AP Literature Terms Flashcards

4856738048	Allegory	A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions A story in which a second meaning is to be read beneath the surface	0
4856738049	Alliteration	Repetition of consonant sounds	1
4856739206	Allusion	A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art	2
4856741207	Ambiguity	Uncertain or indefinite; subject to more than one interpretation	3
4856775473	Anapest	Two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable	4
4856775474	Anaphora	Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences	5
4856777250	Antecedent	The noun to which a later pronoun refers.	6
4856818423	Antimetabole	Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order.	7
4856826479	Antithesis	Direct opposite	8
4856843340	Aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
4961089188	Apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.	10
4961099256	Archetype	A recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found in myth and literature across different cultures and eras.	11
4961110031	Aside	A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play	12
4961114256	Asyndeton	Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.	13
4961138886	Cacophony	Harsh-sounding mixture of words, voices, or sounds	14
4961156025	Caesura	A strong pause within a line of verse.	15
4961161579	Connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	16
4961168498	Colloquial	conversational; informal language	17
4961175271	Consonance	Repetition of consonant sounds	18
4961197770	Denotation	The dictionary definition of a word	19
5107699471	Diction	Word choice	20
5107711362	Euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	21
5107715227	Elegy	A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.	22
5107726631	Ellipsis	in a sentence, the omission of a word or words replaced by three periods	23
5107728687	Epic	A long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds	24
5107733585	Epigram	A brief witty statement.	25
5107741237	Epiphany	A moment of sudden revelation or insight	26
5107743589	Euphony	pleasant, harmonious sound	27
5107745282	Existentialism	A philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions	28
5107750176	Exposition	A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances.	29
5196032287	Fable	A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters	30
5196055924	Fairy tale	a fictional tale, marked by fantasy and magic, often appealing to the imagination	31
5196058118	Falling action	Events after the climax, leading to the resolution	32
5196080483	Figurative language	Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid	33
5196101209	Foil	A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.	34
5196106647	Foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	35
5196116744	Gothic	Genre of fiction, characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque	36
5196149795	Hubris	Excessive pride or self-confidence	37
5196156243	Hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	38
5196167019	Imagery	Language that appeals to the senses	39
5196188515	Irony	A contrast between expectation and reality	40
5196200013	Litotes	A type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite	41
5196206068	Metaphor	An implied comparison between two dissimilar things	42
5196234029	Metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it	43
5196257519	Monologue	A long speech given by one person	44
5357232174	Myth	a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events	45
5357233875	Narrative	A poem that tells a story	46
5357246693	Novel	A long fictional narrative written in prose, usually having many characters and a strong plot.	47
5357251820	Onomatopoeia	A word that imitates the sound it represents.	48
5357254740	Oxymoron	A figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms	49
5357261317	Paradox	A seemingly contradictory statement that nonetheless expresses a truth	50
5357267230	Paraphrase	A restatement of a text or passage in other words.	51
5357270614	Parallelism	The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.	52
5357284556	Personification	A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics	53
5357363180	Point of View	The perspective from which a story is told	54
5434608624	Polysyndeton	repetition of conjunctions	55
5434620771	Prose	written or spoken language, without metrical structure	56
5434630507	Protagonist	The central character in a work of literature	57
5434645705	Pun	A humorous play on words	58
5434682707	Realism	A 19th century artistic movement in which writers and painters sought to show life as it is rather than life as it should be	59
5434688510	Repetition	Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis	60
5434691921	Rhyme	Repetition of similar sounds	61
5434702323	Rising Action	Events leading up to the climax	62
5434720776	Sarcasm	The use of irony to mock or convey contempt; the opposite of what is meant	63
5434745045	Satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	64
5611644479	Scansion	the analysis of verse to show its meter	65
5611653363	Setting	The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.	66
5611657909	Simile	A comparison of two things using like or as	67
5611676361	Soliloquy	A dramatic speech, revealing inner thoughts and feelings, spoken aloud by one character while alone on the stage.	68
5611739547	Style	The author's creative choices regarding language, syntax, and tone.	69
5611790928	Symbolism	The use of something concrete to represent something more abstract.	70
5611818853	Synecdoche	A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole.	71
5611859182	Synesthesia	Describing one kind of sensation in terms of another, "a loud color", "a sweet sound"	72
5611887160	Syntax	The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.	73
5611895826	Theme	The writer's message about life or human nature.	74
5611919760	Tone	The writer's attitude toward the audience, a subject, or a character.	75
5611955306	Tragedy	A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character.	76
5611959615	Tragic Flaw	A weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero.	77
5611980585	Voice	A writer's unique use of language that allows a reader to perceive a human personality in his or her writing.	78
5611991787	Zeugma	The use of a word to modify two or more words, but used for different meanings. "He closed the door and his heart on his lost love"	79