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AP Literature Terms! Flashcards

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8976020751AllegoryStory conveying a meaning other than the literal; abstract principles represented by characters or figures0
8976024110AlliterationRepetition of initial consonant sounds1
9365551196AnagnorisisDiscovery; hero suddenly becoming aware of a situation or true character2
9365557811AnaphoraRepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of neighboring clauses for emphasis3
9365589292ApologueShort story with a moral, often involving talking animals or objects; a fable; short allegory4
9365605960ApostropheSpeaker addresses an inanimate object5
9365618475AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds6
9365623916BalladRelatively short narrative poem written in song-like stanza form7
9365640919BildungsromanNovel tracing the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character usually from childhood to maturaty8
9365656375Blank VerseUnrhymed iambic pentameter9
9365663322CacophonyDeliberate use of harsh and awkward sounds10
9365671849CaesuraPause or interruption in a poem; opposite od enjambment11
9365681877CanonWorks of a writer12
9365686772CaricaturePortrait that exaggerates a human trait13
9365694239CatharsisEmotional release of an audience at the end of a successful tragedy14
9365712632ClerihewRhyme of four lines, usually regarding a subject mentioned in the first line15
9365721452ColloquialismInformal speech16
9365733518Comedy of MannersPlay that satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often using stereotypes17
9365740006ConceitExtended metaphor that compares two seemingly dissimilar things18
9365774497ConnotationImplied meaning of a word19
9365774498ConsonanceRepetition of consonants sounds within words20
9365780930Controlling ImageMetaphor that dominates an entire work21
9365792222CoupletRhyming pair of lines22
9365800780DactylPoetical foot with three syllables, one stressed and two short unstressed23
9375962689DenotationLiteral meaning of a word; dictionary definition24
9375965402Deus Ex MachinaLiterally "God out of a machine;" sudden artificial or improbable resolution to a story, often implying a lack of skill on the part of the writer25
9375981275DictionWord choice26
9375983513Dramatic MonologuePoem in which a character delivers a speech explaining his/her feelings, actions, or motives27
9375989025ElegyMournful or melancholic poem28
9375992637English SonnetSonnet divided into three quatrains and a final couplet, using the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG29
9376005343EnjambmentContinuation of a phrase or clause to another line without pause (punctuation); opposite of caesura30
9376011581EpigramShort, clever poem with a witty turn of thought31
9376013774FarceExtremely broad humor32
9376015223FoilCharacter that contrasts with another character, usually the protagonist, to emphasize the other character's trait33
9376019828FootCombination of stressed and unstressed syllables34
9376022637ForeshadowingEvent or statement that suggests a future event35
9376026064Free VersePoetry without a regular rhyme scheme or metrical pattern36
9376029973HamartiaFatal flaw of a tragic hero37
9376059196HubrisExcessive pride that leads to a protagonist's downfall38
9376070861HyperboleExaggeration or overstatement; opposite of an understatement39
9376075335IambPoetical foot with two syllables-first unstressed and second stresses40
9376077188ImplicitImplied meaning; opposite of explicit41
9376082858LyricExpression of observations and feelings of a single speaker42
9376087068Magical RealismCombination of realistic details with surreal, dreamlike, or magical elements43
9376127826MetaphorRecurring or dominant element in a work44
9376129704MetonymyUse of a part to mean a whole object (i.e. hands to mean laborers); related to synecdoche45
9376139008MotifRecurring or dominant element in a work46
9376140947ObjectivityImpersonal view of events47
9376142797OnomatopoeiaWord that sounds like what it represents48
9376144996OppositionContrasting pairs of elements49
9376146386ParadoxSeemingly apparent contradiction which is accurate on closer inspection50
9376150849ParallelismRepeated words, phrases, clauses, or grammatical structure used for effect51
9376153833PastoralWork idealizing the simple life of shepherds or of tranquil nature52
9376159503PeripeteiaReversal of fortune or character53
9376160861PersonaNarrator in a non-first-person novel54
9376162710PersonificationGiving human qualities or form to inanimate objects55
9376164998ProtagonishMain character56
9376168984QuatrainFour-line stanza57
9376168985SatireGenre which ridicules its subject by exposing flaws, often to provoke or prevent change58
9376176850SestinaPoem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet (three-line stanzas), for a total of thirty-nine lines (same set of six words ends the lines of each of the six-line stanzas but in a different order)59
9376190548Simile"Weak metaphor", often uses "like" or "as"60
9376192499StanzeGroup of lines in verse; poetical equivalent of a paragraph61
9376195069SubjectivityPersonal view of events62
9376196982Subjunctive MoodMood (grammar) that sets up a hypothetical situation (i.e. if___ were___)63
9376201386SymbolWord, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level64
9376203563SynecdocheMetaphor in which a part is spoken of as the whole object, related to metonymy65
9376208349SynesthesiaOne kind of sensation is described in the terms of another; mixing the senses66
9376212677SyntazWord order67
9376212678ThemeCentral idea of a work68
9376213953Terza RimaPoem with verses of three lines and rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC69
9376216391Tragic FlawWeakness of an otherwise good or great individual that leads to his/her downfall70
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