AP Literature and Composition Plot Flashcards

6893244548	Anticlimax	a sudden descent from the impressive or significant to the ludicrous or inconsequential	0
6893245867	catastrophe	the concluding action of a classical tragedy containing the resolution of the plot	1
6893248512	comic relief	a humorous incident introduced into a serious literary work in order to relieve dramatic tension or heighten emotional impact	2
6893253374	dilemma	a situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable	3
6893255393	deus ex machina	(god from the machine) The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence (so named from the practice of some Greek dramatists of having a god descend from heaven at the last possible minute-in the theater by means of a stage machine- to rescue the protagonist from an impossible situation)	4
6893262612	indeterminate ending	an ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved	5
6893264781	inversion	a reversal in order, nature, or effect	6
6893266663	motivation	an emotional, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action	7
6893269238	mystery	an unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense	8
6893271738	paradox	a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements	9
6893275551	plot	the sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed	10
6893277080	plot manipulation	a situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved	11
6893279557	plot device	an object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story. often breaks suspension of disbelief	12
6893756320	prologue	an introduction or a preface, esp. a poem recited to introduce a play	13
6893761998	red herring	a literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item or person of significance	14
6893766612	scene	a subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and the time continuous	15
6893769821	suspense	that quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end	16
6893772270	suspension of disbelief	an unspoken agreement between writer and reader:"I agree to believe your make-believe if it entertains me"	17
6893777414	subplot	a plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work	18
6893778965	surprise	an unexpected turn in the development of a plot	19