AP Literature Terms Flashcards

6681494687	anaphora	the regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of two or more successive phrases or clauses.	0
6681494688	chiasmus	a reversal in the word order of words in two otherwise parallel sentences	1
6681494689	apostrophe	the direct address to an absent or dead person, or to an object, quality, or idea.	2
6681494690	hyperbole	a rhetorical figure in which emphasis is achieved through exaggeration	3
6681494691	metaphor	figurative language that describes something as though it actually were something else	4
6681494692	metonymy	the substitution of one term for another that is generally associated with it. (ex. the crown declared that the man would be executed.)	5
6681494693	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole (ex. all hands on deck)	6
6681494694	onomatopoeia	the use of words that sound like a noise	7
6681494695	paradox	a statement or expression so surprisingly self-contradictory but ends up being true on some level	8
6681494696	parallelism	the use of similar grammatical structures or word order.	9
6681494697	personification	the use of human characteristics to describe animals, things, or ideas.	10
6681494698	point of view	the perspective that a narrator takes toward the events it describes	11
6681494699	protagonist	the central character in a story	12
6681494700	pun	a witty word-play which reveals that words with different meanings have similar or even identical sounds	13
6681494701	satire	writing that ridicules or holds up to contempt the faults of individuals or groups	14
6681494702	polysyndeton	the repetition of conjunctions in a sentence	15
6681494703	asyndeton	the omission of conjunctions in a sentence	16
6681494704	archetype	a symbol found in many cultures	17
6681494705	dramatic irony	a situation where the audience knows something that the characters on stage are not aware of	18
6681494706	allusion	a reference to a piece of literature, character, historical figure that the author assumes the reader will recognize	19
6681494707	dramatic climax	the turning point in a Shakespearean tragedy where the action turns against the protagonist	20
6681494708	diction	the word choices made by a writer	21
6681494709	didactic	having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing	22
6681494710	flat (static) character	a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story	23
6681494711	dynamic (round) character	a character who undergoes a change or transformation in the course of a story	24
6681494712	exposition	the beginning portion of Freytag's pyramid where the background information, characters and setting are introduced	25
6681494713	exciting force	the spark or complication that "gets the action going" in the play the event that sets the plot into motion	26
6681494714	rising action	Events leading up to the climax	27
6681494715	denouement (catastrophe)	The final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work or the outcome of a complicated sequence of events	28
6681494716	omniscient narrator	a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters	29
6681494717	theme	Central idea of a work of literature	30
6681494718	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	31
6681494719	deus ex machina	an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel	32