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AP Literature and Composition Literary Devices Flashcards

Mr. Johnston's AP Literature Literary Devices

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7225284288ALLEGORYstory or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities. Example: Animal Farm; Dante's Inferno; Lord of the Flies0
7225284289ALLITERATIONrepetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together. EXAMPLE: "When the two youths turned with the flag they saw that much of the regiment had crumbled away, and the dejected remnant was coming slowly back." -Stephen Crane (Note how regiment and remnant are being used; the regiment is gone, a remnant remains...)1
7225284290ALLUSIONreference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from literature, etc.).2
7225284291AMBIGUITYdeliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way-- this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work.3
7225284292ANALOGYComparison made between two things to show how they are alike4
7225284293ANAPHORARepetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent5
7225284294ANASTROPHEInversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.6
7225284295ANECDOTEBrief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual7
7225284296ANTAGONISTOpponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.8
7225284297ANTITHESISBalancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.9
7225284298ANTIHEROCentral character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.10
7225284299APHORISMbrief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.11
7225284300APOSTROPHEcalling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation. EXAMPLE: Josiah Holland ---"Loacöon! Thou great embodiment/ Of human life and human history!"12
7225284301ASSONANCEthe repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together.13
7225284302STATIC CHARACTERis one who does not change much in the course of a story.14
7225284303FLAT CHARACTERhas only one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.15
7225284304CHIASMUSIn poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed. EXAMPLE Coleridge: "Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike." In prose this is called antimetabole.16
7225284305COLLAQUIALa word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations. EXAMPLE: "He's out of his head if he thinks I'm gonna go for such a stupid idea.17
7225284306COMIC RELIEFcomic episodes that off set more serious sections18
7225284307CONCEITan elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor. a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life.19
7225284308CONFLICTthe struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.20
7225284309EXTERNAL CONFLICTconflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person a whole society.21
7225284310INTERNAL CONFLICTa conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind.22
7225284311CONNOTATIONthe associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.23
7225284312COUPLETtwo consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.24
7225284313DIALECTa way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area.25
7225284314DICTIONa speaker or writer's choice of words.26
7225284315DIDACTICform of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.27
7225284316ELEGYa poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.28
7225284317EPIGRAPHa quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.29
7225284318EPITHETan adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality. "Father of our country" and "the great Emancipator" are examples. A Homeric epithet is a compound adjective used with a person or thing: "swift-footed Achilles"; "rosy-fingered dawn."30
7225284319ESSAYa short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject.31
7225284320EXPLICATIONact of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.32
7225284321EULOGYA great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.33
7225284322FABLEa very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.34
7225284323FARCEa type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.35
7225284324FIGURATIVE LANGUAGEWords which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.36
7225284325FLASHBACKa scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.37
7225284326FOIL CHARACTERA character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero38
7225284327FORESHADOWINGthe use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot.39
7225284328FREE VERSEpoetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.40
7225284329HYPERBOLEa figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times...."41
7225284330IMAGERYthe use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person , a thing, a place, or an experience.42
7225284331IRONYa discrepancy between appearances and reality.43
7225284332VERBAL IRONYoccurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.44
7225284333SITUATIONAL IRONYtakes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.45
7225284334DRAMATIC IRONYis so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.46
7225284335JUXTAPOSITIONpoetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit. EXAMPLE Ezra Pound: "The apparition of these faces in the crowd;/ Petals on a wet, black bough." Juxtaposition is also a form of contrast by which writers call attention to dissimilar ideas or images or metaphors. Martin Luther King: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."47
7225284336LITOTESis a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form: Hawthorne--- "...the wearers of petticoat and farthingale...stepping forth into the public ways, and wedging their not unsubstantial persons, if occasion were, into the throng..."48
7225284337LOCAL COLORa term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape.49
7225284338LYRIC POEMa poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker. A ballad tells a story.50
7225284339METAPHORa figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles.51
7225284340EXTENDED METAPHORis a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. (conceit if it is quite elaborate).52
7225284341METONYMYa figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. "We requested from the crown support for our petition." The crown is used to represent the monarch.53
7225284342MOTIFa recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme. EXAMPLE Kurt Vonnegut uses "So it goes" throughout Slaughterhouse-Five to remind the reader of the senselessness of death.54
7225284343ONOMATOPOEIAthe use of words whose sounds echo their sense. "Pop." "Zap."55
7225284344OXYMORONa figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. "Jumbo shrimp." "Pretty ugly." "Bitter-sweet"56
7225284345PARABLEa relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life.57
7225284346PARADOXa statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.58
7225284347PARALLEL STRUCTURE(parallelism) the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.59
7225284348PARODYa work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style.60
7225284349PERIODIC SENTENCEsentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements.61
