7508972951 | Abstract | language that describes concepts rather than concrete images; ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things | 0 | |
7508985057 | Allegory | story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities | 1 | |
7509008759 | Allusion (noun) | someone or something that is know from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture; indirect reference | 2 | |
7509016764 | Ambiguity | suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work; event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way | 3 | |
7509034427 | Anachronism | a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists; Ex: Abraham Lincoln with a Bluetooth Device | 4 | |
7509046178 | Analogy | Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike | 5 | |
7509049459 | Anecdote | brief story told to illustrate a point or serve as an example, often shows character of an individual | 6 | |
7509057043 | Annotation | explanatory notes added to a test to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data | 7 | |
7509063995 | Antagonist | Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story | 8 | |
7509069881 | Antihero | Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heros. May lack courage, grace, intelligence or morals | 9 | |
7509081515 | Anthropomorphism | attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (personification) | 10 | |
7509092226 | Aphorism | brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth | 11 | |
7509101240 | Apostrophe | calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea | 12 | |
7509116445 | Archetype | a recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found throughout myth and literature across different cultures and eras; serves as a model | 13 | |
7509128888 | Assonance | repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together | 14 | |
7509138135 | Atmosphere | dominant mood or feeling that pervades all or part of a literary work; the total effect conveyed by the writer's use of language, images, and physical setting | 15 | |
7509162057 | Bildunsroman | German term for "novel of growth and development"; generally depicts youth who struggles toward maturity, forming a worldview or philosophy of life and leaving behind the concerns of adolescence | 16 | |
7509181346 | Cacophony | harsh, discordant mixture of sounds ; Ex: "grate on the scrannel pipes of wretched straw" | 17 | |
7509196527 | Characterization | process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character | 18 | |
7509200432 | Direct Characterization | author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on | 19 | |
7509205775 | Indirect Characterization | author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the character's effect on other people | 20 | |
7509232636 | Static Characterization | character who does not change much in the course of the story | 21 | |
7509236209 | Dynamic Character | character who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action | 22 | |
7509240968 | Flat Character | character with only one or two personality traits, they are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard; can be summed up in one phrase | 23 | |
7509252519 | Round Character | character who has more dimensions to their personalities; they are complex just as real people are | 24 | |
7509260320 | Cliche | word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse. | 25 | |
7509273400 | Colloquialism | word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations; Ex: " He's out of his head if he thinks I'm gonna go for such a stupid idea" | 26 | |
7509297768 | Concrete Language | language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities. Abstract is the opposite of concrete language | 27 | |
7509315978 | Conflict | struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story; involves both external and internal conflicts: Man vs. Self Man vs. Nature Man vs. Man Man vs. Machine Man vs. Society Man vs Fate/Supernatural | 28 | |
7509351522 | External Conflict | conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person a whole society | 29 | |
7509358823 | Internal Conflict | conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind | 30 | |
7509367284 | Connotation | associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition | 31 | |
7509374812 | Comedy | in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters | 32 | |
7509380390 | Deduction | the process of moving from a general rule to a specific example | 33 | |
7509386722 | Denotation | literal meaning of a word as defined by the dictionary | 34 | |
7509390794 | Dialect | way of speaking that is a characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area | 35 | |
7509398487 | Diction | a speaker or writer's choice of words | 36 | |
7509400839 | Didactic | form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking | 37 | |
7509410881 | Epigraph | a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme | 38 | |
7509417285 | Epistolary | contained in or carried on by the letters | 39 | |
7509426186 | Essay | short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject | 40 | |
8049091185 | Tragic Flaw | a fatal weakness or ignorance in a character that brings them to their end (Hamartia) | 41 | |
8049091186 | Unreliable Narrator | a narrator who, intentionally or unintentionally, relates events of a story in a subjective and distorted manner. The author usually provides an indication early in the story that the narrator is not to be completely trusted. | 42 | |
8049091187 | Vernacular | the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality | 43 | |
8049091188 | Zoomorphism | a literary technique in which animal attributes are imposed upon non-animal objects, humans, and events and animal features are ascribed to humans, gods and other objects Ex: "The roar of the ocean" | 44 | |
8049091189 | Tragedy | in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end | 45 | |
8049091190 | Tall Tale | an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable | 46 | |
8049091191 | Symbol | a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself | 47 | |
8049091192 | Suspence | A feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story. | 48 | |
8049091193 | Stream of Consciousness | a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind. | 49 | |
8049091194 | Metonymy | a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it Ex: "We requested from the crown support for our petition" The crown = monarach | 50 | |
8049091195 | Mixed Metaphor | a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes it's terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible | 51 | |
8049091196 | Eulogy | a great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died | 52 | |
8049442709 | Euphemism | a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. "He's pushing up daisies" is a common euphemism for death. | 53 | |
8049442710 | Euphony | agreeableness of sound; pleasing | 54 |
AP Literature - ALL TERMS Flashcards
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