AP Literature and Composition Terms Flashcards

4328872109	act	a major unit of action in a drama or play. Each act can be further divided into smaller sections called scenes.	0
4328876193	allegory	a story in which people, things and actions represent an idea about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.	1
4328884850	alliteration	the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words	2
4328888001	allusion	a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events.	3
4328892345	analogy	a comparison of two or more like objects that suggests if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well.	4
4328894809	anecdote	a brief account of an interesting incident or event that usually is intended to entertain or to make a point.	5
4328899173	aside	an actor's speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to be heard by other actors on stage. An aside is used to let the audience know what a character is about to do or what he or she is thinking	6
4328901865	assonance	repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry.	7
4328904219	audience	the particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing. A writer considers his or her audience when deciding on a subject, a purpose for writing and the tone and style in which to write.	8
4328906945	author	the writer of a book, article or other text.	9
4328913541	author's purpose	an author's purpose is his or her reason for creating a particular work. The purpose can be to entertain, explain or inform, express an opinion, or to persuade.	10
4328919334	autobiography	a form of nonfiction in which a person tells the story of his or her life.	11
4328921507	ballad	is a poem that tells a story and is meant to be sung or recited.	12
4328923611	biography	the story of a person's life that is written by someone else	13
4328927041	blank verse	unrhymed iambic pentameter	14
4328929673	caesura	a pause or a sudden break in a line of poetry	15
4328934380	cause and effect	two events are related as cause and effect when one event brings about or causes the other. The event that happens first is the cause; the one that follows is the effect.	16
4328938487	character	a person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature.	17
4328978988	antagonist	a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main character, or protagonist, in some way.	18
4328984031	caricature	a picture or imitation of a person's habits, physical appearance or mannerisms exaggerated in a comic or absurd way.	19
4328988472	foil	a character who serves as a contrast or a conflict to another character	20
4328990956	hero/heroine	a character whose actions are inspiring or noble; often the main character in a story.	21
4328996264	main character	the characters who are central to the plot of a story	22
4329001815	minor characters	a less important character who interacts with the main characters, helping to move the plot along and providing background for the story.	23
4329016231	characterization	all of the techniques that writers use to create characters.	24
4329025070	character trait	a character's personality; a trait is not a physical description of a character.	25
4329028975	direct characterization	the author directly states a character's traits or makes direct comments about a character's nature.	26
4329032710	dynamic character	a character who changes throughout the course of the story.	27
4329036199	flat character	a character about whom little information is provided.	28
4329040049	indirect characterization	the author does not directly state a character's traits; instead the reader draws conclusions and discovers a character's traits based upon clues provided by the author.	29
4329043761	round character	is a character who is fully described by the author	30
4329046271	static character	a character who does not change or who changes very little in the course of a story.	31
4329053384	chronological order	the order in which events happen in time.	32
4329057370	clarifying	the reader's process of pausing occasionally while reading to quickly review what he or she understands.	33
4329095668	cliche	a type of figurative language containing an overused expression or a saying that is no longer considered original.	34
4329101237	comedy	a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone and usually ends happily with a peaceful resolution of the main conflict.	35
4329104423	comparison	the process of identifying similarities.	36
4329113714	concrete poetry	a type of poetry that uses its physical or visual form to present its message.	37
4329118580	conflict	the tension or problem in the story; a struggle between opposing forces.	38
4329121298	central conflict	the dominant or most important conflict in the story.	39
4329128697	external conflict	the problem or struggle that exists between the main character and an outside force.	40
4329132817	internal conflict	the problem or struggle that takes place in the main character's mind	41
4329136116	connecting	a reader's process of relating the content of a literary work to his or her own knowledge and experience.	42
4329139078	connotation	the idea and feeling associated with a word as opposed to its dictionary definition or denotation.	43
4329144454	consonace	the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within a line of poetry.	44
4329147267	context clues	hints or suggestions that may surround unfamiliar words or phrases and clarify their meaning.	45
4329155804	contrast	the process of pointing out differences between things.	46
4329175777	couplet	a rhymed pair of lines in a poem	47
4329178907	denotation	is the opposite of connotation in that it is the exact or dictionary meaning of a word.	48
4329190583	denouement	the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.	49
4329207903	dialect	a form of language that is spoken in a particular place or by a particular group of people.	50
4329212451	dialouge	The conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. A dialogue occurs in most works of literature.	51
4329218873	drama	a form of literature meant to be performed by actors before an audience.	52
