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AP Literature Flashcards

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2810874930AllegoryThe representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.0
2810874931AlliterationThe repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in a line of poetry, i.e. Marilyn Monroe.1
2810874932AmbiguityWhen an author leaves out details/information or is unclear about an event so the reader will use their imagination to fill in the blanks.2
2810874933AnaphoraRepition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines in a poem3
2810874934AnecdoteA short story or joke told at the beginning of a speech to gain the audiences attention.4
2810874935AntagonistThe protagonist's adversary.5
2810874936Anti-climaticWhen the ending of the plot in poetry or prose is unfulfilling or lackluster.6
2810874937ApostropheWhen a character speaks to a character or object that is not present or is unable to respond7
2810874938AssonanceThe repetition of the same vowel sound in a phrase or line of poetry.8
2810874939Blank VerseName for unrhymed iambic pentameter. An iamb is a metrical foot in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. In iambic pentameter there are five iambs per line making ten syllables.9
2810874940ClimaxThe turning point in the plot or the high point of action.10
2810874941Colloquial LanguageInformal, conversational language. Colloquialisms are phrases or sayings that are indicative of a specific region.11
2810874942ConnotationAn idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, i.e. Bat = Evil12
2810874943ConventionAn understanding between a reader and a writer about certain details of a story that does not need to be explained.13
2810874944ConsonanceThe repetition of consonant sounds in a phrase or line of poetry. The consonant sound may be at the beginning, middle, or end of the word.14
2810874945CoupletTwo rhyming lines in poetry.15
2810874946Deux ex machinaTerm that refers to a character or force that appears at the end of a story or play to help resolve conflict. Word means "god from a machine". In ancient Greek drama, gods were lowered onto stage by a mechanism to extricate characters from a seemingly hopeless situation. The phrase has come to mean any turn of events that solve a characters problems through an unexpected and unlikely intervention.16
2810874947DictionWord choice or the use of words in speech or writing.17
2810874948DenouementThe final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.18
2810874949DopplegangerThe alter ego of a character- the suppressed side of one's personality that is usually unaccepted by society. (ex. Jekyll and Hyde)19
2810874950ElegyA poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person.20
2810874951Emotive LanguageDeliberate use of language by a writer to instill a feeling or visual.21
2810874952EnjambmentThe continuation of reading one line of a poem to the next with no pause, a run-on line.22
2810874953EpicAn extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of legendary or traditional hero.23
2810874954EpilogueA short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a play, or in a novel the epilogue is a short explanation at the end of the book which indicates what happens after the plot ends.24
2810874955EpiphanySudden enlightenment or realization, a profound new outlook or understanding about the world usually attained while doing routine activities.25
2810874956EpistolaryUsed to describe a novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to another.26
2810874957EuphemismThe act of subsitutuing a harsh, blunt, or offensive comment for a more politically accepted or positive one. (short=vertically challenged)27
2810874958EuphonyA succession of words which are pleasing to the ear. These words may be alliterative, utilize consonance, or assonance and are often used in poetry but also seen in prose.28
2810874959ExpansionAdds an unstressed syllable and a contraction or elision removes an unstressed syllable in order to maintain the rhythmic meter of a line. This practice explains some words frequently used in poetry such as th' in place of the, o'er in place of over, or 'tis or 'twas in place of it is or it was.29
2810874960FableA usually short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing as characters animals that speak and act like humans.30
2810874961Feminine endingTerm thst refers to an unstressed extra syllable at the end of a line of iambic pentameter.31
2810874962Figurative languageSpeech or writing thst departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning. Speech or writing employing figures of speech.32
2810874963FlashbackWhen a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the story.33
2810874964Flat characterA literary character whose personality can be defined by one or two traits and does not change over the course of the story. Flat characters are usually minor or insignificant characters.34
2810874965FoilA character that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another.35
2810874966FolkloreThe traditional beliefs, myths, tales, and practices of a people, transmitted orally.36
2810874967FootThe metrical length of a line is determined by the number of feet it contains. Monometer is one foot, dimeter is two feet, trimeter is three feet, etc.37
2810874968IambAn iambic foot has two syllables. The first is unstressed and the second is stressed. The iambic foot is most common in English poetry.38
2810874969TrocheeA trochiac foot has two syllables. The first is stressed the second is unstressed.39
2810874970DactylA dactylic foot has three syllables beginning with a stressed syllable; the other two unstressed.40
2810874971AnapestAn anapestic foot has three syllables. The first two are unstressed with the third stressed.41
