AP Literature Exam Flashcards

6743288183	allegory	a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative; the underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance	0
6743308043	allusion	a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art; can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical	1
6743318240	ambiguity	the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage (lends a deeper meaning to the work)	2
6743324821	analogy	a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them; can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar	3
6743378196	antithesis	the opposition or contrast of ideas, the direct opposite	4
6743380660	aphorism	a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle; can be memorable summation of the author's point	5
6743387508	apostrophe	a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction; an address to someone/something that cannot answer	6
6743392895	atmosphere	the emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described; even such elements as a description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere	7
6743420894	conceit	a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects; displays intellectual cleverness as a result of the unusual comparison being made	8
6743431126	connotation	the non-literal, associative meaning of a word, the implied, suggested meaning; may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes	9
6743436904	denotation	the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color	10
6743442346	diction	related to style, refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness	11
6743451235	didactic	from the Greek, literally means "teaching" and has the primary aim of teaching or instructing; especially the teaching of moral and ethical principles	12
6743471063	digression	to turn aside from the main subject	13
6743472924	extended metaphor	a metaphor developed at a great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work	14
6743476220	figurative language	writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid (imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole)	15
6743487968	homily	a sermon involving moral or spiritual advice	16
6743491554	hyperbole	exaggeration or overstatement; produces irony, comic effect, serious effect is passive	17
6743504214	imagery	the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, accuse emotion, or represent abstractions; can be used complexly which simultaneously employing other figures of speech	18
6743510059	invective	an emotional violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language	19
6743513559	litotes	a form of understatement that usually contains a double negative	20
6743516342	metonymy	means "changed label" or "substitute name," it is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it; linked to the concept	21
6743534265	paradox	a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity	22
6743548004	personification	a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions	23
6743552451	repetition	the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern	24
6743558875	sarcasm	involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to built or ridicule someone or something, but is not an invective	25
6743565883	symbol	anything that represents itself and stands for something else; usually, something concrete that represents something more abstract	26
6743578686	synechdoche	a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, either by naming only some part of it or a group	27
6743585668	synestheia	when one kind of sensory stimulus evolves the subjective experience of another	28
6743599280	syntax	the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences; groups of words that produce effects	29
6743603309	tone	similar to mood, describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both	30
6743606645	understatement	the ironic minimizing of fact, represents something as less significant than it is	31
6743616704	anaphora	repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row; deliberate form of repetition that makes writer's point more coherent	32
6743621707	anastrophe	the order of the noun and the adjective in the sentence is exchanged to crate a dramatic impacts	33
6743626951	asyndeton	commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally	34
6743631817	bildungsroman	a novel of someone's growth from childhood to maturity	35
6743634383	polysyndeton	a sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series	36
6745706013	alliteration	the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words, it is used to catch the reader's eye and to focus attention	37
6745707668	apostrophe	an address to the dead as if living; to the inanimate as if animate; to the absent as if present; to the unborn as if alive	38
6745714585	assonance	the repetition of vowel sounds, but not consonants; used to add organization and keeps the readers interest	39
6745717492	aubade	poem written to celebrate the dawn	40
6745718205	ballad	normally refers to either a simple song or to a narrative poem (often with a tragic ending)	41
6745719449	cacophony	a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones; the author may use this to communicate or invoke negative emotions	42
6745721406	caesura	a pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm rather than by metrics; used to indicate when there is a pause in the poem	43
6745723174	cinquain	a five line poem based on japanese forms such as haiku; line one is one word (the title); line two is two words that describe the title; line three is three words that tell the action; line four is four words that express the feeling; and line five is one word that recalls the title	44
