AP Literature Terms - Barringer Flashcards

4305864268	allegory	A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning. The story and characters represent values beyond themselves. Example: Christian met Faith and traveled to Heaven, Oregon.	0
4305865541	allusion	A reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea. Example: Any quote from Shakespeare, Dickens, The Bible, etc. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."	1
4305871285	analogy	A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things. Example: "Structure of an atom is like a solar system. Nucleus is the sun and electrons are the planets revolving around their sun."	2
4305871712	antithesis	A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences. Example: "Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind."	3
4305871713	apostrophe	A rhetorical device in which a speaker addresses a person or personified thing not present. Example: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? / Come, let me clutch thee! / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still."	4
4305886990	caricature	An often amusing characterization or cartoon of a person.	5
4305888450	chiasmus	a verbal pattern (a type of antithesis) in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. Example: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You."	6
4305891855	cliche	An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being trite or irritating. Example: "Put your nose to the grindstone. Give it the old college try."	7
4305893085	connotation	The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase. Contrast with denotation, which is the word's actual definition.	8
4305898255	contrast	a rhetorical device through which writers identify differences between two subjects, places, persons, things or ideas. Simply, it is a type of opposition between two objects highlighted to emphasize their differences.	9
4305901101	dénouement	The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction.	10
4305903323	didactic (tone or attitude)	The author attempts to educate or instruct the reader. Example: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan the proper study of Mankind is Man."	11
4305909756	dialogue	A literary technique in which writers employ two or more characters to be engaged in conversation with each other.	12
4305910631	diction	The choice of words in oral and written discourse. Alliteration (repeated beginning sounds) and assonance (repeated vowel sounds) are two VERY common uses of diction.	13
4305915223	empathy	A feeling created by the author--association or identification with an object or person. Readers FEEL empathy--it's a feeling. This is different from Pathos, which is a technique used by the author in an attempt to arouse empathy.	14
4305917894	epiphany	A sudden realization--a flash of recognition in which someone or something is seen in a new light.	15
4305921305	figurative language	In contrast to literal language, figurative language implies meanings. It includes metaphors, similes, and personification, among many others.	16
4305920167	flashback	A return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances. It might also be a character's account of the past, a dream, or a sudden association with past events.	17
4305952350	foil	A minor character whose personality or attitude contrasts with that of the main character. Juxtaposing one character against another intensifies the qualities of both, to advantage or sometimes to disadvantage. Example: Scar and Mufasa.	18
4305920168	foreshadowing	Providing hints of things to come in a story or play.	19
4305920169	frame story	A narrative that provides the framework within which a number of different stories, which may or may not be connected, can be told.	20
4305927595	gaps	A missing piece or explanation in a story	21
4305927596	genre	A term used to describe literary forms, such as a novel, play, and essay.	22
4305927597	hyperbole	Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect. Example: "I had to walk 500 miles to get there!"	23
4305930434	imagery	To use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.	24
4305930435	interior monologue	A narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the protagonists.	25
4305930436	irony	A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected.	26
4305934099	malapropism	The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, "dance a flamingo" (instead of flamenco).	27
4305934100	metaphor	A figure of speech that compares unlike objects. Example: "He is a beast!"	28
4305957231	mood	The emotional tone in a work of literature.	29
4305934896	narrative pace	Narrative pace determines how quickly or how slowly the writer takes a reader through a story.	30
4305936189	narrator	A character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem.	31
4305937976	oxymoron	A figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. Example: "Jumbo shrimp" or "terribly funny."	32
4305938948	paradox	A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true	33
4305938949	parallel scenes	Two or more scenes dealing with different individuals that happen at the approximate same time	34
4305938950	parallel structure	Words, phrases and clauses that are linked together in a series or connected through identical style. Think of "I have a dream." Example: "He went to the mall, he bought some jeans, and he went home."	35
4305940299	parody	A composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way. Think of Saturday Night Live or Weird Al Yankovic.	36
4305940300	pastoral	A work of literature dealing with rural, country life.	37
4305940301	pathos	That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow	38
4305941389	persona (mask)	The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader, a viewer, or the world at large	39
4305941390	personification	A figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics. Example: "The car farted out black smoke."	40
4305942427	point of view	The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem.	41
4305943069	projection into future (flash forward)	A scene or event from the future that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, usually for dramatic effect or irony.	42
4305945280	realism	The depiction of people, things, and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect. This method usually results in depressing stories that don't sugarcoat life's trials.	43
4305945281	repetition	Repeating of a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect	44
4305946766	rhetorical question	Question asked for effect, no answer required.	45
4305947569	rhyme	The repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals, used mostly in poetry.	46
4305947570	rhythm/meter	The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry	47
4305948314	romance	An extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places.	48
4305949254	sarcasm	A sharp, caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony, which is more subtle	49
4305949255	satire	A literary style used to poke fun at, attack, or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for the purpose of inducing change. Think Saturday Night Live or Family Guy/South Park.	50
4305949591	simile	A figurative comparison using the words like or as	51
4305950203	stream of consciousness	A style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind	52
4305950907	subplot	A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play, usually connected to the main plot	53
4305951237	symbolism	The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object	54
4305951238	syntax	Sentence structure or word order. The organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular pattern of words.	55
4305967621	tone	The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence	56
4305951239	tragic hero	A great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Tragic heroes have one flaw that usually leads to this downfall.	57
4305951897	understatement	Figure of speech were literal sense is short of magnitude, the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. Example: "Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy"	58