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AP LITERATURE Flashcards

AP Lit vocabulary

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7268790638Catharsis (n)Protagonist's guilt that is purged, rather than the audience's feeling of terror.0
7268790639Flat CharacterA character whose character is summed up in one or two traits.1
7268790640Round CharactersA character whose character is complex and many-sided.2
7268790641Stock CharactersA stereotyped character: one whose nature is familiar to us from prototypes in previous fiction.3
7268790642Denouement (n)The portion of a plot that reveals the final outcome of it's conflicts or the solution of its mysteries.4
7268790643ExpositionOpening part of a play or story in which we are introduced to the characters and their situation, often by reference to preceding events.5
7268790644Hamartia (tragic flaw)False step that leads the protagonist in a tragedy to his or her downfall.6
7268790645In medias res (n)"In the middle of things"; beginning a story in the middle of the action.7
7268790646Aestheticismreverence for beauty; movement that held beautiful form is to be valued more than instructive content.8
7268790647BaroqueA grand and exuberantly ornamental style.9
7268790648ClassicismAn adherence to the principles of Greek and Roman Literature.10
7268790649ConventionA device of style or subject matter so often used that it becomes a recognized means of expression .11
726879065012
7268790651DenotationThe precise, literal meaning of a word, without emotional associations or overtones.13
7268790652Digression (noun)A portion of a written work that interrupts or pauses the progression of the theme or plot.14
7268790653EpigraphThe use of a quotation at the beginning of a work of literature that hints at its theme.15
7268790654ExistentialismA philosophical movement that focuses on the individual human being's experience of recognition of, and triumph over, the meaninglessness of existence.16
7268790655Expressionismpresents life not as it appears on the surface, but as it is passionately felt to be by an author or character.17
7268790656Hedonism (n)The pursuit of pleasure above all else.18
7268790657Invective (n)Direct denunciation or name calling.19
7268790658Juxtapositionthe "side by side" comparison of two or more objects or ideals for the purpose of highlighting similarities or differences.20
7268790659MalapropismThe comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound, but different in meaning.21
7268790660NaturalismStyle of writing that rejects idealized portrayals of life and attempts complete accuracy, disinterested objectivity, and frankness in depicting life as a brutal struggle for survival.22
7268790661PrimitivismThe belief that nature provides a truer and more healthful model than culture; the noble savage.23
7268790662RealismAn author's use of accuracy in the portrayal of life or reality.24
7268790663RegionalismThe tendency in literature to focus on a specific geographical region or locality, re-creating as accurately as possible it's unique setting, speech, customs, manners, beliefs and history.25

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