AP Literature Terms Flashcards

183105465	Allegory	A story in which an abstract idea, often a moral or lesson, is shown through characters' actions. The story of the turtle and the hare is an allegory.	0
183105466	Alliteration	The repetition of the initial consonant sounds in two or more words. "Come quickly, quietly and see the brazen beast."	1
183105467	Allusion	The reference within a work to another literary work, or to a familiar person, place, thing or event	2
183105468	Anecdote	A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event used to entertain or make a point	3
183105469	Analogy	A comparison of 2 things suggesting that, if they are alike in some ways, they are alike in many. "A good idea resembles a seed bearing flowers."	4
183106561	Antithesis	Contrasting ideas highlighted by parallel grammatical structure: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Charles Dickens	5
183106562	Archetype	A universal symbol, image or pattern seen in the myths, art, and literature of many cultures	6
183107215	Character Archetypes	Examples include: hero (epic, tragic, etc.), devil, temptress, earth mother, outcast	7
183108578	Situational Archetypes	Examples: a quest, death & rebirth, fall from favor	8
183108579	Symbol Archetypes	Examples: light and dark representing good and evil, monsters, water	9
184434267	Aphorism	A wise saying that reflects a general truth or observation about life	10
184434269	Assonance	The repetition of vowel sounds within different consonants, for example: the red sled in the shed.	11
184434271	Atmosphere (also called Mood)	The feeling created in a reader by the descriptive detail in a literary work, such as: eerie, calm or suspenseful	12
184436023	Flat character	One who has limited character traits (cartoonish)	13
184436024	Round character	One who has many realistic traits	14
184436025	Dynamic character	One who changes and learns through the story	15
184436026	Static character	One who does not show real change in the story	16
184437759	Connotation	The emotional associations and ideas associated with a word--a word's connotation is usually more powerful than its dictionary meaning	17
184446109	Denotation	The explicit, dictionary meaning of a word.	18
184446110	Diction	The author's word choice, which is used to connect with the reader and support purpose. Described with an adjective.	19
184446111	Exposition	Introduces the characters, setting, and situation and starts the plot of a story or drama	20
184446112	Foil	A character who provides contrast to another character to highlight character traits	21
184446113	Foreshadowing	Hints or clues of something that is to come later in a story	22
184446114	Hyperbole	A bold overstatement or exaggeration for either comic or serious affect	23
184446115	Imagery	Words a writer selects to paint an image or picture in the reader's mind	24
184446116	Irony	A twist of expectation. There are 3 types of irony: dramatic, verbal, and situational	25
184446117	Dramatic irony	When a character's mistakes or misunderstandings are clear to the reader but are not to the character	26
184446118	Verbal irony	When a word or phrase is used to suggest the opposite of its usual meaning	27
184446119	Situtational irony	When an event turns out the opposite of the expectations of the character, reader or audience	28
184451440	Metaphor	A comparison of two unlike things that doesn't use "like" or "as" (e.g., "Juliet is the sun")	29
184451441	Extended Metaphor	Continuation of the first metaphor through several connected comparisons	30
184451442	Juxtaposition	Placing ideas/words side be side to emphasize contras.	31
184451443	Consonance	The repetition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of words: " the sound heard around the world."	32
184451444	Motif	A dominant, often repeated, idea or thematic element in a literary work	33
184473659	First person narrator	Is part of the action of the story and tells it	34
184473660	Third person narrator	Is outside the story and doesn't know everything, but tells the story from more than one character's perspective	35
184473661	Omniscient narrator	Is "all-knowing" and can tell about all the characters and events in a story	36
184473662	Limited third person	Tells the thoughts/feelings of 1 character	37
184473663	Onomatopoeia	A word or group of words that resembles the sound it denotes, for example: hiss or buzz	38
184473664	Oxymoron	A combination of contradictory words, such as jumbo shrimp	39
184473665	Parable	Simple story that teaches a lesson using events or characters to stand for abstract ideas such as evil	40
184473666	Parody	A comical piece of writing that mocks the characteristics of a literary form	41
184473667	Personification	A phrase in which nonliving things are given human qualities	42
184473669	Protagonist	The main character or hero of the story	43
184473670	Setting	Time and place in which a story takes place. Time includes: the historical period, year, season, or time of day. Place includes: region, country, as well as social, cultural and economic environment	44
184476674	Simile	Comparison of 2 unlike things using "like" or "as"	45
184476675	Symbol	Anything that stands for or represents something else	46
184476676	Theme	The central message(s) or insight(s) into life revealed through a literary work	47
184476677	Tone	The overall feeling or effect a writer creates--stated as an adjective, for example: comic, tragic	48
184476678	Understatement	When a situation is presented as less important than it really is, which usually results in irony	49
184476679	Voice	The tone in writing that conveys to the reader the sense of the author and his or her perspective	50
1538705309	Epigram	A brief witty poem, often satirical.	51
3213009187	Metonymy	A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").	52
3213013425	Synechdoche	A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole. For example, "I've got wheels" for "I have a car," or a description of a worker as a "hired hand."	53