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AP Literature Terms Flashcards

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9707240451Abstract DictionIntangible general concepts. ex:0
9707240452AllegoryAn abstract concept is presented as though it were a character who speaks and acts an independent being. ex: ^1
9707240453AllusionA passing reference in a work of literature to another literary or historical work, figure, event, or to a literary passage. ex: Hercules' strength looks of a dauntless human2
9707240454AnalogyThe comparison of a subject to something that is similar to it in order to clarify to subject's nature, purpose, or function ex:3
9707243057AnaphoraThe intentional repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines, stanzas, sentences, or paragraphs. ex: Canon to the right of them, canon to the left of them4
9707243058AntagonistA character that opposes the protagonist's goals and interests and so creates the major conflict in the work. ex: Darth Vader, Iago5
9707243059AntithesisA figure of speech in which words or phrases that are parallel in order and syntax express opposite or contrasting meanings. ex:6
9707246365ApostropheAn address to a dead or absent person or to an inanimate object or abstract concept. ex Romeo Romeo where art thou7
9707246366AssonanceThe repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables. ex: As apples are amazing8
9707246367AtmosphereThe predominant mood or tone in all or part of a literary work. ex:9
9707252767BildungsromanNovel of intellectual and emotional development of the protagonist from childhood into adulthood. ex: ^10
9707252768CharacterizationThe techniques by which an author of a work of fiction, drama, or narrative poem represents the moral, intellectual, and emotional natures of the characters. ex: ^11
9707252769ChiasmusA figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words. ex: The truth is the light and the light is the truth12
9707255095Classical TragedyTragedy from ancient Greece that centers on a highborn tragic hero. ex: A hero's downfall13
9707255096Concrete DictionTangible concepts. ex:14
9707255116ConsonanceThe repetition of consonant sounds in two or more successive words or stressed syllables that contain different vowel sounds. ex: The zoo is amazing with the zebras15
9707258784DictionChoice of words. ex:16
9707258785DramaMajor literary form that presents characters directly to the audience usually without the intermediary of a narrator. ex:17
9707258786Dramatic IronyWhen the audience is privy to knowledge that one or more of the characters lacks. ex:18
9707263360EpiphanyA sudden, overwhelming insight or revelation evoked by a commonplace object or a scene in the poem or a work of fiction. ex: Dorian Grey's Mirror19
9707263361Epistolary NovelComprised of letters between characters. ex: ^20
9714530177EuphemismSaying a word to lesser the meaning ex: passing away instead of dying21
9707265300ExpositionThe beginning of a novel. ex:22
9707265301Extended MetaphorComparison sustained through several lines. ex:23
9707265302FlashbackAn interruption of the chronological sequence of an event or earlier occurrence. ex:24
9707267241FoilA character contrasts with the protagonists in ways that bring out certain of his or her moral, emotional, or intellectual qualities. ex: Romeo's nature vs Juliet's nature25
9707267242HeroTerm for protagonist that has a connotation of nobility, dignity, and elevated status. ex:26
9707267243HyperboleA trope in which a point is stated in a way that is greatly exaggerated. ex:27
9707267244ImageryWidely used term that has several distinctive meanings, representing through description. ex: The smell of the grass blew through my nose28
9707270316In Medias ResBeginning a narration not in chronological order, with the first event in the plot, but at some later point. ex: In the middle of things29
9707270317IronyFigurative language that depends on presenting a deliberate contrast between two levels of meaning. ex:30
9707272681LitotesA figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negotiating is opposite. ex: It was not a pretty picture31
9707272682Lyric PoetryA speaker expresses what he or she feels, thinks, or speaks. ex:32
9707272683MetonymySubstitutes the name of an entity with something closely associated with it. ex:33
9714736404MetaphorUmbrella term for comparison ex: Life is like....34
9707277335Novel of CharacterPrimary interest is in the protagonist's thoughts, feelings, and motives, and in the ways characters develop. ex: ^35
9707277336Novel of IncidentMain focus is on the course and outcome of events in the plot. ex: ^36
9707280472OnomatopoeiaA word that imitates a sound. ex:37
9707284557ParadoxA trope in which a statement that appears on the surface to be contradictory or impossible turns out to express and often striking truth. ex:38
9707284558Pathetic FallacyType of personification in which inanimate aspects of nature such as the landscape or the weather are represented as having human qualities or feelings. ex: ^39
9707287730PeriphrasisA figure of thought in which a point is stated by deliberate circumlocution, rather than directly. ex:40
9707287731PunA figure of thought that plays on words that have the same sound, or closely similar sounds, but sharply contrasted meanings. ex:41
9707287732Realistic NovelThe predominant type that depicts a fictional world that closely resembles the events, social interactions, settings, motivations, and feelings encountered in everyday life. ex:42
9707290040Rhetorical QuestionA figure of speech in which a question is posed not to solicit a reply but to emphasize a foregone or clearly implied conclusion. ex: Are you crazy?43
9707290041RomanceA form popular in both prose and verse throughout the Renaissance. ex:44
9707290042Round CharacterMulti faced and subject to change and growth; he or she is capable of inconsistencies, and in those ways similar to an actual human being. ex:45
9707292639SarcasmThe taunting use of apparent approval or praise for actual disapproval or dispraise, simpler and more crude and signaled by vocal inflection. ex:46
9707292640SatireType of comedy directed at ridiculing human foibles and vices such as vanity and greed; not meant to invoke laughter. ex: Ridicule47
9707296155Selection and Order of DetailsCrucial to the meaning of the tone of a literary work. ex:48
9707296156SettingThe time and place in which the events in a work of fiction, drama, or narrative poetry take place. ex: Thornefield49
9707296157SimileOne kind of thing is compared to a markedly different object, concept, or experience made explicit by like, as, appears, and seams. ex:50
9707299226Structural IronyAn implication of alternative or more complex meaning that pervades a work. ex:51
9707301208StructureBasic framework, the principles and the patterns on which it is organized. ex: ^52
9707301209SymoblismAn object, action, or event that represent something, or creates a range of associations beyond itself. ex: The Grapes of Wraith53
9707301210SynecdochePart of something is used to represent the whole or the term for the whole is used to represent a part. ex: 100 eyes looked back at me when I did my speech54
9707305215Theater of the AbsurdQuestion the meaning of life in a universe seen as godless which has overthrown such accepted conventions as a well established setting logical dialogue, and a fully resolved conflict. ex:55
9707305216ThemeA central idea that it conveys, either directly or implicitly. ex:56
9707305217ToneAuthor's or speaker's implied attitude towards the subject. ex: ^57
9707305218TragedyTone is serious and somber and the outcome is disastrous for the protagonist. ex: ^58
9707702879VersePoetry ex:59

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