4329222176	drawing conclusions	combining several pieces of information to make an inference is called drawing a conclusion.	53
4329228840	dramatic monologue	a literary device that is used when a character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the story line, through a poem or a speech	54
4329235985	elegy	a type of literature defined as a song or poem that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died.	55
4329242490	enjambment	in poetry, the running over of a line or thought into the next of verse	56
4329245833	epigram	a short poem or verse that seeks to ridicule a thought or event, usually with witticism or sarcasm.	57
4329249065	epic	a long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero whose actions reflect the ideals and values of a nation or group.	58
4329251269	epiphany	a sudden moment of understanding that causes a character to change or to act in a certain way.	59
4329255541	epitaph	a short poem or verse written in memory of someone	60
4329265878	essay	a short work of nonfiction that deals with a single subject.	61
4329274028	expository essay	essay is one whose purpose is to explain and give information about a subject.	62
4329284313	evaluating	the process of judging the value of something or someone.	63
4329288145	extended metaphor	a figure of speech that compares two essentially unlike things in great length.	64
4329291375	fable	a brief tale that teaches a lesson about human nature	65
4329294896	fantasy	a work of literature that contains at least one fantastic or unreal element.	66
4329297995	fiction	prose writing that tells an imaginary story.	67
4329303169	figurative language	expressions that are not literally true	68
4329308362	an interruption of the chronological sequence (as in a film or literary work) of an event of earlier occurrence.	flashback	69
4329314275	folklore	traditions, customs and stories that are passed down within a culture.	70
4329317141	folktale	a simple story that has been passed from generation to generation by word of mouth.	71
4329324294	foot	a unit of meter within a line of poetry	72
4329327618	foreshadowing	when the writer provides clues or hints that suggest or predict future event in a story.	73
4329331938	free verse	poetry without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm.	74
4329335876	generalization	a broad statement about an entire group.	75
4329341358	genre	a type or category of literature.	76
4329348368	haiku	a traditional form of Japanese poetry, usually dealing with nature.	77
4329353156	heroic couplet	a couplet consisting of two successive rhyming lines that contain a complete thought.	78
4329358465	historical fiction	fiction that explores a past time period and may contain references to actual people and events of the past.	79
4329360847	horror fiction	fiction that contains mysterious and often supernatural events to create a sense of terror.	80
4329368396	humor	the quality that provokes laughter or amusement.	81
4329371674	hyperbole	a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect.	82
4329380128	idiom	a phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say	83
4329384996	imagery	the use of words and phrases that appeal to the five senses.	84
4329388934	inference	is a logical guess based on evidence based on evidence in the text.	85
4329391282	interview	a meeting in which one person asks another about personal matters, professional matters or both.	86
4329395405	irony	a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens.	87
4329498031	verbal irony	occurs when the speaker means something totally different than what he or she is saying and often times the opposite of what a character is saying is true.	88
4329506693	dramatic irony	occurs when facts are not known to the characters in a work of literature but are known by the audience.	89
4329508857	cosmic irony	suggests that some unknown force brings about dire and dreadful events.	90
4329511629	irony of situation	the difference between what is expected to happen and the way events actually work out.	91
4329513367	legend	a story handed down from the past about a specific person, usually someone of heroic accomplishments.	92
4329516586	limerick	a short humorous poem composed of five lines that usually has the rhyme scheme aabba, created by two rhyming couplets followed by a fifth line that rhymes with the first couplet.	93
4329519590	literal meaning	the actual meaning of a word or phrase.	94
4329521661	lyric poetry	a song-like poem written mainly to express the feelings or emotions of a single speaker.	95
4329524457	main idea	the most important point that a writer wishes to express.	96
4329526836	memoir	a specific type of autobiography; like autobiography, a memoir is about the author's personal experiences.	97
4329531033	metaphor	a type of figurative language in which a comparison is made between two things that are essentially unalike but may have one quality in common. Unlike a simile, a metaphor does not contain an explicit word of comparison, such as "like" or "as".	98
4329533423	meter	the regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables.	99
4329535068	metonymy	the metaphorical substitution of one word or phrase for another related word or phrase.	100
4329539370	mood	a mood or atmosphere is the feeling that a literary work conveys to readers.	101
4329544625	motif	a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature.	102
4329549523	motivation	the reason why a character acts, feels or thinks in a certain way.	103
4329551015	myth	a traditional story that attempts to explain how the world was created or why the world is the way that it is.	104
4329553474	narrative	any writing that tells a story.	105
4329572439	nonfiction	is prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects or events.	106
4329574816	novel	a work of fiction that is longer and more complex than a short story.	107
4332826792	ode	a lyric poem of some length, usually of serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal structure.	108
4332829157	onomatopoeia	the use of words whose sound suggest their meaning	109
4332831303	oral history	stories of people's lives related by word of mouth.	110
