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AP Literature Terms (with images) Flashcards

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3947063583AllegoryThe representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.0
3947063584AlliterationThe repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in a line of poetry.1
3947063585AnaphoraRepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines in a poem.2
3947063586ApostropheWhen a character speaks to a character or object that is not present or is unable to respond.3
3947063587AssonanceThe repetition of the same vowel sound in a phrase or line of poetry.4
3947063588ClimaxThe turning point in the plot or the high point of action.5
3947063589Colloquial LanguageInformal, conversational language. Indicative of a specific region.6
3947063590ConnotationAn idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, ie. Bat=evil.7
3947063591DictionWord choice or the use of words in speech or writing.8
3947063592EnjambmentThe continuation of reading one line of a poem to the next with no pause, a run-on line.9
3947063593EpiphanySudden enlightenment or realization, a profound new outlook or understanding about the world usually attained while doing everyday mundane activities.10
3947063594FlashbackWhen a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the story.11
3947063595ForeshadowingClues in the text about incidents that will occur later in the plot; creates anticipation in the novel.12
3947063596HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or comic/dramatic effect.13
3947063597ImageryThe use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. Also includes sensory language.14
3947063598IronyWhen one thing should occur, is apparent, or in logical sequence but the opposite actually occurs.15
3947063599MeterThe measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.16
3947063600MetaphorA figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison; this comparison does not use like or as.17
3947063601MotifA dominant theme or central idea.18
3947063602OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.19
3947063603ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.20
3947063604PersonificationA figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.21
3947063605ProseOrdinary speech or writing without metrical structure, written in paragraph form.22
3947063606SimileA figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as.23
3947063607SoliloquyA dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener. Typical in plays.24
3947063608SymbolismSomething that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.25
3947063609ToneReflects how the author feels about the subject matter or the feeling the author wants to instill in the reader.26
3947063610TragedyA drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.27
3947063611SonnetA poem with fourteen lines. There are Italian and English (typically referred to as "Shakespearean") forms.28
3947063612SatireA literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit; the goal is to change the behavior/issue.29

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