6745726304	conceit	very elaborate comparisons between unlikely objects	45
6745726853	consonance	the repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels; used for emphasis and to attract attention to the subject	46
6745730890	elegy	a formal sustained poem lamenting the death of a particular person	47
6745731614	end rhyme	rhyme which occurs at the end of the sentence rather than the middle	48
6745733832	enjambment	the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause; run on lines can form groups, or they can simply act to increase the fluidity of the poetry by decreasing the importance of the verse boundaries	49
6745736644	epigram	a very short, satirical and witty poem usually written as a brief couplet or quatrain	50
6745739289	euphony	a style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear dominate; used to bring about pleasant, peaceful feelings in the reader	51
6745740908	euphemism	an inoffensive word used to replace a more vulgar or offensive word	52
6745742624	eye rhyme	a rhyme that appears as if it will rhyme based on spelling, but it is actually a half-rhyme or slant-rhyme due to pronunciation	53
6745743823	haiku	miniature japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables (five in first line, seven in second line, five in last line); no rhyme or meter scheme is employed when writing haiku	54
6745747089	iambic pentameter	a line of ten syllables using the pattern of unstressed/stressed	55
6745749316	idyll	either short poems depicting a peaceful, idealized country scene (farming, agriculture) or long poems that tell a story about ancient heroes	56
6745750776	internal rhyme	a rhyme that occurs within a line rather than at the end, used to link or connect similar concepts in poetry	57
6745752707	lyric	verses that were written to be sung; however, more recently the term has been used to refer to short poems where the poet expresses his or her feelings	58
6745756490	meiosis	the presentation of a thing with under emphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect; intentionally understating something in order to lessen the effect of its largeness or acuteness	59
6745759605	ode	long poems which are serious in nature and written to a set structure	60
6745761483	onomatopoeia	a word that imitates the sound it represents, it is used to create a mood or to produce an effect to make a sentence more interesting	61
6745763339	pastoral	a poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way for example of shepherds or country life	62
6745765582	posopopoeia	a form of personification in which an inanimate object gains the ability to speak	63
6745767545	pun	a form of word play, which proposes two or more meaning by utilizing multiple meanings of words; used to add a humorous effect	64
6745769691	rime royal	a seven-line stanza form invented by Chaucer in the fourteenth century; the stanzas are written in iambic pentameter in a fixed rhyme scheme	65
6745771950	sibilance	a special form of alliteration using the softer consonants that create hissing sounds, or sibilant sounds	66
6745773967	sonnet	a poetic form customarily of 14 line written in iambic pentameter	67
6745776295	synechdoche	a literal part of something is used to stand for the whole	68
6745777036	synesthesia	a sensation produced in one state when a stimulus is applied to another state, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color	69
6745780694	villanelle	a poetic form in which the first and third lines of the first stanza come back in refrain, with a rhyme scheme of ABA for four tercets and ABAA in the final quatrain	70
6745782899	zeugma	the use of a word to govern two or more words, either in such a way that it applies to all in a different sense, or makes sense with only one	71
6752929514	sestet	six-line stanza	72
6752931751	tercet	stanza of three lines	73
6752934760	blank verse	literary device defined as un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter	74
6752942140	free verse	a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms	75
6752949452	verse	denotes a single line of poetry; refers to a stanza or other parts of poetry	76
6752951858	iamb	a foot containing unaccented and short syllables followed by a long and accented syllable in a single line of a poem	77
6752955696	pentameter	a literary device that can be define as a line verse or poetry that has five strong metrical feet or beats	78
6752964071	selection of detail	the authors choice of specific events, words, incidents, ect which are used to make or create a narrative/scene	79
6752968817	first person point of view	involves the narrator as part of the story, and usually features the following pronouns	80
6752984565	second person point of view	very rare in literature; treats the reader as the main character in the story; descriptions are based on what you would see if you were in that situation	81
6752995440	third person point of view	told by a narrator who is not part of the story and generally uses pronouns such as: he, she, it, they, them, him, her, its, ect	82
6753021657	third person omniscient	occurs when a story is told by a narrator who is not part of the story but knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story	83
6753026504	third person limited	the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character	84
6753036248	irony	referring to how a person, situation, statement, or circumstances is not as it would actually seem	85
6753047027	verbal irony	the use of words to mean something different from what a person actually says; overstatement exaggerates the character and understatement puts down the character	86