2810874972ForeshadowingClues in the text about incidents that will occur later in the plot, foreshadowing creates anticipation in the novel.42
2810874973Free verseType of verse that contains a variety of line lengths, is unrhymed, and lacks traditional meter.43
2810874974GenreA category of artistic composting, as in music or literature, marked by distinctive style, form, or content.44
2810874975Gothic novelA genre of fiction characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, often set in a dark castle or other medieval setting.45
2810874976HeroineA woman noted for courage and daring action or the female protagonist.46
2810874977HubrisUsed in Greek tragedies, refers to excessive pride that usually leads to a hero's downfall.47
2810874978HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or comic/dramatic effect.48
2810874979IllocutionLanguage that avoids meaning of the words.49
2810874999ImageryThe use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.50
2810875000In medias resA story that begins in the middle of things.51
2810875001InversionIn poetry, inversion is an intentional digression from ordinary word order which is used to maintain regular meters. For example instead of saying "the rain came" a poem may say "came the rain".52
2810875002IronyWhen one thing should occur, is apparent, or logical sequence but the opposite is actually occurring.53
2810875003Dramatic IronyWhen the audience or reader knows something the character does not know.54
2810875004Verbal IronyWhen one thing is said, but something else, usually the opposite, is meant.55
2810875005Cosmic IronyWhen a higher power toys with human expectations.56
2810875006Masculine endingStressed extra syllable at the end of a line.57
2810875007MemoirAn account of the personal experiences of an author.58
2810875008MeterThe measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the numbers of syllables in a line.59
2810875009MetaphorA figure of speech in which a word or phrase that orginarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison; this comparison does not use like or as.60
2810875010MetonymyThe use of a word or phrase to stand in for something else which it is often associated. i.e. lamb means jesus, doe means Rachel Amber.61
2810875011MotifA dominant theme or central idea.62
2810875012NarratorSomeone who tells a story.63
2810875013First personThe narrator is in the story.64
2810875014Third person objectiveThe narrator does not tell what anyone is thinking; the fly on the wall.65
2810875015Third person limitedThe narrator is able to tell the thoughts of one character.66
2810875016Third person omniscientThe narrator is able to tell the thoughts of any character.67
2810875017NovellaA short novel under 100 pages.68
2810875018Neutral LanguageLanguage opposite from emotive Language as it is literal or even objective in nature.69
2810875019Oblique rhymeImperfect rhyme scheme.70
2810875020OdeA lyric poem of some length, usually of a serious or mediative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanzaic structure. An ode celebrates something. John Keats is known for writing Odes.71
2810875021OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the actions or objects they refer to.72
2810875022ParadoxStatement which seems to contradict itself.73
2810875023ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristics style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.74
2810875024PersonificationA figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.75
2810875025Poetic JusticeThe rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice in resolution of a plot. The character, as they say, gets what they deserve.76
2810875026PrequelA literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of preexisting work or a sequel.77
2810875027PrologueAn introduction or a preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.78
2810875028ProseOrdinary speech or writing without metrical structure, written in paragraph form. Novels and short stories are referred to as prose.79
2810875029ProtagonistThe main character in a drama or literary work.80
2810875030PunPlay on words, when two words have multiple meanings and spellings and are used in a humorous manner.81
2810875031RhymeThe repitition of sounds in words.82
2810875032Rhyme schemeThe act of assigning letters in the alphabet to demonstrate the rhyming lines in a poem.83
2810875033Rising actionThe events of a dramatic or narrative plot preceding the climax.84
2810875034Rites of passageAn incident which creates tremendous growth signifying a transition from adolescence to adulthood.85
2810875035Round characterA character who is developed over the course of the book, round characters are usually major characters in a novel.86
2810875036ResolutionSolution to the conflict in literature.87
2810875037SatireA literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit; the goal is to change the behavoir/issue.88
2810875038SimileA figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often a phrase introduced by like or as.89
2810875039SlangA kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.90
2810875040SoliloquyA dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to themself or reveals their thoughts without addressing the listener. Typical in plays.91
2810875041SonnetA poem with fourteen lines.92
2810875042StyleThe combination of distinctive features of literary or artistic expression, execution, or performance characterizing a particular person, group, school, or era.93
2810875043SymbolismSomething that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.94
2810875044TragedyA drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.95
2810875045ToneReflects how the author feels about the subject manner or the feeling the author wants to instill in the reader.96

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