AP literature Exam Study Guide Flashcards

596344907	Allegory	A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meanings.	0
596344908	Anachronism	A word derived from the Greek that literally means 'misplaced in time.'	1
596344909	Anaphora	The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences Ex: In the poem of Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou, the phrase "Phenomenal Woman" is a repetition.	2
596344910	Antecedent	The word or phrase to which a pronoun refers. It often precedes a pronoun in prose or in poetry. EX: Tom wants to study Political Science; he finds it interesting	3
596344911	Anthropomorphism	In literature, when inanimate objects, animals or natural phenomena are given human characteristics, behavior or motivation. Often used with animal to give them human characteristics. EX: The chronicle of Narnia is a great example of a movie that has Anthropomorphism of animals talking.	4
596344912	Anticlimax	An often disappointing, sudden end to an intense situation.	5
596344913	Aphorism	A brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation.	6
596344914	Apostrophe	Figure of speech in which one directly addresses an imaginary person or some abstraction.	7
596344915	Archaism	The use of deliberately old-fashioned language.	8
596344916	Archetype	A character, situation or symbol that is familiar to people from all cultures because it occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion or folklore.	9
596344917	Ballad	A story in poetic form, often about tragic love and usually sung. Ballads were passed down from generation to generation by singers.	10
596344918	Black Humor	The use of disturbing themes in comedy.	11
596344919	Blank Verse	A poem written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.	12
596344920	Cacophony/ Euphony	Cacophony is an unpleasant combination of sounds. Euphony, the opposite, is a pleasant combination of sounds. These sound effects can be used intentionally to create an effect, or they may appear unintentionally.	13
596344921	Canto	A subdivision of an epic poem.	14
596344922	Chiasmus	A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed.	15
596344923	Colloquialism	A word or phrase used in everyday conversational English that isn't a part of the accepted 'formal' English. EX: Soft Drink is referred to as Soda or Pop	16
596344924	Conceit	An unusual metaphor or metaphor that is developed in detail in a paragraph (for a novel) or over several lines (for poetry).	17
596344925	Connotation	The associations a word calls to mind. The more connotative a literary work is, the less objective its interpretation becomes.	18
596344926	Denotation	The dictionary or literal meaning of a word or phrase.	19
596344927	Denouement	The outcome or clarification at the end of a story that follows the climax and leads to the resolution.	20
596344928	Didactic	A didactic story, speech, essay or play is one in which the author's primary purpose is to instruct, teach or moralize.	21
596344929	Enjambment	The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause.	22
596344930	Epigram	A short, clever poem or statement with a witty turn of thought.	23
596344931	Epigraph	A brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of the work's theme.	24
596344932	Epistolary novel	A novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters. The novelist can use this technique to present varying first person viewpoints and does not need a narrator.	25
596344933	Exposition	The presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the work.	26
596344934	Euphemism	A mild word of phrase which substitutes for another word or phrase which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, harsh, or offensive.	27
596344935	Farce	A kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or improbable situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience.	28
596344936	Hubris	Insolence, arrogance or pride	29
596344937	Hyperbole	A wild exaggeration or an overstatement for literary effect that is not meant to be interpreted literally.	30
596344938	Inference	A judgment based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement.	31
596344939	Inversion	A reversal of normal word order	32
596344940	Irony	Situational: situation that is the opposite of what you'd expext Verbal: when a writer or speaker says one thing, but really means something completely different. Dramatic: when the reader or audience knows something that the character does not. There is a contrast between what the character says, thinks or does and the true situation. Tragic: dramatic irony that occurs in a tragedy	33
596344941	Litotes	A type of understatement in which the speaker or writer uses a negative of a word ironically, to mean the opposite	34
596344942	Metonym	Substituting the name of one object for another closely associated with it	35
596344943	Parable	A short story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.	36
596344944	Paradox	A statement or situation that at first seems impossible, but on closer inspection solves itself and reveals meaning.	37
596344945	Parody	A literary work that imitates the style of another literary work. A parody can be simply amusing or it can be meant to ridicule the author or his work.	38
596344946	Pastoral	A poem, play or story that celebrates and idealizes the simple life of shepherds and shepherdesses. The form was popular until the late 18th century.	39
596344947	Pathos	The quality of a literary work or passage which appeals to the reader's or viewer's emotions—especially pity, compassion and sympathy.	40
596344948	Pun	Humorous play on words that have several meanings or words that sound the same but have different meanings.	41
596344949	Saga	A story of the exploits of a hero, or the story of a family told through several generations.	42
596344950	Structure	Refers to how the parts of a work are organized and arranged	43
596344951	Syllepsis	• A construction in which one word is used in two different senses. • The meaning of a verb cleverly changes halfway through a sentence but remains grammatically correct.	44
596344952	Synecdoche	A figure of speech where one part of something represents the whole thing.	45
596344953	Syntax	The way in which words, phrases and sentences are ordered and connected. Syntax results in various sentence types used for a variety of rhetorical effects.	46