10305278289 | Adage | a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth | 0 | |
10305278546 | Allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one | 1 | |
10305279571 | Alliteration | the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words | 2 | |
10305279572 | Allusion | an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference | 3 | |
10305279894 | Ambiguity | the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness | 4 | |
10305280138 | Anachronism | a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned | 5 | |
10305280139 | Analogy | a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification | 6 | |
10305280493 | Anaphora | the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses | 7 | |
10305280494 | Antagonist | a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary | 8 | |
10305281014 | Antithesis | a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else | 9 | |
10305281039 | Aphorism | a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." | 10 | |
10305281417 | Apostrophe | a punctuation mark ( ' ) used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry's book ; boys' coats ) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g., can't ; he's ; class of '99 ). | 11 | |
10305282072 | Archetype | a very typical example of a certain person or thing | 12 | |
10305282341 | Assonance | in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in non rhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible (e.g., penitence, reticence) | 13 | |
10305282342 | Ballad | a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture | 14 | |
10305282713 | Bildungsroman | a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education | 15 | |
10305282714 | Blank Verse | verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter | 16 | |
10305284722 | Cacophony | a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds | 17 | |
10305284723 | Caesura | a pause near the middle of a line | 18 | |
10305285194 | Catharsis | the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions | 19 | |
10305285195 | Conceit | a fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor | 20 | |
10305285679 | Connotation | an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. | 21 | |
10305286025 | Consonance | Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity. | 22 | |
10305286036 | Denouement | the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved. | 23 | |
10305286665 | Diction | the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. | 24 | |
10305286666 | Dramatic Irony | Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. | 25 | |
10305288506 | Elegy | a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. | 26 | |
10305288507 | Enjambment | A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. | 27 | |
10305289049 | Epigram | a witty saying expressing a single thought or observation | 28 | |
10305289050 | Euphony | the quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words; the tendency to make phonetic change for ease of pronunciation | 29 | |
10305289665 | Euphemism | An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant | 30 | |
10305289995 | Exposition | the part of a play or work of fiction in which the background to the main conflict is introduced | 31 | |
10305289996 | Foil | A character who acts as a contrast to another character | 32 | |
10305289997 | Free Verse | poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter | 33 | |
10305290526 | Hyperbole | exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. | 34 | |
10305290527 | In Medias Res | into the middle of a narrative; without preamble | 35 | |
10305290988 | Irony | the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. | 36 | |
10305290989 | Litotes | ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad) | 37 | |
10305291329 | Metaphor | a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. | 38 | |
10305291330 | Meter | the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line. | 39 | |
10305294848 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it | 40 | |
10305294849 | Motif | A recurring theme, subject or idea in literature | 41 | |
10305295245 | Non-sequitur | a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. | 42 | |
10305295452 | Onomatopoeia | he formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named | 43 | |
10305295453 | Oxymoron | a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction | 44 | |
10305295454 | Paradox | A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. | 45 | |
10305295851 | Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes | 46 | |
10305295858 | Protagonist | he leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text | 47 | |
10305296282 | Pun | a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. | 48 | |
10305296283 | Satire | the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. | 49 | |
10305296284 | Simile | a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox). | 50 | |
10305296928 | Stream of Consciousness | 51 | ||
10305296929 | Symbolism | the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities | 52 | |
10305297387 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning "Cleveland's baseball team"). | 53 | |
10305297388 | Syntax | The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. | 54 | |
10305297389 | Tone | Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character | 55 | |
10305297611 | Trope | The generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, simile, and metaphor. | 56 | |
10305297612 | Verbal Irony | when words express something contrary to truth or someone says the opposite of what they really feel or mean. It is often sarcastic. | 57 | |
10305298439 | Verisimilitude | the appearance of being true or real | 58 |
Vocab for AP Literature Flashcards
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