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AP Literature Flashcards

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12167425494AllegoryA narrative or description having a second or symbolic meaning beneath the surface one0
12167425495AllusionA reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history1
12167425496AnecdoteA short account of an interesting or humorous incident2
12167425497Artistic unityThat condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose3
12167425498CacophonyA harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds4
12167425499EuphonyA smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds5
12167425500GenreA type or class, as poetry, drama, etc.6
12167425501ImageryThe representation through language of sensory experience7
12167425502MoodThe pervading impression of a work8
12167425503Moral .A rule of conduct or maxim for living expressed or implied as the "point" of a literary work. Compare Theme9
12167425504ProseNon-metrical language; the opposite of verse10
12167425505ThemeThe main idea, or message, of a literary work. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly.11
12167425506ToneThe writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject, the audience, or herself or himself; the emotional coloring, or emotional meaning, of a work12
12167425507TopicThe subject matter or area of a literary work. Not to be confused with theme.13
12167425508SettingThe context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs14
12167425509Symbol (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
12167425510VerseMetrical language; the opposite of prose16
12167425511VoiceThe distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or a character in a book17
12167425512CharacterAny 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
12167425513AntagonistCharacter in a story or poem who opposes the main character (protagonist). Sometimes the antagonist is an animal, an idea, or a thing.19
12167425514Character(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
12167425515CharacterizationThe process of conveying information about characters21
12167425516DeuteragonistThe second most important character, after the protagonist, often a foil or eventual antagonist22
12167425517Direct 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
12167425518Dynamic 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
12167425519Flat characterA character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is summed up in one or two traits25
12167425520FoilA 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
12167425521HeroA man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold exploits, and favored by the gods27
12167425522HubrisOverbearing and excessive pride28
12167425523Indirect 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
12167425524ProtagonistThe main character of a novel, play, or film30
12167425525Round characterA character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is complex and many sided.31
12167425526Static characterA character who is the same sort of person at the end of a story as at the beginning.32
12167425527Stock characterA stereotyped character.33
12167425528Tragic FlawA flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow34
12167425529AsideA 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
12167425530ColloquialInformal, conversational language36
12167425531Dialogue(1) Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. (2) A literary work written in the form of a conversation.37
12167425532DialectA regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary38
12167425533DictionWord choice39
12167425534EuphemismSubstituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one40
12167425535Figure 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
12167425536HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth42
12167425537InvectiveDenunciatory or abusive language.43
12167425538Monologue(1) A dramatic soliloquy. (2) A literary composition in such form44
12167425539ProverbA short, pithy saying that expresses a basic truth or practical precept45
12167425540PunA play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words46
12167425541SarcasmBitter or cutting speech; speech intended by its speaker to give pain to the person addressed47
12167425542Soliloquya 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
12167425543SlangA 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
12167425544UnderstatementA 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
12167425545ExpositionThe part of a play (usually at the beginning) that provides the background information needed to understand the characters and the actions.51
12167425546ConflictA 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
12167425547Rising actionThat development of plot in a story that precedes and leads up to the climax53
12167425548ClimaxThe turning point or high point of a plot54
12167425549Falling ActionThe falling action immediately follows the climax and shows the aftereffects of the events in the climax55
12167425550Denouement (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
12167425551IronyA situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy. Three kinds of irony are distinguished in this class:57
12167425552Dramatic 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
12167425553Irony 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
12167425554Verbal ironyA figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant60
12167425555Epistolary novelA novel written as a series of documents.61
12167425556First person point of viewThe story is told by one of its characters, using the first person.62
12167425557FlashbackA literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into a narrative.63
12167425558FlashforwardA literary device in which a later event is inserted into a narrative.64
12167425559In 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
12167425560Limited 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
12167425561Linear structureA plot that follows a straight-moving, cause and effect, chronological order67
12167425562Objective 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
12167425563Omniscient 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
12167425564Narratorthe 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
12167425565Nonlinear 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
12167425566Point of ViewThe angle of vision from which a story is told.72
12167425567Stream of consciousnessNarrative which presents the private thoughts of a character without commentary or interpretation by the author73
12167425568Unreliable narratora narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromised. Unreliable narrators are usually first-person narrators.74
12167425569AnticlimaxA sudden descent from the impressive or significant to the ludicrous or inconsequential75
12167425570CatastropheThe concluding action of a classical tragedy containing the resolution of the plot76
12167425571Comic ReliefA humorous incident introduced into a serious literary work in order to relieve dramatic tension or heighten emotional impact77
12167425572DilemmaA situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable78
12167425573Deus 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
12167425574Indeterminate endingAn ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved80
12167425575InversionA reversal in order, nature, or effect81
12167425576MotivationAn emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action82
12167425577MysteryAn unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense83
12167425578ParadoxA statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements84
12167425579PlotThe sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed85
12167425580Plot manipulationA situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved86
12167425581Plot deviceAn object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story. Often breaks suspension of disbelief.87
12167425582PrologueAn introduction or a preface, esp. a poem recited to introduce a play88
12167425583Red herringa literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item or person of significance89
12167425584SceneA subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and the time continuous90
12167425585SuspenseThat quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end91
12167425586Suspension of DisbeliefAn unspoken agreement between writer and reader: "I agree to believe your make-believe if it entertains me."92
12167425587SubplotA plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work93
