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AP Literature Terms (with images) Flashcards

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5240963255AllegoryThe representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.0
5240963256AlliterationThe repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in a line of poetry.1
5240963257AnaphoraRepetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines in a poem.2
5240963258ApostropheWhen a character speaks to a character or object that is not present or is unable to respond.3
5240963259AssonanceThe repetition of the same vowel sound in a phrase or line of poetry.4
5240963260ClimaxThe turning point in the plot or the high point of action.5
5240963261Colloquial LanguageInformal, conversational language. Indicative of a specific region.6
5240963262ConnotationAn idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, ie. Bat=evil.7
5240963263DictionWord choice or the use of words in speech or writing.8
5240963264EnjambmentThe continuation of reading one line of a poem to the next with no pause, a run-on line.9
5240963265EpiphanySudden enlightenment or realization, a profound new outlook or understanding about the world usually attained while doing everyday mundane activities.10
5240963266FlashbackWhen a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the story.11
5240963267ForeshadowingClues in the text about incidents that will occur later in the plot; creates anticipation in the novel.12
5240963268HyperboleA figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or comic/dramatic effect.13
5240963269ImageryThe use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. Also includes sensory language.14
5240963270IronyWhen one thing should occur, is apparent, or in logical sequence but the opposite actually occurs.15
5240963271MeterThe measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accentual rhythm, syllabic quantity, or the number of syllables in a line.16
5240963272MetaphorA 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
5240963273MotifA dominant theme or central idea.18
5240963274OnomatopoeiaThe formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.19
5240963275ParodyA literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.20
5240963276PersonificationA figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.21
5240963277ProseOrdinary speech or writing without metrical structure, written in paragraph form.22
5240963278SimileA figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as.23
5240963279SoliloquyA 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
5240963280SymbolismSomething that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.25
5240963281ToneReflects how the author feels about the subject matter or the feeling the author wants to instill in the reader.26
5240963282TragedyA 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
5240963283SonnetA poem with fourteen lines. There are Italian and English (typically referred to as "Shakespearean") forms.28
5240963284SatireA 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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