4332833933	oxymoron	a form of figurative language combining contradictory words or ideas	111
4332835906	paradox	a statement that seems to contradict itself but is, nevertheless, true.	112
4332840421	parallelism	the use of similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance.	113
4332843770	paraphrasing	the restatement of a text by readers in their own words or in another form.	114
4332846316	parody	a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author's work for comic effect or ridicule.	115
4332849084	personification	a figure of speech where animals, ideas or inanimate objects are given human characteristics.	116
4332850866	persuasion	persuasive writing is meant to sway readers' feelings, beliefs, or actions.	117
4332855495	plot	the sequence of related events that make up a story.	118
4332860214	exposition	introduces the characters and the conflicts they face.	119
4332863733	inciting incident	occurs after the exposition and introduces the central conflict within the story.	120
4332873207	rising action	following the introduction of the central conflict; complications arise as the characters struggle with the conflict.	121
4332875981	climax	the turning point, point of maximum interest, and highest tension in the plot of a story, play, or film.	122
4332879819	falling action	the end of the central conflict in a story, when the action starts to wind down.	123
4332890659	resolution	occurs after the climax and is where conflicts are resolved and loose ends are tied up.	124
4332917001	subplot	an additional minor plot that involves a secondary conflict in the story	125
4332920512	poetry	a type of literature in which ideas and feelings are expressed in compact, imaginative, and often musical language.	126
4332925572	point of view	perspective from which a story is told.	127
4332934659	predicting	the process of gathering information and combining it with the reader's own knowledge to guess what might occur in the story.	128
4332937579	primary source	a first hand account of an event; primary sources include: diaries, journals, letters, speeches, news stories, photographs, and pieces of art.	129
4332940012	propaganda	text that uses false or misleading information to present a slanted point of view.	130
4332942874	prose	the ordinary form of spoken and written language; that is, language that lacks the special features of poetry.	131
4332951559	simile	makes a comparison between two otherwise unlike objects or ideas by connecting them with the words "like" or "as."	132
4332959791	soliloquy	a speech delivered by a character who is alone on the stage.	133
4333096956	sonnet	a distinctive poetic style that uses a system or pattern of metrical structure and verse composition usually consisting of fourteen lines, arranged in a set rhyme scheme or pattern	134
4333184134	speaker	the voice that talks to the reader in a poem, as the narrator does in a work of fiction.	135
4336297910	stage directions	the instructions to the actors, director and stage crew in the script of a play.	136
4336299653	stanza	a grouping of two or more lines within a poem.	137
4338936625	questioning	the process of raising questions while reading in an effort to understand characters and events.	138
4338939981	realistic fiction	imaginative writing set in the real, modern world.	139
4338942831	refrain	repetition in literature of one or more lines at regular intervals; sometimes called the chorus.	140
4338945281	repetition	a technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for effect or emphasis.	141
4338949496	rhyme	repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work.	142
4338954588	rhythm	refers to the pattern of flow of sounds created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	143
4338958319	sarcasm	the use of praise to mock someone or something; the use of mockery or verbal irony	144
4338960723	satire	a literary technique in which ideas or customs are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society.	145
4338967039	scanning	the process of searching through writing for a particular fact or piece of information.	146
4338970001	scene	a section in a play presenting events that occur in one place at one time.	147
4338974316	sensory details	words and phrases that help readers see, hear, taste, feel, or smell what an author is describing.	148
4338976505	sequence	the order in which events occur or in which ideas are presented.	149
4338980689	setting	the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a story occurs	150
4338985560	short story	brief work of fiction that generally focuses on one or two main characters who face a single problem or conflict.	151
4338994537	stereotype	a broad generalization or an oversimplified view that disregards individual differences.	152
4338996844	storymapping	a visual organizer that helps a reader understand a work of literature by tracking setting, characters, events and conflicts.	153
4338999192	style	how a writer says something; many elements contribute to style, including word choice, sentence length, tone and figurative language	154
4339003747	summarizing	the process of briefly recounting the main ideas of a piece of writing in a person's own words, while omitting unimportant details.	155
4339006584	suspense	a feeling of growing tension and excitement.	156
4339009672	symbolism	using something specific to stand for something else, especially an idea.	157
4339013038	tall tale	a humorously exaggerated story about impossible events.	158
4339016797	theme	a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work.	159
4339032769	tone	the writer's attitude or feeling about his or her subject.	160
4339036187	tragedy	a dramatic work that presents the downfall of a dignified character or characters who are involved in historically or socially significant events.	161
4339041045	understatement	a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said; the opposite of hyperbole.	162
4339045215	urban legend	a contemporary story that is told in many rumored versions that have little basis in fact.	163
4339048118	voice	an author or narrator's distinctive style or manner of expression.	164