AP Literature Definitions Flashcards

5383790795	Abstract	Not attached to anything specific or concrete	0
5384123598	Aesthetic	Relating to beauty	1
5383794324	Allegory	Literal meaning corresponds with symbolic meaning	2
5187236425	Alliteration	Repeated beginning sounds (usually consonants)	3
5383798936	Ambiguity	An idea that can be understood in multiple ways, obscure or difficult to understand	4
5383798937	Anachronism	Misplaced object in time, (airplane in the Hobbit)	5
5187239062	Anecdote	A story of a singular event	6
5383803497	Antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers	7
5753969264	Aphorism	A concise expression of insight or wisdom	8
5746475400	Apology	An attempt at defending oneself while implying regret	9
5383803498	Archetype	A recurrent symbol or motif in literature, (wicked stepmother)	10
5187244071	Bathos	A sudden drop from the lofty to the trivial	11
5383946886	Bildungsroman	Coming of age story	12
5383805704	Blank Verse	Unrhymed iambic pentameter	13
5383805705	Canon	Group of literary works deemed necessary to culture's tradition	14
5187248154	Caricature	A characterization of a person that exaggerates their features (usually to mock)	15
5383807724	Catharsis	Cleansing of one's emotions through art	16
5753975917	Colloquialism	Informal expression or slang term, not acceptable in formal writing	17
5187256516	Conceit	A parallel between seemingly dissimilar objects or ideas	18
5383810221	Connotation	Implied meaning of a word	19
5383813670	Convention	practice that is accepted as true or correct (in writing)	20
5187262999	Denotation	Literal meaning of a word	21
5754002916	Dialectic	Regional way of speaking, spoken by a social group	22
5187267709	Diction	Word choice	23
5746478255	Digression	A departure from main subject	24
5746480293	Dystopia	Opposite of utopia, unpleasant and set in future	25
5746483841	Elegy	Poem that laments the death of a friend	26
5754000701	Ellipsis	Three dots (...) used to omit word(s)	27
5746489791	Enjambment	Continuation of a sentence beyond end of a line of verse	28
5754004997	End-stopped	Phrase in poetry that stops at the end of the line	29
5753985086	Epigram	A witty statement, in verse	30
5383813672	Epigraph	Quote or motto that is at the beginning of a chapter or book	31
5753986606	Epiphany	Sudden and powerful realization that a character reaches in an otherwise mundane moment	32
5187273113	Ethos	Ethics of character	33
5753954333	Eulogy	Formal statement of praise	34
5754011672	Euphony	Pleasant arrangement of sounds	35
5753989030	Expletive	(obscenity) A syllable, word, or group of words added to fill a void, but which does not add to the meaning of a piece of writing	36
5187292155	Foil	A contrasting character to another	37
5187297883	Hamartia	Tragic flaw of the tragic character (Achille's heel)	38
5753956030	Idiom	An expression that is odd or incorrect and yet accepted (ex. raining cats and dogs)	39
5754008793	Imagery	The picture that language brings to mind	40
5187274922	Irony	A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.	41
5187305823	Lyric	Poetic compositions that show the thoughts of a speaker	42
5753994643	Melodrama	Use of sentimentality or gushing emotion to provoke an audience or reader response	43
5187314418	Mood	Feelings the reader gets from a story	44
5187284415	Motif	Recurring idea or device that develops the major themes	45
5753964397	Narrative Device	Design in literary work used to achieve a particular effect	46
5753966250	Ode	A serious lyric poem, often of significant length	47
5187288287	Paradox	Statement that seems absurd but expresses a deeper truth	48
5187301681	Parody	Humorous imitation of the style of another author	49
5187318123	Pastiche	A work that imitates the style of another author, work or genre OR Work that contains pieces of other works	50
5187332291	Pastoral	Celebration of the simple rustic life	51
5383844498	Pathos	Feelings, emotional appeal	52
5187334677	Persona	The voice/mask created by the author	53
5383844678	Rhetoric	The art of using language effectively and persuasively	54
5383847425	Satire	Work that exposes the shortcomings of individuals, usually political	55
5753997576	Stock Character	A common character that occurs throughout literature	56
5383847426	Syntax	Sentence structure	57
5383849442	Tone	Author's attitude	58
5187337983	Trope	Comparison of words to other things/ideas (similes, metaphors, metonymies)	59
5383851955	Voice	A writer's distinctive use of language	60