7225284350PERSONIFICATIONa figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.62
7225284351POINT OF VIEWthe vantage point from which the writer tells the story.63
7225284352FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEWone of the characters tells the story. (typically uses first person pronouns: I, me, my, us, we,...)64
7225284353SECOND PERSON POINT OF VIEWthe narrator instructs the reader as if they are telling the reader what they are to experience. (typically uses 2nd person pronoun: you)65
7225284354THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEWan unknown narrator, tells the story, but this narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character. (typically uses 3rd person pronouns: he, she, it, they, them...) Third Person Point of View Can be either one of the following:66
7225284355OMNISCIENT POINT OF VIEWan omniscient or all-knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator, instead of focusing on one character only, often tells us everything about many characters.67
7225284356POLYSYNDETONsentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z... Polysyndeton results in X and Y and Z...68
7225284357PROTAGONISTthe central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero; in a tragic hero, like John Proctor of The Crucible, there is always a hamartia, or tragic flaw in his character which will lead to his downfall.69
7225284358PUNa "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things.70
7225284359QUATRAINa poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.71
7225284360REFRAINa word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem.72
7225284361CADENCEa rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language.73
7225284362RHETORICAL QUESTIONa question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer.74
7225284363SATIREa type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.75
7225284364SIMILEa figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as , than, or resembles.76
7225284365SOLILOQUYa long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage.77
7225284366STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESSa style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.78
7225284367STYLEthe distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax.79
7225284368SYMBOLa person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself80
7225284369SYNECDOCHEa figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. "If you don't drive properly, you will lose your wheels." The wheels represent the entire car.81
7225284370THEMEthe insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work.82
7225284371ATTITUDE/TONEthe attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.83
7225284372TRAGEDYin general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end.84
7225284373UNDERSTATEMENTa statement that says less than what is meant. Example: During the second war with Iraq, American troops complained of a fierce sand storm that made even the night-vision equipment useless. A British commando commented about the storm: "It's a bit breezy."85
7225284374INVERSIONanastrophe, normal order of words is reversed to achieve a particular emphasis or meter.86
7225284375ANAPESTmetrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable(un-der-stand)87
7225284376AUBADEa poem or piece of music appropriate to the dawn or early morning.88
7225284377BALLADa 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.89
7225284378BLANK VERSEverse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.90
7225284379CACOPHONYa harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.91
7225284380CAESURAa break between words within a metrical foot. (in modern verse) a pause near the middle of a line. any interruption or break.92
7225284381CONSONANCEthe recurrence of similar sounds, especially consonants, in close proximity93
7225284382DACTYLa metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables or (in Greek and Latin) one long syllable followed by two short syllables.94
7225284383DIRGEa lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite.95
7225284384DOUBLE RHYMEa feminine rhyme involving one stressed and one unstressed syllable in each rhyming line.96
7225284385END RHYMEEnd rhyme is defined as when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same. An example of end rhyme is the poem, Star Light, Star Bright.97
7225284386ENJAMBMENT(in verse) the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.98
7225284387EUPHONYthe quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words.99
7225284388EYE RHYMEsimilarity between words in spelling but not in pronunciation, e.g., love and move.100
7225284389FEMININE ENDING (METER)in grammatical gender, is the final syllable or suffixed letters that mark words as feminine. It can also refer to: Feminine ending, in meter (poetry), a line of verse that ends with an unstressed syllable.101
7225284390FOOT (POETRY)In literary circles, this term refers to the most basic unit of a poem's meter. A foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.102
7225284391HEROIC COUPLET(in verse) a pair of rhyming iambic pentameters, much used by Chaucer and the poets of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Alexander Pope.103
7225284392IAMBa metrical foot consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.104
7225284393IAMBIC PENTAMETERa line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike in dignity.105
7225284394IDYLLan extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one.106
7225284395INTERNAL RHYMEa rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next.107
7225284396ITALIAN (PETRARCHAN) SONNET14 lines, 2 part (octave and sestet) does not end in a couplet108
7225284397KENNINGa compound expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meaning, e.g., oar-steed = ship.109
7225284398MASCULINE ENDING (METER)refers to a line ending in a stressed syllable.110
7225284399METERthe rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line.111
7225284400NARRATIVE POEMis a form of poetry that tells a story, often making use of the voices of a narrator and characters as well; the entire story is usually written in metered verse.112
7225284401NEAR, OFF, OR SLANT RHYMEs a type of rhyme formed by words with similar but not identical sounds. In most instances, either the vowel segments are different while the consonants are identical, or vice versa.113
7225284402ODEa lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.114
7225284403RHYME SCHEMEthe ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.115
7225284404RHYTHMthe measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose as determined by the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables.116
7225284405SCANSIONthe action of scanning a line of verse to determine its rhythm.117
7225284406SESTETthe last six lines of a sonnet.118
7225284407SESTINAa poem with six stanzas of six lines and a final triplet, all stanzas having the same six words at the line-ends in six different sequences that follow a fixed pattern, and with all six words appearing in the closing three-line envoi.119
