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AP Literature Literary Terms Flashcards

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3061404813lyricsubjective, reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and meter which reveals the poet's thoughts and feelings to create a single, unique impression.0
3061404814narrativenondramatic, objective verse with regular rhyme scheme and meter which relates a story or narrative.1
3061404815sonneta highly formal and rigid14-line lyric verse form, with variable structure and rhyme scheme according to type. It usually occurs in iambic pentameter, and is written about one important subject (often love).2
3061404816English (Shakespearean)Sonnet with three quatrains and concluding couplet in iambic pentameter, rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, gg or abba, cddc, effe, gg. The Spenserian sonnet is a specialized form with linking rhyme abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee.3
3061404817Italian (Petrarchan)Sonnet with an octave and sestet, between which a break in thought occurs. The traditional rhyme scheme is abba, abba, cde, cde (or, in the sestet, any variation of c, d, e).4
3061404818odeelaborate lyric verse which deals seriously with a dignified theme.5
3061404819blank verseunrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.6
3061404820free verseunrhymed lines without regular rhythm.7
3061404821epica long, dignified narrative poem which gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race.8
3061404822dramatic monologuea lyric poem in which the speaker tells an audience about a dramatic moment in her life and, in doing so, reveals her character.9
3061404823elegya poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual.10
3061404824balladsimple, narrative verse which tells a story to be sung or recited; the folk ________ is anonymously handed down, while the literary ______ has a single author.11
3061404825idylllyric poetry describing the life of the shepherd in pastoral, bucolic, idealistic terms.12
3061404826villanellea French verse form, strictly calculated to appear simple and spontaneous; five tercets and a final quatrain, rhyming aba, aba, aba, aba, aba, abaa. Lines 1, 6, 12, 18 and 3, 9, 15, 19 are refrain.13
3061404827light versea general category of poetry written to entertain, such as lyric poetry, epigrams, and limericks. It can also have a serious side, as in parody or satire.14
3061404828haikuJapanese verse in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, often depicting a delicate image.15
3061404829limerickhumorous nonsense-verse in five anapestic lines rhyming aabba; a-lines being trimeter and b-lines being dimeter.16
3061404830meterpoetry's rhythm, or its pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. ______ is measured in units of feet.17
3061404831scansionthe analysis of the mechanical elements within a poem to determine meter. Feet are marked off with slashes ( / ) and accented appropriately as stressed or unstressed.18
3061404832caesuraa pause in the meter or rhythm of a line.19
3061404833enjambmenta run-on line, continuing into the next without a grammatical break.20
3061404834rimeold spelling of rhyme, which is the repetition of like sounds at regular intervals, employed in versification, the writing of verse.21
3061404835versificationthe writing of verse.22
3061404836end rhymerhyme occurring at the ends of verse lines; most common rhyme form.23
3061404837internal rhymerhyme contained within a line of verse.24
3061404838rhyme schemepattern of rhymes within a unit of verse; in analysis, each end rhyme-sound is represented by a letter (abab etc.)25
3061404839masculine rhymerhyme in which only the last, accented syllable of the rhyming words correspond exactly in sound; most common kind of end rhyme (night/skies/bright/eyes).26
3061404840feminine rhymerhyme in which two consecutive syllables of the rhyming words correspond, the first syllable carrying the accent; double rhyme (flying/dying).27
3061404841half rhyme (slant rhyme)imperfect, approximate rhyme (sun/sea/scud/beaks).28
3061404842assonancerepetition of two or more vowel sounds within a line.29
3061404843consonancerepetition of two or more consonant sounds within a line.30
3061404844alliterationrepetition of one or more initial sounds, usually consonants, in words within a line.31
3061404845onomatopoeiathe use of a word whose sound suggests it meaning.32
3061404846euphonythe use of compatible, harmonious sounds to produce a pleasing, melodious effect.33
3061404847cacophonythe use of inharmonious sounds in close conjunction for effect; the opposite of euphony.34
3061404848metaphora figure of speech which makes a direct comparison of two unlike objects by identification or substitution.35
3061404849similea direct comparison of two unlike objects, using like or as.36
3061404850conceitan extended metaphor comparing two unlike objects with powerful effect. (It owes its roots to elaborate analogies in Petrarch and to the Metaphysical poets, particularly Donne.)37
3061404851personificationa figure of speech in which objects and animals have human qualities.38
3061404852apostrophean address to a person or personified object not present.39
3061404853metonymythe substitution of a word which relates to the object or person to be named, in place of the name itself.40
3061404854synecdochea figure of speech in which a part represents the whole object or idea.41
3061404855hyperboleexaggeration for effect; overstatement.42
3061404856litotesa form of understatement in which the negative of an antonym is used to achieve emphasis and intensity.43
3061404857ironythe contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning:44
3061404858symbolismthe use of one object to suggest another.45
3061404859imagerythe use of words to represent things, actions, or ideas by sensory description.46
3061404860paradoxa statement which appears self-contradictory, but underlines a basis of truth.47
3061404861oxymoroncontradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect.48
3061404862allusiona reference to an outside fact, event, or other source.49
3061404863tonethe author's attitude toward her audience and subject.50
3061404864themethe author's major idea or meaning.51
3061404865dramatic situationthe circumstance of the speaker.52
3061404866stanzaa section of a poem53
3061404867aubadea song written to praise the coming of dawn.54
3061404868ballada simple poem, usually created for singing, dealing with a dramatic episode.55
3061404869balladea French poem of three stanzas and an envoy, a four-line refrain recited to another person.56
3061404870dirgea poem or song of lament, usually a commemoration for the dead.57
3061404871ecloguea bucolic or pastoral poem such as Spenser's Shepheardes Calendar.58
3061404872epithalamiona poem written in celebration of marriage.59
