicA metrical pattern in poetry that consists of two syllables per foot in an unstressed - stressed pattern. "I am a pirate with a wooden leg."54
6546857847IdiomA set expression or a phrase, comprising two or more words, that is not interpreted literally, but is understood to mean something quite different from what the individual words of the phrase would imply. Example: "I can't make heads or tails of this." "Let's hit the sack!" "That guy kicked the bucket."55
6546857848ImageryThe use of language to evoke the five senses. Types: visual, audial, tactile, olfactory, gustatory. The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience.56
6546857849Informal DictionLanguage that is more conversational and colloquial, more personal and similar to everyday speech.57
6546857850In media resLatin for "into the middle of things." It usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in the action.58
6546857851Interior monologueWriting that records the thinking that goes on inside a character's head; it is coherent as if character were talking.59
6546857852Internal rhymeRhymes that occur within a line of poetry, or in the middle of lines, that are near each other, instead of at the end of a line.60
6546857853IronyA situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. The opposite or nearly the opposite of what you would expect.61
6546857854JuxtapositionPoetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit.62
6546857855KenningA compound poetic phrase substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. Ex: "Whale Road" for ocean.63
6546857856LitotesA form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form. Ex: It is not an ideal situation to be eaten by zombies.64
6546857857LyricA short poem in which the speaker expresses intense personal emotion rather than describing a narrative or dramatic situation.65
6546857858MetaphorA figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles.66
6546857859MeterThe repetition of sound patterns that creates a rhythm in poetry.67
6546857860MetonymyA figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. "We requested from the crown support for our petition."68
6546857861MoodThe emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene.69
6546857862MotifA recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme.70
6546857863OdeA lyric poem that is somewhat serious in subject and tone, elevated in style, sometimes using an elaborate stanza structure.71
6546857864OnomatopoeiaThe use of words whose sounds echo their sense. The words sounds like what it means. Buzz. Boom. Bang.72
6546857865OxymoronA figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Ex: "Jumbo shrimp."73
6546857866ParadoxA statement which contains seemingly contradictory elements or appears contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as true when viewed from another angle. Ex: "I must be cruel to be kind."74
6546857867ParallelismThe use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same, or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter.75
6546857868ParodyA work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style.76
6546857869PastoralA poem, or other work, that describes the simple life of country folk who live a life of beauty, music, and love. Also an idyll.77
6546857870PersonaThe narrator in a non-first person novel. The author's creation--the voice "through which the author speaks."78
6546857871PersonificationA figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human qualities, feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.79
6546857872PolysyndetonSentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series. Ex: "X and Y and Z".80
6546857873ProtagonistThe central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action.81
6546857874PunA "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things.82
6546857875QuatrainA poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.83
6546857876RefrainA repeated stanza or line(s) in a poem or song.84
6546857877SarcasmUsually ironic language meant to hurt or mock someone or something and simultaneously amuse the audience. Ex: "Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral bak'd meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables." (His mother married so soon after his father's death that they used the leftovers from the funeral at the wedding.)85
6546857878SatireA work that uses mockery, humor, and wit to criticize and cause change in human nature and institutions.86
6546857879SimileA figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as , than, or resembles.87
6546857880Slant RhymeA type of rhyme formed by words with similar but not identical sounds. Sometimes called Half rhyme, imperfect rhyme, near-rhyme or lazy rhyme. Example: chill and tulle or bridge and grudge.88
6546857881SoliloquyA long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage, often expressing their inner thoughts and feelings.89
6546857882SonnetA short poem that has 14 fourteen lines and is written in iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables. It has a specific rhyme scheme and a "volta" or a specific turn.90
6546857883Stream of consciousnessA style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.91
6546857884Suspension of disbeliefA willingness of a reader or viewer to ignore minor inconsistencies or unbelievable behavior so as to enjoy a work of fiction.92
6546857885SymbolA person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself.93
6546857886SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. Ex: "If you don't drive properly, you will lose your wheels."94
6546857887SyntaxThe order of words when writing phrases, clauses, and sentences.95
6546857888ToneThe attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.96
6546857889Tragic flawIn a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall.97
6546857890Verbal ironyWhen a speaker says something that is the opposite, or nearly the opposite, of what they mean.98
6546857891VoiceThe particular phrasings, tone, diction, and manner a writer uses that is distinctive to them.99

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