7225284408SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET14 lines. iambic pentameter, 3 quatrains and a final couplet120
7225284409SPONDEEa foot consisting of two stressed syllables.121
7225284410STANZAa group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.122
7225284411TROCHAICa type of verse that consists of or features trochees (a foot of one stressed followed by one unstressed syllables)123
7225284412AESTHETICISMan approach to art and life based in the belief that art and beauty should be valued for their own sake124
7225284413ANACHRONISMsomething placed in the wrong period of history125
7225284414ANAGNORISISmoment when a character makes a critical decision126
7225284415ANTECEDENTa thing or an event that exists or comes before another, and may have influenced it127
7225284416ANTICLIMAXa situation that is disappointing/ not as exciting as antisipated128
7225284417APOTHEOSIShighest most perfect development best time in life or career formal statement that a person has become a god129
7225284418ARCHAISM/ARCHAICvery old word or phrase that is no longer used; old-fashioned130
7225284419ARCHETYPEa very typical example of a certain person or thing. a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.131
7225284420ASIDEa remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.132
7225284421BILDUNGSROMANa novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education.133
7225284422BOMBASThigh-sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people.134
7225284423CARICATUREmake or give a comically or grotesquely exaggerated representation of (someone or something).135
7225284424CATALOGUEa complete list of items, typically one in alphabetical or other systematic order, in particular.136
7225284425CATHARSISthe process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.137
7225284426CHORUS(in ancient Greek tragedy) a group of performers who comment on the main action, typically speaking and moving together.138
7225284427CONVENTIONAL/STOCK CHARACTERa stereotypical person whom audiences readily recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition.139
7225284428DECONSTRUCTIONa method of critical analysis of philosophical and literary language that emphasizes the internal workings of language and conceptual systems, the relational quality of meaning, and the assumptions implicit in forms of expression.140
7225284429DENOTATIONthe literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.141
7225284430DENOUEMENTthe final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.142
7225284431DEUS EX MACHINEan unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.143
7225284432DICHOTOMOUS THINKINGalso known as "black or white thinking," is a symptom of many mental illnesses144
7225284433DISSONANCEa tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements.145
7225284434DRAMATIS PERSONAEthe characters of a play, novel, or narrative.146
7225284435DYSTOPIAN NOVELfictional writing used to explore social and political structures in 'a dark, nightmare world.' The term dystopia is defined as a society characterized by poverty, squalor or oppression and the theme is most commonly used in science fiction and speculative fiction genres.147
7225284436EPIC/ EPIC HEROis a long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet. Many ancient writers used epic poetry to tell tales of intense adventures and heroic feats; defined as a character in an epic poem who is noble and brave and is affected by great events or admired for his achievements.148
7225284437EPIGRAMa pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.149
7225284438EPIPHANYa sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.150
7225284439EPISTOLARY NOVELnovel made up of letters151
7225284440ETHOScredibility152
7225284441ETYMOLOGYorigin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history153
7225284442EUPHEMISMa mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.154
7225284443FRAME STORY/ NARRATIVEis a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story155
7225284444GENREa category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.156
7225284445GOTHIC NOVELan English genre of fiction popular in the 18th to early 19th centuries, characterized by an atmosphere of mystery and horror and having a pseudo medieval setting.157
7225284446HAMARTIAa fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine.158
7225284447HUBRISexcessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.159
7225284448IDIOMa group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light ).160
7225284449IN MEDIAS RESstarting in the middle161
7225284450INTERIOR MONOLOGUEa piece of writing expressing a character's inner thoughts.162
7225284451INTERJECTIONan abrupt remark, made especially as an aside or interruption. an exclamation, especially as a part of speech, e.g., ah! or dear me!.163
7225284452LAMENTa passionate expression of grief or sorrow.164
7225284453LEITMOTIFa recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.165
7225284454MAGICAL REALISMpainting in a meticulously realistic style of imaginary or fantastic scenes or images. a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction166
7225284455MODERNISMa philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.167
7225284456MONOLOGUEa long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.168
7225284457MYTHa traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.169
7225284458PERIPHERAL/ CENTRAL NARRATORFirst person and narrator is a character in story, witness main characters story170
7225284459NATURALISMa style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail.171
7225284460NOVELLAa short novel or long short story.172
7225284461PASTORALa work of literature portraying an idealized version of country life.173
7225284462PATHOSemotional appeal174
7225284463PERIPETEIAa sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to fictional narrative.175
7225284464PICARESQUEof or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero.176
7225284465POST-MODERNISMis largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality.177
7225284466REALISMin the arts is the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements.178
7225284467REPETITIONrepeating something that ha s already been said or written before179
7225284468ROMANTICISMa movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.180
7225284469SHIFTmove or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance.181
7225284470STRUCTUREthe arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.182
7225284471SYNTAXthe arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.183
7225284472TOPOSa traditional theme or formula in literature.184
7225284473TRAGIC FLAWis a literary device that can be defined as a trait in a character leading to his downfall and the character is often the hero of the literary piece.185
7225284474TRAGIC HEROis a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction186
7225284475UTOPIAN NOVELscience fiction, fantasy, perfect living conditions187
7225284476VERISIMILITUDEthe appearance of being true or real. --- realism188

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