AP Literature Vocabulary Flashcards Flashcards
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| 7030967104 | Abstract | a summary of a text, scientific article, document, speech, etc.; epitome. Example: He invaded Iraq on the basis of abstract theory, the very thing Burke warned against. | 0 | |
| 7030967105 | Adage | a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation; proverb. Example: The word "revenge" in this adage is understood to be other-than-literal. | 1 | |
| 7030968217 | Allegory | a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another Example: The Lord of The Flies (Golding) has allegories about society | 2 | |
| 7030968218 | Alliteration | the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Example: "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers" | 3 | |
| 7030969068 | Allusion | an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly Example: "Don't be a Scrooge!" (reference to a character who is evil/mean) | 4 | |
| 7030969860 | Ambiguity | the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness Example: outgoing and adventurous people are more likely to be open to new ideas | 5 | |
| 7030970697 | Anachronism | a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned Example: Shakespeare (Julius Caesar play) | 6 | |
| 7030970698 | Analogy | a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification Example: I am to Golden Valley as Irik is to Buhach. | 7 | |
| 7030971933 | Anecdote | a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person Example: During a conversation about theme parks, a little kid tells about his trip to disney world | 8 | |
| 7030972782 | Antagonist | a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something Example: President Snow/the capital in The Hunger Games | 9 | |
| 7030983264 | Antithesis | a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else Example: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." | 10 | |
| 7030984080 | Aphorism | a pithy observation that contains a general truth Example: There's no time like the present | 11 | |
| 7030984813 | Apostrophe | a punctuation mark ( ' ) used to indicate either possession Example: The cat's food. The dog's bowl. It's Saturday. | 12 | |
| 7030985577 | Archetype | a very typical example of a certain person or thing. Example: Bully Damsel in distress Evil genius | 13 | |
| 7030986443 | Assonance | in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in non rhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible Example: "Hear the mellow wedding bells" (Edgar Allen Poe) | 14 | |
| 7030986444 | Ballad | a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas Example: "That which befalls me in my Lady's presence Bars explanation intellectual. I seem to see a lady wonderful Spring forth between her lips, one whom no sense Can fully tell the mind of,and one whence Another, in beauty, springeth marvelous, From whom a star goes forth and speaketh thus: 'Now my salvation is gone forth from thee.'" | 15 | |
| 7030987046 | Bathos | an effect of anti climax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous Example: Jane Austen is among the few serious writers who used this tool. It helped her give a sense of merriness to her novel Northanger Abbey. | 16 | |
| 7030987047 | Blank Verse | verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter. Example: Mending Walls by Robert Frost is an example of a blank verse poem | 17 | |
| 7030989037 | Caesura | a break between words within a metrical foot. Example: Star spangled banner "Oh, say can you see || by the dawn's early light" | 18 | |
| 7030989038 | Canon | a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged. Example: Shakespearean canon | 19 | |
| 7030990083 | Caricature | a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect Example: He who is very smart is one who some may call a "robot" | 20 | |
| 7030990084 | Climax | the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex