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AP Literature Flashcards

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7472557978AllegoryA narrative or description having a second or symbolic meaning beneath the surface one0
7472557979AllusionA reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history1
7472557980AnecdoteA short account of an interesting or humorous incident2
7472557981Artistic unityThat condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose3
7472557982CacophonyA harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds4
7472557983EuphonyA smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds5
7472557984GenreA type or class, as poetry, drama, etc.6
7472557985ImageryThe representation through language of sensory experience7
7472557986MoodThe pervading impression of a work8
7472557987Moral .A rule of conduct or maxim for living expressed or implied as the "point" of a literary work. Compare Theme9
7472557988ProseNon-metrical language; the opposite of verse10
7472557989ThemeThe main idea, or message, of a literary work. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly.11
7472557991ToneThe writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject, the audience, or herself or himself; the emotional coloring, or emotional meaning, of a work12
7472557993TopicThe subject matter or area of a literary work. Not to be confused with theme.13
7472557994SettingThe context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs14
7472557995Symbol (literary)Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well, a figure of speech which may be read both literally and figuratively.15
7472557997VerseMetrical language; the opposite of prose16
7472557998VoiceThe distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or a character in a book17
7472557999CharacterAny of the persons involved in a story or play [sense 1] (2) The distinguishing moral qualities and personal traits of a character [sense 2]18
7472558000AntagonistCharacter in a story or poem who opposes the main character (protagonist). Sometimes the antagonist is an animal, an idea, or a thing.19
7472558001Character(1) Any of the persons involved in a story or play [sense 1] (2) The distinguishing moral qualities and personal traits of a character [sense 2]20
7472558003CharacterizationThe process of conveying information about characters21
7472558004DeuteragonistThe second most important character, after the protagonist, often a foil or eventual antagonist22
7472558005Direct presentation of characterA method of characterization in which the author, by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a character is like, or has someone else in the story do so23
7472558007Dynamic characterA character (sense 1) who during the course of a story undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of character (sense 2) or outlook.24
7472558009Flat characterA character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is summed up in one or two traits25
7472558010FoilA character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight various features of that other character's personality, throwing these characteristics into sharper focus.26
7472558012HeroA man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold exploits, and favored by the gods27
7472558013HubrisOverbearing and excessive pride28
7472558014Indirect presentation of characterThat method of characterization in which the author shows us a character in action, compelling us to infer what the character is like from what is said or done by the character29
7472558016ProtagonistThe main character of a novel, play, or film30
7472558017Round characterA character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is complex and many sided.31
7472558018Static characterA character who is the same sort of person at the end of a story as at the beginning.32
7472558019Stock characterA stereotyped character.33
7472558020Tragic FlawA flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow34
7472558022AsideA brief speech in which a character turns from the person being addressed to speak directly to the audience; a dramatic device for letting the audience know what a character is really thinking or feeling as opposed to what the character pretends to think or feel35
7472558024ColloquialInformal, conversational language36
7472558025Dialogue(1) Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. (2) A literary work written in the form of a conversation.37
7472558026DialectA regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary38
7472558027DictionWord choice39
7472558028EuphemismSubstituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one40
7472558029Figure of speechBroadly, any way of saying something other that the ordinary way; more narrowly (and for the purposes of this class) a way of saying one thing and meaning another.41
7472558030HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth42
7472558031InvectiveDenunciatory or abusive language.43
7472558035Monologue(1) A dramatic soliloquy. (2) A literary composition in such form44
7472558036ProverbA short, pithy saying that expresses a basic truth or practical precept45
7472558037PunA play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words46
7472558038SarcasmBitter or cutting speech; speech intended by its speaker to give pain to the person addressed47
7472558039Soliloquya device often used in drama where by a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters.48
7472558041SlangA kind of language esp. occurring in casual or playful speech, usu. made up of short-lived coinages and figures of speech deliberately used in place of standard terms49
7472558043UnderstatementA figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants.50
7472558046ExpositionThe part of a play (usually at the beginning) that provides the background information needed to understand the characters and the actions.51
7472558048ConflictA clash of actions, desires, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story or drama. Conflict may exist between the main character and some other person or persons; between the main character and some external force—physical nature, society, or "fate"; or between the main character and some destructive element in his or her own nature. A struggle that takes place in a character's mind is called internal conflict.52
7472558051Rising actionThat development of plot in a story that precedes and leads up to the climax53
7472558052ClimaxThe turning point or high point of a plot54
7472558053Falling ActionThe falling action immediately follows the climax and shows the aftereffects of the events in the climax55
7472558054Denouement (Also called the resolution)the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis for them and the reader. Sometimes a hint as to the characters' future is given56
7472558057IronyA situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy. Three kinds of irony are distinguished in this class:57
7472558058Dramatic ironyAn incongruity of discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true (or between what a character perceives and what the author intends the reader to perceive).58
7472558060Irony of situationA situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate.59
7472558062Verbal ironyA figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant60
7472558064Epistolary novelA novel written as a series of documents.61
7472558065First person point of viewThe story is told by one of its characters, using the first person.62
7472558066FlashbackA literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into a narrative.63
7472558067FlashforwardA literary device in which a later event is inserted into a narrative.64
7472558068In medias res (into the middle of things)is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning, establishing setting, character, and conflict via flashback and expository conversations.65
7472558071Limited omniscient point of viewThe author tells the story, using the third person, but is limited to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tells us only what that one character thinks, feels, sees, or hears.66
7472558073Linear structureA plot that follows a straight-moving, cause and effect, chronological order67
7472558074Objective point of viewThe author tells the story, using the third person, but is limited to reporting what the characters say or do; the author does not interpret their behavior or tell us their private thoughts or feelings.68
7472558076Omniscient point of viewThe author tells the story, using the third person, knowing all and free to tell us anything, including what the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do69
7472558078Narratorthe speaker or the "voice" of an oral or written work. Although it can be, the narrator is not usually the same person as the author. The narrator is one of three types of characters in a given work, (1) participant (protagonist or participant in any action that may take place in the story), (2) observer (someone who is indirectly involved in the action of a story), or (3) non participant (one who is not at all involved in any action of the story). The narrator is the direct window into a piece of work.70
7472558082Nonlinear structureis when the plot is presented in a non-causal order, with events presented in a random series jumping to and from the main plot with flashbacks or flashforwards; or in any other manner that is either not chronological or not cause and effect, for example, in medias res.71
7472558085Point of ViewThe angle of vision from which a story is told.72
7472558086Stream of consciousnessNarrative which presents the private thoughts of a character without commentary or interpretation by the author73
7472558087Unreliable narratora narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromised. Unreliable narrators are usually first-person narrators.74
7472558089AnticlimaxA sudden descent from the impressive or significant to the ludicrous or inconsequential75
7472558090CatastropheThe concluding action of a classical tragedy containing the resolution of the plot76
7472558091Comic ReliefA humorous incident introduced into a serious literary work in order to relieve dramatic tension or heighten emotional impact77
7472558092DilemmaA situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable78
7472558093Deus ex machina (god from the machine)The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence (so named from the practice of some Greek dramatists of having a god descend from heaven at the last possible minute—in the theater by means of a stage machine—to rescue the protagonist from an impossible situation).79
7472558096Indeterminate endingAn ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved80
7472558098InversionA reversal in order, nature, or effect81
7472558099MotivationAn emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action82
7472558100MysteryAn unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense83
7472558101ParadoxA statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements84
7472558102PlotThe sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed85
7472558103Plot manipulationA situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved86
7472558104Plot deviceAn object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story. Often breaks suspension of disbelief.87
7472558105PrologueAn introduction or a preface, esp. a poem recited to introduce a play88
7472558106Red herringa literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item or person of significance89
7472558107SceneA subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and the time continuous90
7472558108SuspenseThat quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end91
7472558109Suspension of DisbeliefAn unspoken agreement between writer and reader: "I agree to believe your make-believe if it entertains me."92
7472558110SubplotA plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work93
7472558111SurpriseAn unexpected turn in the development of a plot94
7472558113ComedyA type of drama, opposed to tragedy, having usually a happy ending, and emphasizing human limitation rather than human greatness.95
7472558115Comedy of mannersComedy that ridicules the manners (way of life, social customs, etc.) of a certain segment of society96