6753058393	dramatic irony	occurs when the audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not aware of	87
6753072832	situation irony	when the exact opposite of what is meant to happen, happens	88
6753075639	cosmic irony	occurs when a situation, action, or event thought to have a positive outcome results in a negative outcome	89
6753091467	visual imagery	the most frequent type of imagery used to recreate a certain image	90
6753093440	auditory imagery	the mental representation of any sound and it is vital in imagining and feeling a situation	91
6753104666	kinesthetic imagery	a broader term used to describe the sense of movement or tension	92
6753107655	olfactory imagery	related to smell and this imagery helps summon and deliver the smells to the reader	93
6753111614	gustatory imagery	illustrates and recreates the tastes, of food or many other things	94
6753116258	tactile imagery	appeals to the sense of touch by presenting attributes like hardness, softness, or hot and cold sensations	95
6753128116	organic imagery	concentrates on recreating internal sensations like hunger, thirst, fear or fatigue	96
6753133799	vulgar diction	language deficient in taste and refinement; coarse, base (any swear word)	97
6753137195	slang diction	refers to a group of recently coined words; momentary and exclusive	98
6753148310	jargon diction	consists of words and expressions characteristic of a particular trade, profession, or pursuit	99
6753156890	cliche diction	figurative language used so often it has lost its freshness and clarity	100
6753159003	dialect diction	is a nonstandard subgroup of a language with its own vocabulary and grammatical features; elaborates the geographic and social background of any character of any character	101
6753170236	informal/standard diction	language grammatically correct, but conversational; used in casual situations, but still states accurate facts	102
6753174890	formal diction/elevated language	appropriate for more formal occasions; often more abstract and more figurative	103
6753185722	concrete diction	language tangible to our five senses	104
6753188708	abstract diction	language that is conceptual and philosophical	105
6753197114	active diction	conveys action; the person that performed the action will function as the subject of that sentence	106
6753207420	passive diction	will be construction using a verb of being	107
6753210796	objective diction	impersonal and unemotional	108
6753212503	subjective diction	personal and emotional language	109
6753215429	denotation diction	language with exact meaning	110
6753215488	connotation diction	suggested emotional meaning	111
6753217748	literal diction	accurate language without embellishment	112
6753219453	figurative diction	comparative language for a pictorial effect	113
6753224951	pedestrian diction	layman's terms	114
6753224952	pedantic diction	boring, inflated language intending to display importance	115
6753230673	lyric poetry	any poem with one speaker who expresses strong thoughts and feelings; typically modern poems	116
6753238165	narrative poem	any poem that tells a story; the structure resembles the plot line of a story	117
6753241226	descriptive poem	poem that describes the world that surround the speaker; elaborate imagery and adjectives	118
6753251321	marxist criticism	focuses on economic and cultural theories of karl marx, explains the literature by revealing economic class and how the author writes	119
6753276846	deconstruction criticism	criticizing with reason	120
6753278775	formalism criticism	anytime you use literary techniques to discuss literature	121
6753280451	reader response criticism	anytime you analyze a text by connection either text to text, text to self, or text to world	122
6753283480	feminist criticism	holds the belief that society is prejudice towards women, society is patriarchal, women lack strong roles in literature, highlights relationships between genders in literature, how inequality affects literature	123
6753304411	moral criticism	literature used to demonstrate morality and philosophical issues	124
6753308527	historical criticism	understanding the historical context of the setting of text and how it affects the text; effects overall disposition	125
6753319192	psychological criticism freud	psychological motivation, author uses text to express himself, expresses ego, all human behavior is motivated by sexuality	126
6753322059	psychological criticism jung	process of discovering what makes one unique, myhtical, parts of self, goal of all humans is to achieve individuation	127
6753329685	archetypal criticism	collection of symbols, images, characters, and motifs	128
6753350170	adage	a saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in metaphorical language	129
6753353588	anachronism	a person, scene, event, or element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set	130
6753358752	apollonian	refers to the most noble, godlike qualities of human nature and behavior	131
6753362903	bathos	the use of insincere or overdone sentimentality	132
6753366838	belle-lettres	french term for the world of books, criticism, and literature in general	133
6753370301	bombast	inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects	134
6753375345	chiasmus	a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect	135
6753380242	antimetabole	the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings	136
6753383252	stichomythia	a technique in drama in which sequences of single alternating lines, or half-lines or two-line speeches are given to alternating characters; typically features repetition and antithesis	137