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AP Literature Terms Flashcards

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8160969485EpitaphA short text on a tombstone/plaque to honor the dead0
8160969486Enigmaa person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand1
8160969487Heroic CoupletA pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter2
8160969488SynecdocheA figure of speech in which one part is used as a whole (new set of wheel:represents a car)3
8160969489ParadoxPhrases or ideas that contradict4
8160969490OxymoronTwo words back to back that's contradict one another (jumbo shrimp, deafening silence)5
8160969491AntithesisA statement that joins opposing or contradictory ideas6
8160969492Dramatic ironyWhen the audience has more knowledge than a character on stage7
8160969493Verbal ironySaying one thing but meaning another8
8160969494Irony of situationWhen you EXPECT one thing or event to happen and OPPOSITE happens9
8160969495Pathetic FallacyHuman qualities/emotions are given to inanimate objects in nature10
8160969496Understatementthe presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is. For satirical or comedic effect11
8160969497Flashbacka scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story.12
8160969498MotifA repeated element that usually has a symbolic significance in a story13
8160969499Tragic Heroa literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction14
8160969500EpiphanyA character's transformative moment of realization15
8160969501ExpositionThe contextual background information at the beginning of literary work16
8160969502FoilA contrasting character who allows the protagonist to stand out more distinctly17
8160969503RequiemAn act, a song, a service, or a remembrance for a person who has died18
8160969504Alliterationthe repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words19
8160969505AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds20

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