3061404873hymna poem of religious emotion usually written for singing.60
3061404874monodya poem similar to a dirge; a Greek poem of mourning sung by one person.61
3061404875pastoralmany forms of literature fit this category; its setting is a created world marked by constant summer and fecund nature.62
3061404876rondeaua French poem for light topics; it has 15 lines, with short refrains at lines 9 and 15, rhymed aabba, aabc, aabbac.63
3061404877rondela poem very similar to a rondeau, with 13 or 14 lines.64
3061404878songa poem for musical expression, usually brief, straightforward, and emotional.65
3061404879threnodya poem similar to a dirge; in Greek poetry it mourns the dead and is sung by a chorus.66
3061404880vers de sociétélight verse, written in a congenial, witty, amorous way.67
3061404881lyric poemThe _____ is the most widely used type of poem, so diverse in its format that a rigid definition is impossible. However, several qualities are common to all _____=1. limited in length 2. intensely subjective3. personal expressions of personal emotion 4. expresses thoughts and feelings of a single speaker 5. highly imaginative 6. has a regular rhyme scheme68
3061404882narrative poemThe __________ tells a story, sometimes simple, sometimes complicated, sometimes brief, sometimes long (as in the epic). Because of the increasing acceptance of the novel and shorter forms of prose fiction, _______ appears less frequently today. Almost the opposite of the lyric, it can be characterized as follows=1. highly objective 2. told by a speaker detached from the action 3. the thoughts and feelings of the speaker do not enter the poem 4. the rhyme scheme is regular69
3061404883soliloquy(literally one-speech)--a sustained moment where one character speaks his private thoughts aloud. Other characters cannot hear him, but the audience can.70
3061404884asidea brief moment where one character speaks his private thoughts aloud while in the middle of a conversation with other characters. Other characters cannot hear him, but the audience can.71
3061404885odean exalted, complex, rapturous lyric poem written about a dignified, lofty subject.72
3061404886blank verseunrhymed verse, but each line is basically iambic pentameter. It is often used in plays, especially those of Shakespeare. The tone of ______ tends to be serious. Today, critics employ the term to include many unrhymed metric forms, where iambic pentameter occurs but not constantly.73
3061404887free verse (vers libre)it is free from the limitations of fixed meter and rhyme, but this is not to say that it lacks poetic techniques. _________ is very rhythmic, often patterned after the spoken word. (The American poet Walt Whitman is one of its great practitioners).74
3061404888dramatic monologueAnother form of the lyric, the dramatic monologue was brought to great heights by the Victorian poet Robert Browning. As the title suggests, it is a poem told by one speaker about a significant event. We enter the psyche of the speaker, and the skillful poet makes much of his own nature, attitudes and circumstances available in words to the reader who discerns the implications of the poem. The dramatic monologue differs from soliloquy in a play in that in drama time and place are developed before the character ascends the stage alone to make his remarks, whereas the dramatic monologue by itself establishes time, place and character. In the dramatic monologue, the speaker= 1. reveals in his own words some dramatic situation in which he is involved 2. demonstrates his character through the poem 3. addresses a listener who does not engage in dialogue but helps to develop the speech75
3061404889elegya poem that mourns the death of an individual, the absence of something deeply loved, or the transience of mankind. A form of the lyric, the poem has a solemn, dignified tone as it laments the loss of something dear to the poet or to man. A particular subset is the Pastoral Elegy, a mourning poem with a joyous ending. The format involves a shepherd set in a pastoral world, a rustic, fertile environment marked by eternal summer and a fecund nature.76
3061404890metric feetiambic= a light followed by a stressed syllable (balloon) trochaic= a stressed followed by a light syllable (soda) anapestic= two light followed by a stressed syllable (contradict) dactylic= a stressed followed by two light syllables (maniac) spondaic= two successive syllables with approximately equal strong stresses (man-made) pyrrhic= two successive syllables with approximately equal light stresses77
3061404891verse linesAspect of poetry measured as follows: monometer/one foot; dimeter/two feet; trimeter/three feet; tetrameter/four feet; pentameter/five feet hexameter/six feet (also called an Alexandrine); heptameter/seven feet (also called a fourteener); octometer/eight feet78
3061404892figurative languagewriting or speech not meant to be interpreted literally; it is language used to create vivid word pictures, to make writing emotionally intense and concentrated, and to state ideas in new and unusual ways79
3061404893flashbackinterruption of the narrative to show an episode that happened before that point in the story80
3061404894foreshadowinghint to the reader of what is to come81
3061404895mood (atmosphere)feeling created in the reader by the passage82
3061404896parableshort tale that teaches a lesson or illustrates a moral truth (The Pearl, "The Minister's Black Veil")83
3061404897point of viewthe vantage point from which a story is told; first-person- the story is told by a character within the story third-person- the story is told by a narrator outside the story limited - the storyteller knows the internal state of one character omniscient - the storyteller knows the internal states of all characters84
3061404898rhythmpattern of stressed or unstressed sounds in spoken or written language85
3061404899sentence structurevaried length and arrangement of words to produce a desired effect86
3061404900settingtime and place of action87
3061404901structureoverall design or arrangement of material88
3061404902stylemode of expression, the devices an author employs in his writing, the way the content is presented89
3061404903syntaxarrangement of words to show their mutual relations90
3061404904word choice (diction)particular choice of words for meaning and suggestion91
3061404905anaphorathe repetition of a word or short phrase for dramatic or rhetorical effect (ex: MLK's use of "I have a dream")92
3061404906anastropheInverted syntax, like how Yoda talks93
3061404907asyndetonthe omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentnece94
3061404908zeugmaa figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (ex: Frank and his license expired last month [different ways of expiring])95

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