12167425588SurpriseAn unexpected turn in the development of a plot94
12167425589ComedyA type of drama, opposed to tragedy, having usually a happy ending, and emphasizing human limitation rather than human greatness.95
12167425590Comedy of mannersComedy that ridicules the manners (way of life, social customs, etc.) of a certain segment of society96
12167425591SatireA 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
12167425592Scornful comedyA type of comedy whose main purpose is to expose and ridicule human folly, vanity, or hypocrisy98
12167425593Romantic 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
12167425594FarceA type of comedy that relies on exaggeration, horseplay, and unrealistic or improbable situations to provoke laughter100
12167425595Escapist literatureLiterature written purely for entertainment, with little or no attempt to provide insights into the true nature of human life or behavior.101
12167425596FableA short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing animal characters that act like human beings102
12167425597FantasyA kind of fiction that pictures creatures or events beyond the boundaries of known reality103
12167425598Interpretive literatureLiterature that provides valid insights into the nature of human life or behavior104
12167425599Mythany 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
12167425600Novela book of long narrative in literary prose.106
12167425601Novella (also called a short novel)a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.107
12167425602ParableA simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson108
12167425603Tragedy 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
12167425604ApostropheA figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply110
12167425605ConnotationWhat a word suggests beyond its basic definition; a word's overtones of meaning111
12167425606DenotationThe basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word112
12167425607EkphrasisThe poetic representation of a painting or sculpture in words113
12167425608Epigram(1) A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation. (2) A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement.114
12167425609Extended 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
12167425610Figurative languageLanguage employing figures of speech; language that cannot be taken literally or only literally116
12167425611Figure 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
12167425612JuxtapositionPositioning opposites next to each other to heighten the contrast118
12167425613MetaphorA figure of speech in which an implicit comparison is made between two things essentially unlike119
12167425614MetonymyA figure of speech in which some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience120
12167425615OnomatopoeiaThe use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning in their sound (for example, boom, click, plop).121
12167425616PersonificationA figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, an object, or a concept122
12167425617RhythmAny wavelike recurrence of motion or sound123
12167425618SentimentalityUnmerited or contrived tender feeling; that quality in a story that elicits or seeks to elicit tears through an oversimplification or falsification of reality124
12167425619SimileA 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
12167425620SynecdocheA figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole. In this class it is subsumed under the term Metonymy.126
12167425621SyntaxWord organization and order.127
12167425622AlliterationThe repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, map-moon, kill-code, preach-approve)128
12167425623AnapestA metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable (for example, understand)129
12167425624Anapestic meterA meter in which a majority of the feet are anapests130
12167425625Approximate 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
12167425626AssonanceThe repetition at close intervals of the vowel sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, hat-ran-amber, veinmade).132
12167425627Ballad 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
12167425628Blank versePoetry with a meter, but not rhymed, usually in iambic pentameter134
12167425629ConsonanceThe repetition at close intervals of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, bookplaque-thicker)135
12167425630CoupletTwo successive lines, usually in the same meter, linked by rhyme136
12167425631DactylA metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables (for example, merrily)137
12167425632Dactylic meterA meter in which a majority of the feet are dactyls138
12167425633End rhymeRhymes that occur at the ends of lines139
12167425634End-stopped lineA line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation — the opposite of enjambment140
12167425635Enjambment 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
12167425636English (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
12167425637Feminine rhymeA rhyme in which the stress is on the penultimate (second from last) syllable of the words (picky, tricky)143
12167425638FootThe basic unit used in the scansion or measurement of verse. A foot usually contains one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables144
12167425639Free 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
12167425640Half 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
12167425641Heroic 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
12167425642IambA metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable (for example, rehearse)148
12167425643Iambic meterA meter in which the majority of feet are iambs, the most common English meter149
12167425644Internal rhymeA rhyme in which one or both of the rhyme-words occur within the line150
12167425645Italian (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
12167425646Masculine rhyme (also known as single rhyme)A rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the words (rhyme, sublime)152
12167425647Meter Regularized rhythm;an arrangement of language in which the accents occur at apparently equal intervals in time153
12167425648Octave(1) An eight-line stanza. (2) The first eight lines of a sonnet, especially one structured in the manner of an Italian sonnet154
12167425649Perfect 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
12167425650PentameterA metrical line containing five feet156
12167425651Quatrain(1) A four-line stanza. (2) A four-line division of a sonnet marked off by its rhyme scheme.157
12167425652RefrainA repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanziac form158
12167425653RhymeThe repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work. Lyricists may find multiple ways to rhyme within a verse.159
12167425654End rhymeshave words that rhyme at the end of a verse-line. Internal rhymes have words that rhyme within it.160
12167425655Rhyme schemeAny fixed pattern of rhymes characterizing a whole poem or its stanzas161
12167425656ScansionThe 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
12167425657Sestet(1) A six-line stanza (2) The last six lines of a sonnet structured on the Italian model163
12167425658SpondeeA metrical foot consisting of two syllables equally or almost equally accented (for example, true-blue).164
12167425659StanzaA group of lines whose metrical pattern (and usually its rhyme scheme as well) is repeated throughout a poem165
12167425660SyntaxThe arrangement of words to form phrases, clauses and sentences; sentence construction166
12167425661Terza RimaA three-line stanza form borrowed from the Italian poets. The rhyme scheme is: aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc.167
12167425662TetrameterA metrical line containing four feet168
12167425663TrimeterA metrical line containing three feet169
12167425664Triple 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
12167425665Trochaic meterA meter in which the majority of feet are trochees171
12167425666TrocheeA metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable (for example, barter)172
12167425667Ballada 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
12167425668ElegyA 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
12167425669EpicA 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
12167425670Lyrica 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
12167425671Narrative 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
12167425672OdeUsually 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
12167425673SonnetA 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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