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AP Literature Vocab Terms Flashcards

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6376559707ApostropheA figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.0
6376570592AsyndetonA construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions1
6376570836AnaphoraA rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.2
6397500922Epistrophethe repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences3
6397501812Cumulative SentenceAn independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.4
6397502139Periodic SentenceA sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.5
6397502493AssonanceRepetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity6
6397502618ConsonanceRepetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.7
6397502845EnjambmentA run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.8
6397503772ConceitA fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor9
6397504360DenouementAn outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot10
6397504736AppositiveA word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.11
6397504821EpithetAn adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.12
6397507455Slant RhymeRhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme13
6397507743Complex SentenceA sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause14
6397508078Compound SentenceA sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions.15
6397508309Loose SentenceA type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.16
6397508654ChiasmusA statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed.17
6397509060Em dashesThe -- ---- may replace commas, semicolons, colons and parentheses. There are often situations where a period is to strong, a semicolons too formal, but a comma is too weak.18
6401738145BalladeFrench in origin and made up of 28 lines, usually three stanzas of 8 lines and a concluding stanza, called envoy, of 4 lines. The last line of each stanza is the same and the scheme is ababbcbc and the envoy's is bcbc.19
6401738430OdeA lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.20
6401738889VillanelleA 19 line form using only two rhymes and repeating two of the lines according to a set pattern21
6433612891Heroic CoupletIambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs.22
6433643680Epitaphinscription in memory of a dead person (as on a tombstone)23
6433650717EnigmaA mystery; a puzzle24
6433654969Pathetic Fallacyfaulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects25
6433659963Dramatic IronyIrony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.26
6433663335Tragic FlawA weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero.27

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