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AP Literature Vocabulary Terms Flashcards

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13420569916AllusionA reference in literature or art to a previous literature, history, mythology, pop culture/current events, or the Bible0
13420588287Anachronisma thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned.1
13420596608AnapestThe poetic foot that follows the pattern unstressed, unstressed, stressed. Ex: I am MONarch of ALL i surVEY.2
13420619633AntecedentThe word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.3
13420627353Anticlimaxa disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events4
13420632970AntiheroCentral character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.5
13420635992AphorismA brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. Ex: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."6
13420639884ApostropheA figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The subject is not expected to answer.7
13420647456ApotheosisRaising to god status8
13420654024AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds Ex: "How now brown cow."9
13420654025AubadeA love lyric in which the speaker complains about the arrival of the dawn, when he must part from his lover.10
13420657738Blank verseunrhymed iambic pentameter (five feet of two syllables each--unstressed and stressed). The rhythm of a sonnet. Ex: "When honour's at the stake. How stand I then, That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd..."11
13420667448CacophonyA harsh, discordant mixture of sounds Ex: "And squared and stuck there squares of soft white chalk, And with a fish-tooth, scratched a moon on each."12
13420681337ChiasmusA statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed. Ex: I like the idea; its execution, I don't.13
13420691606ColloquialCharacteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing. Ex: "Howdy Y'ALL. Yee haw bruther. Build that there uh'wall"14
13420699554Concieta far-fetched comparison between two seemingly unlike things; an extended metaphor that gains appeal from its unusual or extraordinary comparison Ex: "My lover and I are fleas in the bed of love."15
13420708799Dactylfoot of poetry with three syllables, one stressed and two short or unstressed. Kinda like the rhythm in "Favorite Things" (or 7 Rings by Ms. Grande) Ex: "Just for a handful of silver he left us."16
13420734560Denouementthe outcome or clarification at the end of a story or play; the winding down from climax to ending. Basically the resolution17
13420739486DidacticA story, speech, essay or play in which the author's primary purpose is to instruct, teach, or moralize. Typical folktales usually follow this.18
13420751203EnjambmentIn poetry, the running on of a sentence from one verse or stanza to the next, with little or no pause. Ex: "And stop and feed itself at Tanks-- And then, a prodigious step Around a pile of Mountains."19
13420761476Epigrama short, clever poem with a witty turn of thought20
13420764820EpigraphA brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of theme.21
13420774012Epistolary novela novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters Ex: The Color Purple22
13420777536Euphonythe quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words. Ex: "The gray sea and long black land And the yellow half-moon large and low."23
13420780282FarceA kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or improbable situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience. Ex: Dumb and Dumber24
13420787861Heroic coupletIn poetry, a rhymed couplet written in iambic pentameter (five feet, each with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable).25
13420790948Hubrisinsolence, arrogance, or pride. Typically a tragic flaw in mythology26
13420795332Iambic pentametera five-foot line made up of an unaccented followed by an accented syllable27
13420798702In medias resIn literature, a work that begins in the middle of the story. Ex: The Odyssey28
13420804025Italian sonnetFourteen-line poem divided into two parts: the first is eight lines and the second is six29
13420808634LitotesAffirmation of an idea by using a negative understatement. The opposite of hyperbole. Ex: "He was not averse to taking a drink. She is no saint."30
13420811179Lyric poemA fairly short, emotionally expressive poem that expresses the feelings and observations of a single speaker.31
13420815415Meterthe rhythmical pattern of a poem32
13420819930Metonymya figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated Ex: "the president" and "the White House"33
13420836936Slant rhymeA rhyme based on an imperfect or incomplete correspondence of end syllable sounds34
13420850525Parablea short story illustrating a moral or religious lesson35
13420853103ParadoxA statement or situation that at first seems impossible or oxymoronic, but which solves itself and reveals its meaning. Ex: "Fair is foul, and Foul is Fair."36
13420863998PastoralA poem, play, or short story that celebrates and idealizes the simple life of shepherds and shepherdesses. Can also mean an ideal life or lifestyle37
13420878586Periodic sentenceA sentence that delivers its point at the end; usually constructed as a subordinate clause followed by a main clause. Ex: "At the piano, she practices scales."38
13420884474QuatrainFour-line stanza39
13420887215SestetA six-line stanza of poetry; also, the last six lines of a sonnet.40
13420894576Stock characterthe stereotyped character in which he is immediately known from typical characters in history Ex: the evil stepmother41
13420901441SynecdocheA figure of speech where one part represents the entire object, or vice versa. Ex: "All hands on deck." "Lend me your ears."42
13420904258Syntaxthe way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences43

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