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AP Literature Comprehensive Vocabulary Flashcards

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3613222884AllegoryA narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one0
3613222885Alliterationuse of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse1
3613222886Allusiona reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize2
3613222887AmbiguityAn event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.3
3613222888Anachronismsomething located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred4
3613222889Analogydrawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect5
3613222890Anaphorarepetition of a word or phrase as the beginning of successive clauses6
3613222891Antithesisthe juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance7
3613222892Apostropheaddress to an absent or imaginary person8
3613222893ArchetypeA detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response9
3613222894Assonancethe repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words10
3613222895AsyndetonWhen the conjunctions (such as "and" or "but") that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are omitted from a sentence11
3613222896Catharsisa release of emotional tension12
3613222897Characterizationthe process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character13
3613222898Comedy of MannersDeals with the relations and intrigues of gentlemen and ladies living in a polished and sophisticated society; it evokes laughter mainly at the violations of social conventions and decorum and relies on the wit and humor of the dialogue for its effect.14
3613222899Comic ReliefAn amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action.15
3613222900Connotationrefers to the implied or suggested meanings associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition16
3613222901Consonancerepetition of consonant sounds17
3613222902Dictiona writer's or speaker's choice of words18
3613222903Didactichaving the primary purpose of teaching or instructing19
3613222904Dramatic Irony(theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play20
3613222905Elegya mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead21
3613222906Epigrapha quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing22
3613222907Epitheta term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives ("swift-footed Achilles") that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Epithets can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition. For example, athletes may be proud of given epithets ("The Rocket").23
3613222908Euphemismthe substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt24
3613222909ExplicationThe art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. It usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.25
3613222910ExpositionThe introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story.26
3613222911Farce(n.) a play filled with ridiculous or absurd happenings; broad or far-fetched humor; a ridiculous sham27
3613222912Figurative LanguageWriting or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things, [examples are metaphor, simile, and personification.28
3613222913Flat Charactera character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story29
3613222914Foil Charactera character who is used as a contrast to another character; the contrast emphasizes the differences between the two characters, bringing out the distinctive qualities in each30
3613222915Genrea kind of literary or artistic work31
3613222916Hubrisexcessive pride32
3613222917Hyperbolea figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor33
3613222918Imagerythe use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, or experience34
3613222919Litotesunderstatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)35
3613222920Metaphora figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity36
3613222921Extended MetaphorA metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.37
3613222922MetonymyA figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it38
3613222923Moodthe overall emotion created by a work of literature39
3613222924Motifa unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work40
3613222925Onomatopoeiausing words that imitate the sound they denote41
3613222926Oxymoronconjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')42
3613222927Parablea short moral story (often with animal characters)43
3613222928Paradoxa statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.44
3613222929Parallelismphrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other45
3613222930Parodya work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner46
3613222931Periodic Sentencea complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by the subordinate clause47
3613222932Peripetya sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances (especially in a literary work)48
3613222933Personificationrepresenting an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature49
3613222934Point of Viewthe perspective from which a story is told50
3613222935Polysyndetonusing several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in 'he ran and jumped and laughed for joy')51
3613222936Protagonistthe principal character in a work of fiction52
3613222937Puna humorous play on words53
3613222938Repetitionthe repeated use of the same word or word pattern as a rhetorical device54
3613222939Round Characterthis character is fully developed - the writer reveals good and bad traits as well as background55
3613222940Satireform of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly56
3613222941Sarcasmharsh, cutting language or tone intended to ridicule57
3613222942Settingthe state of the environment in which a situation exists58
3613222943SimileComparison using "like" or "as"59
3613222944Situational Ironyoccurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected60
3613222945Soliloquyin drama, a character speaks alone on stage to allow his/her thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience61