7472558116SatireA kind of literature that ridicules human folly or vice with the purpose of bringing about reform or of keeping others from falling into similar folly or vice.97
7472558118Scornful comedyA type of comedy whose main purpose is to expose and ridicule human folly, vanity, or hypocrisy98
7472558119Romantic comedyA type of comedy whose likable and sensible main characters are placed in difficulties from which they are rescued at the end of the play99
7472558121FarceA type of comedy that relies on exaggeration, horseplay, and unrealistic or improbable situations to provoke laughter100
7472558122Escapist literatureLiterature written purely for entertainment, with little or no attempt to provide insights into the true nature of human life or behavior.101
7472558124FableA short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing animal characters that act like human beings102
7472558125FantasyA kind of fiction that pictures creatures or events beyond the boundaries of known reality103
7472558126Interpretive literatureLiterature that provides valid insights into the nature of human life or behavior104
7472558127Mythany story that attempts to explain how the world was created or why the world is the way that it is. Myths are stories that are passed on from generation to generation and normally involve religion. Most myths were first spread by oral tradition and then were written down in some literary form. Many ancient literary works are, in fact, myths as myths appear in every ancient culture of the planet.105
7472558130Novela book of long narrative in literary prose.106
7472558131Novella (also called a short novel)a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.107
7472558132ParableA simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson108
7472558133Tragedy Dramain which a noble protagonist — a person of unusual moral or intellectual stature or outstanding abilities — falls to ruin during a struggle caused by a tragic flaw (or hamartia) in his character or an error in his rulings or judgments.109
7472558137ApostropheA figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply110
7472558139ConnotationWhat a word suggests beyond its basic definition; a word's overtones of meaning111
7472558140DenotationThe basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word112
7472558141EkphrasisThe poetic representation of a painting or sculpture in words113
7472558142Epigram(1) A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation. (2) A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement.114
7472558143Extended figure (also knows as sustained figure)A figure of speech (usually metaphor, simile, personification, or apostrophe) sustained or developed through a considerable number of lines or through a whole poem115
7472558145Figurative languageLanguage employing figures of speech; language that cannot be taken literally or only literally116
7472558146Figure of speechBroadly, any way of saying something other that the ordinary way; more narrowly (and for the purposes of this class) a way of saying one thing and meaning another117
7472558148JuxtapositionPositioning opposites next to each other to heighten the contrast118
7472558149MetaphorA figure of speech in which an implicit comparison is made between two things essentially unlike119
7472558150MetonymyA figure of speech in which some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience120
7472558151OnomatopoeiaThe use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning in their sound (for example, boom, click, plop).121
7472558152PersonificationA figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, an object, or a concept122
7472558153RhythmAny wavelike recurrence of motion or sound123
7472558154SentimentalityUnmerited or contrived tender feeling; that quality in a story that elicits or seeks to elicit tears through an oversimplification or falsification of reality124
7472558156SimileA figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two things essentially unlike. The comparison is made explicit by the use of some such word or phrase as like, as, than, similar to, resembles, or seems125
7472558158SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole. In this class it is subsumed under the term Metonymy.126
7472558159SyntaxWord organization and order.127
7472558161AlliterationThe repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, map-moon, kill-code, preach-approve)128
7472558163AnapestA metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable (for example, understand)129
7472558164Anapestic meterA meter in which a majority of the feet are anapests130
7472558165Approximate rhyme (also known as imperfect rhyme, near rhyme, slant rhyme, or oblique rhyme)A term used for words in a rhyming pattern that have some kind of sound correspondence but are not perfect rimes (for example, arrayed-said)131
7472558167AssonanceThe repetition at close intervals of the vowel sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, hat-ran-amber, veinmade).132
7472558168Ballad meterStanzas formed of quatrains of iambs in which the first and third lines have four stresses (tetrameter) and the second and fourth lines have three stresses (trimeter). Usually, the second and fourth lines rhyme (abcb), although ballad meter is often not followed strictly.133
7472558170Blank versePoetry with a meter, but not rhymed, usually in iambic pentameter134
7472558171ConsonanceThe repetition at close intervals of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, bookplaque-thicker)135
7472558173CoupletTwo successive lines, usually in the same meter, linked by rhyme136
7472558174DactylA metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables (for example, merrily)137
7472558175Dactylic meterA meter in which a majority of the feet are dactyls138
7472558176End rhymeRhymes that occur at the ends of lines139
7472558312End-stopped lineA line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation — the opposite of enjambment140
7472558313Enjambment Or run-on line,a line which has no natural speech pause at its end, allowing the sense to flow uninterruptedly into the succeeding line — the opposite of an end-stopped line141
