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AP Literature Terms Flashcards

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7273170563AlliterationRepetition of initial consonant sounds or letters, mainly for tonal effects. "Scyld, son of Sceaf, Snatched from the forces of savage foes" Basic form of Anglo-Saxon and some medieval verse0
7273170564AllegoryA literary form in which some or all of the elements of actions, character, and setting stand for either general concepts or parallel elements in life. A story obviously told on multiple levels, drawing significant interest to a world symbolized, outside of the ostensible story. In these, almost everything in the story (characters, settings, objects, motivation) has a symbolic dimension.1
7273170565AmbiguityA situation in which something can be understood in more than one way and it is not clear which meaning is intended. An expression or statement that has more than one meaning.2
7273170566AnaphoraRepetition of the same words at the beginning of several consecutive sentences3
7273170567AnastropheThe natural order of words is inverted to emphasize the phrase that is displaced.4
7273170568AnalogySustained comparison, usually to clarify complex or abstract idea5
7273170569AnecdoteVery short, unadorned narrative, usually to illustrate character or personality.6
7273170570AntithesisA rhetorical pattern in which contrasting ideas are emphasized by the balance or parallelism of words. "Be not the first by whom the new is tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside."7
7273170571AntiheroCentral character in a story who is not brave, noble, or morally good as heroes traditionally are.8
7273170572AphorismA concise, pointed epigrammatic statement that purports to reveal a truth or principle. Can be attributed to a specific person; once a statement is so generally known that authorship is lost, it is called a proverb rather than this. "A rose by any other name would smell at sweet" ~ William Shakespeare9
7273170573ApostropheA direct address to an absent, imaginary, or dead person, or to an object, quality, or idea. Sing Muse, of the rage of Achilles10
7273170574ApotheosisElevation to divine status; the perfect example.11
7273170575AppositionThe writer places two elements side by side; the second element is used to define or modify the first.12
7273170576ArchetypeA term describing certain characters or plot elements representing recurrent patterns of experience in man's inheritance and appearing in myth, legend, dream, and literature Ex: quest, rite of passage, utopia, rebirth, hero, king, prince, warrior, explorer, child, mother, hermit13
7273170577AssonanceThe repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words14
7273170578AsideA remark made by an actor, usually to the audience, that the other characters on stage supposedly cannot hear. A spoken remark not directed to all listeners and usually made in a quiet voice.15
7273170579AsyndetonConjunctions are omitted from the text in order to speed up the rhythm of the passage. Writers use this technique to make an idea more memorable16
7273170580AtmosphereA prevailing emotional tone or attitude, especially one associated with a specific place or time. The prevailing tone or mood of a work of art. An interesting or exciting mood existing in a particular place.17
7273170581AubadeA short lyric expressive of one's feelings at daybreak.18
7273170582BalladTraditionally, a folk song telling a story or legend in simple language, often with a refrain. Some poets have adopted the form. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"19
7273170583BildungsromanA novel of formation or of education; the subject is the development of protagonist's mind and character in passage from childhood into maturity. Often involves a spiritual crisis.20
7273170584Blank VerseUnrhymed iambic pentameter.21
7273170585Byronic Heroan antihero of the highest order. He (or she) is typically rebellious, arrogant, anti-social or in exile, and darkly, enticingly romantic.22
7273170586CaesuraA pause in a line of poetry. In scansion, this is indicated by the symbol //23
7273170587CantoA division of a long poem. Used in Dante's The Divine Comedy24
7273170588CaricatureA drawing, description, or performance that exaggerates somebody's or something's characteristics, for example, somebody's physical features, for humorous or satirical effect. A ridiculously inappropriate or unsuccessful version of or attempt at something.25
7273170589ConceitAn elaborate parallel between two seemingly dissimilar object or ideas; common in metaphysical poetry26
7273170590Comedy of MannersA satiric form of comedy, most often associated with Restoration-Age drama. Usually takes the artificial and sophisticated habits and doings of aristocratic or high society as its general settings and love or amorous intrigues as its subject.27
