Study guide for AP Lit!
Terms : Hide Images
| 667487 | allegory | a work that functions on symbolic level | |
| 667488 | alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds | |
| 667489 | allusion | reference from another work | |
| 667490 | ambiguity | communicating multiple meanings | |
| 667491 | anapest | metrical pattern of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllable | |
| 667492 | antagonist | the force of character that oposes main character | |
| 667493 | apostrophe | direct address in poetry | |
| 667494 | aside | words spoken to be heard by audience but not other characters | |
| 667716 | attitude | speaker's, author's, or character's disposition towards a subject | |
| 667717 | aubade | love poem set at dawn to bid farewell to beloved | |
| 667718 | ballad | simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue and with general rhyme scheme of ABCD | |
| 667719 | blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter | |
| 667720 | cacophony | harsh and discordant sounds | |
| 667721 | caesura | break or pause withine line of poetry indicated by punctuation | |
| 667722 | catharsis | release of emotion by the audience of a tragedy | |
| 667723 | character | one who carries out action of plot (major, minor, static, dynamic) | |
| 667724 | climax | turning point of action, highest moment of tension | |
| 667725 | comic relief | inclusion of humor to contrast tragic elements | |
| 667726 | conflict | clash of opposing forces | |
| 667727 | connotation | associative, implied, or suggested meaning of word | |
| 667728 | convention | traditional aspect of literary work | |
| 667729 | couplet | two lines of rhymed poetry | |
| 667730 | dactyl | foot of poetry, stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables | |
| 667731 | denotation | literal, dictionary definition word | |
| 667732 | denouement | resolution of conflict and plot, conclusion | |
| 667733 | details | items or parts of a story | |
| 667734 | deus ex machine | "the god from the machine", appears at last moment and resolves loose ends of play | |
| 667735 | devices of sound | rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia | |
| 667736 | diction | word choice | |
| 667737 | didatic | explicitly instructive | |
| 667738 | digression | use of material unrelated to subject of a work | |
| 667739 | dramatic monologue | type of poem presenting conversation between speaker and implied listener | |
| 667740 | elegy | poem that laments dead or lost | |
| 667741 | enjambment | running on of line or stanza in poetry | |
| 667742 | epic | lengthy, elevated poem celebrating exploits of a hero | |
| 667743 | epigram | brief, witty poem; satiric commentary | |
| 667744 | euphemism | indirection to avoid offensive bluntness | |
| 667745 | euphony | pleasant sounds | |
| 667746 | exposition | background information | |
| 667747 | fable | simple, symbolic story usually with animals as characters | |
| 667748 | figurative language | enables writer to operate on levels other than literal | |
| 667749 | types of figurative language | metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, hyperbole, etc. | |
| 667750 | flashback | reference to past thoughts, events, or episodes | |
| 667751 | foot | metrical unit in poetry, syllabic measure of line (iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, and spondee) | |
| 667752 | foreshadowing | hints of future events | |
| 667753 | form | shape or structure of literary work | |
| 667754 | free verse | poetry without defined form, meter, or rhyme scheme | |
| 667755 | grotesque | characterized by distortions and incongruities | |
| 667756 | hyperbole | extreme exaggeration | |
| 667757 | iamb | metrical foot consisting of unaccented syllable followed by accented one | |
| 667758 | idyll | type of lyrical poem extolling virtues of ideal place or time | |
| 667759 | image | verbal approximation of sensory impression, concept, or emotion | |
| 667760 | imagery | total effect of related sensory images | |
| 667761 | impressionism | writing that reflects a personal image of a character, event, or concept | |
| 667762 | irony | contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected | |
| 667763 | jargon | specific language of profession or group | |
| 667764 | literal | not figurative, matter of fact, concrete | |
| 667765 | lyric poetry | characterized by emotion, personal feelings, brevity | |
| 667766 | lyrical | songlike; full of emotion, subjectivity, and imagination | |
| 667767 | metaphor | direct comparision between dissimilar things | |
| 667768 | metaphysical poetry | exploration of complex ideas through extended metaphors and paradox (John Donne) | |
| 667769 | meter | pattern of beats in poetry | |
| 667770 | metonomy | a representative term used for a larger idea | |
| 667771 | monologue | speech given by one character | |
| 667772 | motif | repetition or variations of image or idea to develop theme or characters | |
| 667773 | narrative poem | tells a story | |
| 667774 | narrator | speaker | |
| 667775 | octave | eight line stanza | |
