AP Literature Vocab 20 Flashcards

4758455719	Theme	an ingredient of a literary work which gives the work unity. The theme provides an answer to the question, "What is the work about?" Each literary work carries its own theme(s). Unlike plot, which deals with the action of a work, theme concerns itself with a work's message or contains the general idea of a work and is worded in a complete sentence.	0
4758455720	Tone	expresses the author's attitude toward his or her subject. Since there are as many tones in literature as there are tones of voice in real relationships, the tone of a literary work may be one of anger or approval, pride or piety; the entire gamut of attitudes toward life's phenomena.	1
4758455721	Tragedy	depicts the downfall or destruction of a character	2
4758455722	Tragic Flaw	a tragic flaw or error in judgment	3
4758455723	Trope	another name for figurative language	4
4758455724	Understatement	statement in which the literal sense of what is said falls short of the magnitude of what is being talked about (a litote is a type of understatement.) Understatement: where we deliberately say less than we mean, and let the audience understand the real meaning	5
4758455725	Verisimilitude	the semblance of truth; the degree to which a writer creates the appearance of truth	6
4758455726	Villanelle	a poem with five triplets and a final quatrain; only two rhyme sounds are permitted in the entire poem, and the first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated, alternately, as the third line of subsequent stanzas until the last, when they appear as the last two lines of the poem.	7
4758455727	Voice	the "speaker" in a piece of literature	8
4758455728	Anecdote	Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual	9