7273170591ConnotationAll other associations other than the dictionary meaning, sometimes even unconscious ones, that are conveyed by a word.28
7273170592ConsonanceThe repetition of a final consonant sound or sounds following different vowel sounds.29
7273170593CoupletTwo successive lines of rhyming verse30
7273170594DenotationThe dictionary meaning of a word; it's straightforward significance31
7273170595DenouementFrench for "unknotting", both refers to events following climax and implies some ingenious resolution of conflict32
7273170596Deus ex MachinaLatin for "god from a machine", the intervention of a nonhuman force to resolve a seemingly irresolvable conflict33
7273170597DialectA regional variety of a language, with differences in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. A form of a language spoken by members of a particular social class or profession34
7273170598DictionAuthor's word choice35
7273170599Double EntendreA remark that is ambiguous and sometimes sexually suggestive36
7273170600DystopiaThe opposite of an utopia; Greek for "bad place". Usually set in the future and describes an unpleasant, disastrous, or terrifying society or world.37
7273170601ElegyA formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure, or occasionally a meditation on death itself.38
7273170602ElegiacExpressing sorrow or regret; characteristic of a poetic elegy in form or content39
7273170603EpicA lengthy narrative that describes the deeds of a heroic figure, often of national or cultural importance, in elevated language40
7273170604EpithetAn adjective or phrase applied to a noun to accentuate a certain characteristic. Homeric example: the wine-dark sea.41
7273170605EpiphanyA moment of sudden insight or revelation that a character experiences42
7273170606End RhymeRhymes appearing at the end of lines of poetry43
7273170607EnjambmentA poetic expression that spans more than one line.44
7273170608Epistolary NovelNarrative told through letters written by one or more characters. Ex: Frankenstein45
7273170609FarceA comic play in which authority, order, and morality are at risk and ordinary people are caught up in extraordinary goings on.46
7273170610FoilCharacter who, by his contrast with the protagonist, serves to accentuate that character's distinctive qualities or characteristics. Also known as character ____.47
7273170611FootThe basic unit of the accentual-syllabic line.48
7273170612Framed NarrativeA story enclosed with in an embedded narrative, a tale within a tale. `49
7273170613Free VerseVerse without fixed meter or rhyme, but using formal elements of patterned verse (e.g. assonance, alliteration)50
7273170614GenreThe classification of literary works on the basis of their content, form, or technique.51
7273170615Hamartiaa fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine52
7273170616Heroic CoupletTwo successive lines of rhymed poetry in iambic pentameter53
7273170617HubrisPride; especially in Greek tragedy, the pride that sets man at variance with the gods.54
7273170618HyperboleExtravagant overstatement, not intended to be taken literally. "I died laughing."55
7273170619IambTwo syllables; unstressed, stressed.56
7273170620Iambic PentameterThe most common rhythm in English poetry, consisting of five iambs in each line. "The quality of mercy is not strained."57
7273170621ImageryWords or phrases a writer selects to create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually based on sensory detail.58
7273170622In Medias ResAt a critical point in the development of the action: referring to the principle that epics and other narratives should begin literally in the middle of things and postpone previous events to later in the story.59
7273170623Internal RhymeRhymes before the end of a line of poetry. How stayest thou there, whilst I at Ispwich lie?60
7273170624IronyRhetorically, the use of words to imply a meaning opposite to that literally stated, humor or mockery is involved, verbal _____: writer says one thing and means another: "The best substitute for experience is being sixteen", dramatic _____: audience is aware of something and the characters in the text are not, situational _____: a great difference between the purpose of an action and its result.61
7273170625JuxtapositionThe act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side.62
7273170626KenningMetaphorical compound used in the place of a noun; common in Anglo-Saxon poetry. "Whale-road" for the sea, "ring-giver" for a king63
7273170627Local ColorUse of details that are common in a certain region of the country.64
7273170628LyricShort poetic composition that describes the thought of a single speaker. Most modern poetry is and focuses on the inner experience rather than then outward story.65
