AP Literature - Lit Rally Terms Flashcards

6074285280	allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.	0
6074285281	alliteration	It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.	1
6074285282	allusion	A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.	2
6074285283	anagram	a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase	3
6074285284	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	4
6074285285	antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	5
6074285286	anaphora	A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.	6
6074285287	anastrophe	Inversion of the natural or usual word order	7
6074285288	antithesis	A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.	8
6074285289	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
6074285290	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	10
6074285291	assonance	Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity	11
6074285292	asyndeton	A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction), e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered." The parts of the sentence are emphasized equally; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence.	12
6074285293	blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	13
6074285294	caesura	A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.	14
6074285295	cacophony	Harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds	15
6074285296	cadence	Rhythmic rise and fall	16
6074285297	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	17
6074285298	connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	18
6074285299	consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	19
6074285300	couplet	A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.	20
6074285301	dactyl	A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables	21
6074285302	denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	22
6074285303	denouement	an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot	23
6074285304	diction	The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	24
6074285305	didactic	Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson	25
6074285306	dirge	a funeral hymn or mournful speech	26
6074285307	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	27
6074285308	end-stopped line	A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation	28
6074285309	enjambment	A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.	29
6074285310	epitaph	A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	30
6074285311	epic	A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society	31
6074285312	epistolary	A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters	32
6074285313	flashback	A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events	33
6074285314	foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	34
6074285315	foot	A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.	35
6074285316	frame story	A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story	36
6074285317	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	37
6074285318	genre	A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.	38
6074285319	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	39
6074285320	heroic couplet	A pair of rhymed, iambic pentameter lines.	40
6074285321	hexameter	A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.	41
6074285322	hubris	Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	42
6074285323	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	43
6074285324	iamb	A common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable.	44
6074285325	imagery	Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.	45
6074285326	irony	A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.	46
6074285327	verbal irony	In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	47
6074285328	situational irony	Occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected	48
6074285329	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	49
6074285330	jargon	Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand	50
6074285331	juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	51
6074285332	kenning	A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities.	52
6074285333	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.	53
6074285334	meter	A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	54
6074285335	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it	55
6074285336	mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	56
6074285337	motif	(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design	57
6074285338	motivation	A psychological factor that provides a directional force or reason for behavior.	58
6074285339	narration	The purpose of this type of rhetorical mode is to tell the story or narrate an event or series of events.	59
6074285340	novel	A long fictional narrative written in prose, usually having many characters and a strong plot.	60
6074285341	novella	A short novel usually under 100 pages.	61
6074285342	novelette	When a novel is short and has chapters reffered to as vignettes	62
6074285343	octave	a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter	63
6074285344	ode	A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.	64
6074285345	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	65
6074285346	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	66
6074285347	paean	song of joy or triumph; a fervent expression of joy	67
6074285348	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	68
6074285349	paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	69
6074285350	parallelism	Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other	70
6074285351	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	71
6074285352	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	72
6074285353	pentameter	a rhythm in poetry that has five stressed syllables in each line (five metrical feet)	73
6074285354	persona	A pattern of relatively permanent traits, dispositions, or characteristics that give some consistency to people's behavior.	74
6074285355	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	75
6074285356	plot	Sequence of events in a story	76
6074285357	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	77
6074285358	polysyndeton	Deliberate use of many conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. Hemingway and the Bible both use extensively. Ex. "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"	78
6074285359	prosody	Appropriate expression when reading. Includes pitch (intonation), loudness, stressing phrases, etc.	79
6074285360	protagonist	Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal.	80
6074285361	pun	A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.	81
6074285362	quatrain	4 line stanza	82
6074285363	refrain	A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.	83
6074285364	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer	84
6074285365	end rhyme	A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line	85
6074285366	eye rhyme	rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation	86
6074285367	forced rhyme	when two words don't really rhyme together, but an author uses similar spelled, or sounding words to try to create a rhyme; Ex: stone, one	87
6074285368	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	88
6074285369	slant rhyme	rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme	89
6074285370	rhyme scheme	A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem	90
6074285371	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	91
6074285372	sestet	a rhythmic group of six lines of verse	92
6074285373	shifts/turns	Changes in the speaker's attitude. Look for key words such as but, yet, however, and although, punctuation, and stanza division.	93
6074285374	sonnet	14-line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually written in iambic pentameter	94
6074285375	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.	95
6074285376	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa	96
6074285377	syntax	Arrangement of words in phrases and sentences	97
6074285378	theme	A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.	98
6074285379	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	99
6074285380	understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	100
6074285381	villanelle	A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes.	101