AP Literature Terms Flashcards

4805886347	anaphora	the regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of two or more successive phrases or clauses.	0
4805886348	chiasmus	a reversal in the word order of words in two otherwise parallel sentences	1
4805886349	apostrophe	the direct address to an absent or dead person, or to an object, quality, or idea.	2
4805886350	hyperbole	a rhetorical figure in which emphasis is achieved through exaggeration	3
4805886351	metaphor	figurative language that describes something as though it actually were something else	4
4805886352	metonymy	the substitution of one term for another that is generally associated with it. (ex. the crown declared that the man would be executed.)	5
4805886353	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole (ex. all hands on deck)	6
4805886354	onomatopoeia	the use of words that sound like a noise	7
4805886355	paradox	a statement or expression so surprisingly self-contradictory but ends up being true on some level	8
4805886356	parallelism	the use of similar grammatical structures or word order.	9
4805886357	personification	the use of human characteristics to describe animals, things, or ideas.	10
4805886358	point of view	the perspective that a narrator takes toward the events it describes	11
4805886359	protagonist	the central character in a story	12
4805886360	pun	a witty word-play which reveals that words with different meanings have similar or even identical sounds	13
4805886361	satire	writing that ridicules or holds up to contempt the faults of individuals or groups	14
4805886362	polysyndeton	the repetition of conjunctions in a sentence	15
4805886363	asyndeton	the omission of conjunctions in a sentence	16
4805886364	archetype	a symbol found in many cultures	17
4805886365	dramatic irony	a situation where the audience knows something that the characters on stage are not aware of	18
4805886366	allusion	a reference to a piece of literature, character, historical figure that the author assumes the reader will recognize	19
4805886367	dramatic climax	the turning point in a Shakespearean tragedy where the action turns against the protagonist	20
4805886368	diction	the word choices made by a writer	21
4805886369	didactic	having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing	22
4805886370	flat (static) character	a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story	23
4805886371	dynamic (round) character	a character who undergoes a change or transformation in the course of a story	24
4805886372	exposition	the beginning portion of Freytag's pyramid where the background information, characters and setting are introduced	25
4805886373	exciting force	the spark or complication that "gets the action going" in the play the event that sets the plot into motion	26
4805886374	rising action	Events leading up to the climax	27
4805886375	denouement (catastrophe)	The final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work or the outcome of a complicated sequence of events	28
4805886376	omniscient narrator	a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters	29
4805886377	theme	Central idea of a work of literature	30
4805886378	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	31
4805886379	deus ex machina	an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel	32