7273170629MelodramaDrama that emphasizes conflict between good and evil; relies on sensational events and improbabilities form dramatic effect.66
7273170630MetonymySubstitution of one term for another that is generally associated with it; "suits" instead of "businessmen"67
7273170631MeterThe pattern created in a line of poetry by its structure of sounds and stressed syllables.68
7273170632MoodThe feeling a text arouses in the reader: happiness, sadness, peacefulness, ect.69
7273170633MonologueIn drama a speech given by an actor by himself, and not part of the chorus or dialogue.70
7273170634MotifAn important and repeated theme or element in a text.71
7273170635OnomatopoeiaUse of words such as "pop", "buzz", "hiss", that sound like the thing they refer to.72
7273170636OxymoronAn association of two contrary terms, as in "same difference" or "wise fool".73
7273170637ParadoxStatement that seems absurd or even contradictory, but often expresses a deeper truth74
7273170638ParodyA literary form that imitates a specific literary work or the style of an author for comic effect.75
7273170639PathosFrom the Greek meaning strong emotion often suffering or, in a tragedy, a calamity causing suffering76
7273170640PersonaAn identity or role that somebody assumes. The image of character and personality that somebody wants to show the outside world.77
7273170641PersonificationThe attributing of human qualities to animals, to abstractions, or to inanimate objects.78
7273170642Picaresque NovelA type of prose fiction that features the adventures of a roguish hero and usually has a simple plot divided into separate episodes. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn79
7273170643Poetic JusticeIdea that virtuous and evil actions are ultimately dealt with justly; virtue is rewarded and evil is punished.80
7273170644PolysyndetonUsing conjunctions in close succession in order to slow the rhythm of the passage and add solemnity81
7273170645RefrainA line or lines that recur throughout a poem or the lyrics of a song. They may vary slightly but is it generally exactly the same.82
7273170646Rhymed VersePoetry that follows a rhyme scheme as opposed to free verse without rhyme.83
7273170647RhythmA term referring to a measured flow of words and signifying the basic beat or pattern established by stressed syllables, unstressed syllables and pauses.84
7273170648roman à clefa novel in which real people or events appear with invented names85
7273170649SatireA literary genre that uses irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity's vices & foibles, giving impetus to reform through ridicule.86
7273170650SoliloquyLines in a play in which a character reveals thoughts to the audience but not to the other characters; it is usually longer than an aside and not directed at the audience87
7273170651SonnetA lyric poem that almost always consists of fourteen lines (usually printed as a single stanza) and that typically follows one of the conventional rhyme schemes. May address a range of issues or themes, but love is the most common theme.88
7273170652Stream-of-ConsciousnessThe continuous flow of sense perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories in the human mind; a literary method of representing such a blending of mental processes in fictional characters. Example: James Joyce's Ulysses.89
7273170653Sturm Und DrangLiterally "storm and stress"; term used to describe emotional turmoil in an artistic work90
7273170654SublimeA feeling of awe or wonder felt in the presence of greatness.91
7273170655SynecdocheA figure of speech that refers to a whole entity by identifying only a part of it. The Crown, for the English92
7273170656SyntaxThe manner in which words are arranged into sentences; sentence structure93
7273170657TableauA dramatic, often symbolic arrangement of characters on a stage. Prince Hamlet contemplating Yorick's skull is the most famous example in dramatic literature.94
7273170658ToneThe attitude of the author toward the reader or the subject matter of a literary work95
7273170659UnderstatementA statement, or a way of expressing yourself, that is deliberately less forceful or dramatic than the subject would seem to justify or require96
7273170660Unreliable NarratorOne whose perception, interpretation, and evaluation of the matters s/he narrates do not coincide with the implicit opinions and norms of the author or those the author expects the reader to share97
7273170661VersePoetry or an individual poem, that is any metrical composition98
7273170662VoiceAwareness of a voice behind the fictitious voices that speak in a text. Sense of a pervasive authorial presence, intelligence, and moral sensibility which invented and ordered the literary characters.99

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