3613222946Monologuespeech you make to yourself62
3613222947Stock Charactera fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality manner of speech and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of a given culture.63
3613222948Stream of Consciousnessthe continuous flow of ideas and feelings that constitute an individual's conscious experience64
3613222949Stylea way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period65
3613222950Symbolsomething that stands for something else66
3613222951SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).67
3613222952Syntaxthe rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language68
3613222953Themea unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work69
3613222954Tonethe quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author70
3613222955TragedyA work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction71
3613222956Hamartiathe error, frailty, mistaken judgment, or misstep through which the fortunes of the hero of a tragedy are reversed72
3613222957Understatementthe opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.73
3613222958Verbal IronyA figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant74
3613222959Zeugmause of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one75
3613222960Static Charactera character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end76
3613222961Dynamic CharacterA character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action77
3613222962Catalysta person, thing, or agent that speeds up or stimulates a result, reaction, or change78
3613222963Anapesta metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed-stressed syllables79
3613222964Ballada type of poem that is meant to be sung and is both lyric and narrative in nature80
3613222965Ballad StanzaA four-line stanza, known as a quatrain, consisting of alternating eight- and six-syllable lines.81
3613222966Blank Verseunrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter)82
3613222967Colloquial Dictioncharacteristic of informal spoken language or conversation83
3613222968Pedantic Dictionmarked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects84
3613222969Cosmic IronyType of irony where it seems that God or fate is manipulating events so as to inspire false hopes, which are inevitably dashed.85
3613222970CoupletTwo consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.86
3613222971Dactyla metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables87
3613222972DimeterA metrical line containing two feet88
3613222973End RhymeRhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines of poetry89
3613222974End-Stopped Linea line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation90
3613222975Shakespearean Sonneta sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg91
3613222976Enjambentthe continuation of a sentence from one line or couplet of a poem to the next.92
3613222977Epic Poema long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds93
3613222978Epigrama witty saying expressing a single thought or observation94
3613222979Eye Rhymerhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation95
3613222980Exact Rhymeperfect rhyme, such as buzz and fuzz96
3613222981Feminine Endinga line that ends with an extra unstressed syllable97
3613222982Fixed Forma traditional pattern that applies to whole poem (sonnet, limerick)98
3613222983Foota group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm99
3613222984Free VersePoetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme100
3613222985Heptametera verse line containing seven feet101
3613222986Heroic Coupleta couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentamenter and written in an elevated style102
3613222987Hexametera metrical line containing six feet103
3613222988Iambicone unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable104
3613222989Internal Rhymea word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line105
3613222990Italian Sonneta poem that falls into two parts: an octave of eight lines and a sestet of six; the octave rhyme pattern is "abba abba" (two sets of four lines); the sestet's lines are more variable: "cde cde"; or "ced ced"; or "cd cd cd".106
3613222991Jargon DictionSpecialized language used in a particular field or content area—for example, educational _____ includes differentiated instruction, cooperative learning, and authentic assessment.107
3613222992Limericka kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet108
3613222993Lyric Poema short poem of songlike quality109
3613222994Masculine Endinga stressed syllable ending a verse line110
3613222995Meter(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse111
3613222996Monometera metrical line containing one foot112
3613222997Narrative Poema poem that tells a story and has a plot113
3613222998Near RhymeA rhyme based on an imperfect or incomplete correspondence of end syllable sounds.114
3613222999OctameterA metrical line containing eight feet115
3613223000Odea poem usually addressed to a particular person, object or event that has stimulated deep and noble feelings in the poet116
3613223001Open FormA type of structure or form in poetry characterized by freedom from regularity and consistency in such elements as rhyme, line length, and metrical pattern.117
3613223002Pentametera metrical line containing five feet118
3613223003Quatraina stanza of four lines119
3613223004Sestinaa lyric form that consists of six stanzas of six lines each followed by a three-line conclusion or envoy; this form requires a strict pattern of repetition of six key words that end the lines of the first stanza120
3613223005Sonneta verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme121
3613223006Terceta three line stanza122
3613223007Tetrametera metrical line containing four feet123
3613223008Villanellehighly structured poem consisting of six stanzas: five tercets and a quatrain; first and third line are repeated throughout124

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