AP Literature Terms Flashcards

2482011198	allegory	A work that functions on a symbolic level.	0
2482011199	alliteration	repetition of sounds at the beginning of words	1
2482012326	allusion	a reference to an earlier text or historical event	2
2482014814	ambiguity	uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language.	3
2482015268	anaphora	repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of lines or sentences.	4
2482015269	anastrophe	Inversion of the normal word order of a sentence.	5
2482017936	anecdote	Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual	6
2482017937	antagonist	Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.	7
2482018880	antimetabole	Repetition of words in reverse order.	8
2482022623	anthropomorphism	attributing human qualities to animals (personification)	9
2482022624	apostrophe	calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea.	10
2482026832	assonance	repetition of a vowel sound	11
2482026833	asyndeton	Omission of conjunctions	12
2482029808	indirect characterization	the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks, speaks, etc.	13
2482029809	direct characterization	the author reveals to the reader what the character is like directly	14
2482033415	chiasmus	A statement consisting of two parallel parts, where the second part is opposite of the first structurally.	15
2482033416	cliche	is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse.	16
2482034480	colloquialism	a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.	17
2482037856	conceit	an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.	18
2482037857	connotation	the emotional meaning of a word	19
2482037865	couplet	two lines of rhyme in poetry	20
2482040724	diction	the word choice of the author	21
2482040725	didactic	form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.	22
2482040726	elegy	poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.	23
2482044488	epanalepsis	Using the same word/phrase at the beginning of a sentence and at its end.	24
2482044489	epic	a long narrative poem, written in heightened language , which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.	25
2482046296	epigraph	a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.	26
2482046297	epistrophe	Opposite of anaphora; repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of lines, clauses, sentences.	27
2482049862	flashback	a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.	28
2482049863	foil	A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero.	29
2482050857	foreshadowing	the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot.	30
2482052612	free verse	poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.	31
2482052613	hyperbole	a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times...."	32
2482055499	verbal irony	occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.	33
2482055500	situational irony	takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.	34
2482055501	dramatic irony	is 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.	35
2482058469	juxtaposition	Placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast	36
2482058470	local color	a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape.	37
2482061986	loose sentence	Entire main clause is at the beginning of the sentence, usually before a long series of parallel constructions.	38
2482074420	extended metaphor	is a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.	39
2482074421	metonymy	a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it.	40
2482075606	mood	a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions.	41
2482075607	motif	a 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.	42
2482076688	onomatopoeia	Use of words whose sound or rhythm suggest their meaning	43
2482078253	oxymoron	a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase	44
2482078254	parable	a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life.	45
2482080411	paradox	A statement that seems contrary to common sense but may, in fact, be true.	46
2482080412	parellel structure	Similarity of structure	47
2482082238	periodic sentence	Entire main clause is at the end of the sentence, usually after a long series of parallel constructions.	48
2482082239	polysyndeton	Use of many conjunctions.	49
2482083897	protagonist	the main character that experiences a dramatic change	50
2482083898	quatrain	stanza of 4 rhyming lines	51
2482086446	rhetorical question	a question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer.	52
2482086447	satire	a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.	53
2482090019	soliloquy	a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage	54
2482091175	stream of consciousness	a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.	55
2482094278	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. "If you don't drive properly, you will lose your wheels."	56
2482096298	tone	the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work.	57
2482096299	understatement	a statement that says less than what is meant.	58
2482098527	vernacular	the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality	59
2482099983	chiaroscuro	an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.	60
2482102602	enjambment	A poetry technique that involves the running on of a line or stanza to continue the flow of the text.	61
2482102603	iambic pentameter	a poetric structure of five feet of unstressed/stressed syllables	62
2482105807	archetype	a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.	63
2482105808	ubermensch	Nietzche's theory of the "Superman"	64
2482112714	euphony	A pleasant, musical combination of sounds	65
2482112715	cacophony	A harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds	66
2482113881	consonance	Repetition of consonant sounds within words	67
2482113882	prosody	Sound in poetry	68
2482129596	anadiplosis	Repetition of the last word/phrase at the beginning of the next sentence/clause.	69
2483143492	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way to say something that is unpleasant.	70
2483149377	antithesis	a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other.	71
2483156347	double entendre	A phrase with two meanings.	72
2483165938	caesura	a complete pause in a line of poetry or in a musical composition	73
2483197768	ellipsis	Omission of words for brevity, emphasis, ambiguity, or grace	74
2483236208	pathetic fallacy	A form of personfication where weather is given human qualities	75
2483268250	ballad	a traditional poem that tells a story	76
2483269923	villanelle	a poem with 19 lines of iambic pentameter	77
2483271130	ode	a poem of praise for a person, place or thing	78