| 667776 | ode | formal, lengthy poem celebrating particular subject | |
| 667777 | omniscient | all knowing | |
| 667778 | onomatopia | words that sound like the sound they represent | |
| 667779 | parable | story that operates on more than one level, usuall teaches a moral lesson | |
| 667780 | paradox | seemingly contradictory statement | |
| 667781 | parallel plot | secondary story line that mimics and reinforces the main plot | |
| 667782 | parody | comic imitation that ridicules the original | |
| 667783 | pathos | appeal to pity | |
| 667784 | personification | assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects | |
| 667785 | plot | sequence of events | |
| 667786 | point of view | method of narration | |
| 667787 | protagonist | hero or main character, elicits audience sympathy | |
| 667788 | quatrain | four-line stanza | |
| 667789 | reliability | quality of characters eliciting trust from audience | |
| 667790 | resolution | conclusion of literary work | |
| 667791 | rhetorical question | does not expect explicit answer, arouses consideration | |
| 667792 | rhyme royal | iambic pentameter rhymed ababbcc | |
| 667793 | rhyme | duplication of final syllable sounds | |
| 667794 | rhythm | repetitive pattern of beats in poetry | |
| 667795 | romanticism | foundation in freedon, adventure, idealism, and escape | |
| 667796 | satire | presents a ridicule on society, criticizes the follies of mankind | |
| 667797 | sestet | six line stanza | |
| 667798 | sestina | highly structured poem with 39 lines, iambic pentameter, and repetitino of six words from first stanza in each of six stanzas | |
| 667799 | setting | time and place | |
| 667800 | simile | indirect comparison using "like" or "as" | |
| 667801 | soliloquy | speech to reveal inner thoughts | |
| 667802 | sonnet | 14 line poem with prescribed rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter | |
| 667803 | spondee | poetic foot with two accented syllables | |
| 667804 | stage directions | specific instructions of a playwright | |
| 667805 | stanza | unit of a poem similary in rhyme, meter and length to other units | |
| 667806 | stereotype | conventional pattern, expression, character, or idea | |
| 667807 | strategy | management of language for specific effect; planned placing of elements to achieve an effect | |
| 667808 | structure | organization and form | |
| 667809 | style | unique way an author presents his ideas | |
| 667810 | subplot | secondary plot that explores different ideas | |
| 667811 | syllogism | form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn; major premise, minor premise, conclusion | |
| 667812 | symbol | something that stands for something else | |
| 667813 | synecdoche | utilizes a part as a representative for the whole | |
| 667814 | syntax | grammatical structure | |
| 667815 | tercet | three line stanza | |
| 667816 | theme | underlying ideas illustrated in a work | |
| 667817 | thesis | theme, meaning, or position | |
| 667818 | tone | author's attitude toward subject | |
| 667819 | tragic hero | generally good person of exalted position who has a fatal flaw or commits error in judgement | |
| 667820 | understatement | ironic statement where one writes or says less than is intended | |
| 667821 | villanelle | highly structured poem consisting of six stanzas: five tercets and a quatrain; first and third line are repeated throughout | |
| 746378 | antithesis | figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words or ideas (balancing of one term against another for emphasis) | |
| 746410 | assonance | repetition of idenical or similar vowel sounds | |
| 746411 | consonance | repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words | |
| 746412 | end-stopped | a line with a pause at the end (end with punctuation) in a poem | |
| 746413 | extended metaphor | an implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or entire poem | |
| 746414 | internal rhyme | rhyme that occurs within a line rather than at the end | |
| 746564 | mixed metaphors | the mingling of one metaphor with another immediately following with which the first is incongruous | |
| 746565 | Emma Wilson | The amazing creator of this amazing set of poetry terms :)) | |
| 746566 | oxymoron | a form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression | |
| 746567 | parallelism | a single gramatical structure between a line or lines of poetry | |
| 746568 | pun | a play on words that are identical or similar in soundbut have sharply diverse meanings | |
| 746569 | refrain | a group of words forming a phrase or sentence and consisting of one or more lines repeated at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza (hint: think song) | |
| 746570 | sarcasm | a type of irony in which a person appears to be praising somthing but is actually insulting it | |
| 746571 | scansion | a system for describing the meter of a poem by identifying the number and type of feet per line | |
| 746572 | terza rima | a three line stanza rhymed ABA, BCB, CDC etc. | |
| 746586 | Pathos | evokes feeligns of dignified pity and sympathy | |
| 746587 | Bombast | pretensious |