7472558315English (or Shakespearean) sonnetA sonnet rhyming ababcdcdefefgg. Its content or structure ideally parallels the rhyme scheme, falling into three coordinate quatrains and a concluding couplet; but it is often structured, like the Italian sonnet, into octave and sestet, the principal break in thought coming at the end of the eighth line.142
7472558318Feminine rhymeA rhyme in which the stress is on the penultimate (second from last) syllable of the words (picky, tricky)143
7472558319FootThe basic unit used in the scansion or measurement of verse. A foot usually contains one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables144
7472558321Free verseNonmetrical verse. Poetry written in free verse is arranged in lines, may be more or less rhythmical, but has no fixed metrical pattern or expectation145
7472558323Half rhyme(Sometimes called slant rhyme, sprung, near rhyme, oblique rhyme, off rhyme or imperfect rhyme), is consonance on the final consonants of the words involved146
7472558325Heroic coupletPoems constructed by a sequence of two lines of (usually rhyming) verse in iambic pentameter. If these couplets do not rhyme, they are usually separated by extra white space.147
7472558327IambA metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable (for example, rehearse)148
7472558331Iambic meterA meter in which the majority of feet are iambs, the most common English meter149
7472558332Internal rhymeA rhyme in which one or both of the rhyme-words occur within the line150
7472558333Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnetA sonnet consisting of an octave rhyming abbaabba and of a sestet using any arrangement of two or three additional rhymes, such as cdcdcd or cdecde151
7472558335Masculine rhyme (also known as single rhyme)A rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the words (rhyme, sublime)152
7472558336Meter Regularized rhythm;an arrangement of language in which the accents occur at apparently equal intervals in time153
7472558337Octave(1) An eight-line stanza. (2) The first eight lines of a sonnet, especially one structured in the manner of an Italian sonnet154
7472558338Perfect rhymeA rhyme in which is when the later part of the word or phrase is identical sounding to another. Types include masculine and feminine, among others.155
7472558340PentameterA metrical line containing five feet156
7472558341Quatrain(1) A four-line stanza. (2) A four-line division of a sonnet marked off by its rhyme scheme.157
7472558342RefrainA repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanziac form158
7472558343RhymeThe repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work. Lyricists may find multiple ways to rhyme within a verse.159
7472558344End rhymeshave words that rhyme at the end of a verse-line. Internal rhymes have words that rhyme within it.160
7472558345Rhyme schemeAny fixed pattern of rhymes characterizing a whole poem or its stanzas161
7472558346ScansionThe process of measuring verse, that is, of marking accented and unaccented syllables, dividing the lines into feet, identifying the metrical pattern, and noting significant variations from that pattern162
7472558348Sestet(1) A six-line stanza (2) The last six lines of a sonnet structured on the Italian model163
7472558349SpondeeA metrical foot consisting of two syllables equally or almost equally accented (for example, true-blue).164
7472558350StanzaA group of lines whose metrical pattern (and usually its rhyme scheme as well) is repeated throughout a poem165
7472558351SyntaxThe arrangement of words to form phrases, clauses and sentences; sentence construction166
7472558352Terza RimaA three-line stanza form borrowed from the Italian poets. The rhyme scheme is: aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc.167
7472558353TetrameterA metrical line containing four feet168
7472558354TrimeterA metrical line containing three feet169
7472558355Triple meterA meter in which a majority of the feet contain three syllables. (Actually, if more than 25 percent of the feet in a poem are triple, its effect is more triple than duple, and it ought perhaps to be referred to as triple meter.) Anapestic and dactylic are both triple meters.170
7472558357Trochaic meterA meter in which the majority of feet are trochees171
7472558358TrocheeA metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable (for example, barter)172
7472558360Ballada narrative folk song. The ballad is traced back to the Middle Ages. Ballads were usually created by common people and passed orally due to the illiteracy of the time. Subjects for ballads include killings, feuds, important historical events, and rebellion.173
7472558362ElegyA type of literature defined as a song or poem, written in elegiac couplets, that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who had died.174
7472558364EpicA long poem in a lofty style about the exploits of heroic figures. These often come from an oral tradition of shared authorship or from a single, high-profile poet imitating the style.175
7472558366Lyrica song-like poem written mainly to express the feelings of emotions or thought from a particular person, thus separating it from narrative poems. These poems are generally short, averaging roughly twelve to thirty lines, and rarely go beyond sixty lines. These poems express vivid imagination as well as emotion and all flow fairly concisely.176
7472558369Narrative poemA poem that tells a story. A narrative poem can come in many forms and styles, both complex and simple, short or long, as long as it tells a story. A few examples of a narrative poem are epics, ballads, and metrical romances.177
7472558371OdeUsually a lyric poem of moderate length, with a serious subject, an elevated style, and an elaborate stanza pattern. The ode often praises people, the arts of music and poetry, natural scenes, or abstract concepts.178
7472558373SonnetA fixed form of fourteen lines, normally iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme conforming to or approximating one of two main types—the Italian or the English179

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