AP Literature - Literary Terms Flashcards

6560483747	allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.	0
6560483748	alliteration	It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.	1
6560483749	allusion	A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.	2
6560483750	anagram	a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase	3
6560483751	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	4
6560483752	antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	5
6560483753	anaphora	A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.	6
6560483754	anastrophe	Inversion of the natural or usual word order	7
6560483755	antithesis	A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.	8
6560483756	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
6560483757	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	10
6560483758	assonance	Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity	11
6560483759	asyndeton	A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction), e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered." The parts of the sentence are emphasized equally; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence.	12
6560483760	blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	13
6560483761	caesura	A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.	14
6560483762	cacophony	Harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds	15
6560483763	cadence	Rhythmic rise and fall	16
6560483764	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	17
6560483765	connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	18
6560483766	consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	19
6560483767	couplet	A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.	20
6560483768	dactyl	A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables	21
6560483769	denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	22
6560483770	denouement	an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot	23
6560483771	diction	The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	24
6560483772	didactic	Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson	25
6560483773	dirge	a funeral hymn or mournful speech	26
6560483774	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	27
6560483775	end-stopped line	A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation	28
6560483776	enjambment	A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.	29
6560483777	epitaph	A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	30
6560483778	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	31
6560483779	epistolary	A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters	32
6560483780	flashback	A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events	33
6560483781	foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	34
6560483782	foot	A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.	35
6560483783	frame story	A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story	36
6560483784	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	37
6560483785	genre	A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.	38
6560483786	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	39
6560483787	heroic couplet	A pair of rhymed, iambic pentameter lines.	40
6560483788	hexameter	A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.	41
6560483789	hubris	Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	42
6560483790	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	43
6560483791	iamb	A common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable.	44
6560483792	imagery	Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.	45
6560483793	irony	A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.	46
6560483794	verbal irony	In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	47
6560483795	situational irony	Occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected	48
6560483796	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	49
6560483797	jargon	Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand	50
6560483798	juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	51
6560483799	kenning	A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities.	52
6560483800	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.	53
6560483801	meter	A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	54
6560483802	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it	55
6560483803	mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	56
6560483804	motif	(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design	57
6560483805	motivation	A psychological factor that provides a directional force or reason for behavior.	58
6560483806	narration	The purpose of this type of rhetorical mode is to tell the story or narrate an event or series of events.	59
6560483807	novel	A long fictional narrative written in prose, usually having many characters and a strong plot.	60
6560483808	novella	A short novel usually under 100 pages.	61
6560483809	novelette	When a novel is short and has chapters reffered to as vignettes	62
6560483810	octave	a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter	63
6560483811	ode	A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.	64
6560483812	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	65
6560483813	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	66
6560483814	paean	song of joy or triumph; a fervent expression of joy	67
6560483815	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	68
6560483816	paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	69
6560483817	parallelism	Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other	70
6560483818	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	71
6560483819	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	72
6560483820	pentameter	a rhythm in poetry that has five stressed syllables in each line (five metrical feet)	73
6560483821	persona	A pattern of relatively permanent traits, dispositions, or characteristics that give some consistency to people's behavior.	74
6560483822	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	75
6560483823	plot	Sequence of events in a story	76
6560483824	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	77
6560483825	polysyndeton	Deliberate use of many conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. Hemingway and the Bible both use extensively. Ex. "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"	78
6560483826	prosody	Appropriate expression when reading. Includes pitch (intonation), loudness, stressing phrases, etc.	79
6560483827	protagonist	Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal.	80
6560483828	pun	A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.	81
6560483829	quatrain	4 line stanza	82
6560483830	refrain	A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.	83
6560483831	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer	84
6560483832	end rhyme	A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line	85
6560483833	eye rhyme	rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation	86
6560483834	forced rhyme	when two words don't really rhyme together, but an author uses similar spelled, or sounding words to try to create a rhyme; Ex: stone, one	87
6560483835	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	88
6560483836	slant rhyme	rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme	89
6560483837	rhyme scheme	A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem	90
6560483838	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	91
6560483839	sestet	a rhythmic group of six lines of verse	92
6560483840	shifts/turns	Changes in the speaker's attitude. Look for key words such as but, yet, however, and although, punctuation, and stanza division.	93
6560483841	sonnet	14-line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually written in iambic pentameter	94
6560483842	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.	95
6560483843	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa	96
6560483844	syntax	Arrangement of words in phrases and sentences	97
6560483845	theme	A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.	98
6560483846	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	99
6560483847	understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	100
6560483848	villanelle	A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes.	101