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AP Literature Terms Flashcards

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4788643498alliterationthe repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginning of words.0
4788643499allusiona reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person, or work.1
4788643500apostrophea technique by which a writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either dead or absent.2
4788643501assonancethe repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words3
4788643502blank verseunrhymed iambic pentameter4
4788643503caesuraa break or pause (usually for sense) in the middle of a verse line5
4788643504consonanceRepetition of consonant sounds6
4788643505coupleta stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse7
4788643506heroic coupleta couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentameter and written in an elevated style8
4788643507dictionA writer's or speaker's choice of words9
4788643508syntaxthe rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language10
4788643509elegya mournful poem11
4788643510epigrama witty saying expressing a single thought or observation12
4788643511odea lyric poem with complex stanza forms13
4788643512villanelleintricately patterned poem, stanzas of 13 lines last stanza 4 lines, 1st + 3rd = form refrain, refrains repealed and poem ends there are only two rhymes in the whole poem14
4788643513enjambmentthe continuation of meaning, without pause or break, from one line of poetry to the next15
4788643514metaphora figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity16
4788643515allegoryan expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances17
4788643516similea figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as')18
4788643517symbolisma device in literature where an object represents an idea.19
4788643518personificationrepresenting an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature, the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas etc.20
4788643519hyperboleextravagant exaggeration21
4788643520understatementthe opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.22
4788643521imageryThe use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, or experience23
4788643522ironyincongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs24
4788643523dramatic ironyoccurs when another character(s) and/or the audience know more than one or more characters on stage about what is happening25
4788643524situational ironyoccurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected26
4788643525sarcasmharsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony27
4788643526satireform of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly28
4788643527parodyhumorous or satirical mimicry29
4788643528metera pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry30
4788643529rhythmthe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry; the beat of a poem31
4788643530poetic foota group of syllables in verse usually consisting of one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables associated with it.32
4788643531iamba metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables33
4788643532dactyla metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables34
4788643533trocheea metrical unit with stressed-stressed-unstressed syllables35
4788643534anapesta metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed-stressed syllables36
4788643535pyrrhicof or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables37
4788643536pyrrhic victorya victory that is won by incurring terrible losses, a victory that is won by incurring terrible losses38
4788643537oxymoronconjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')39
4788643538paradoxa statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.40
4788643539metonymysubstituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in 'they counted heads')41
4788643540synecdocheUses a part to explain a whole or a whole to explain a part. ex. Lend me an ear.42
4788643541tonemanner in which an author expresses his or her attitude toward a speech43
4788643542moodthe overall emotion created by a work of literature44

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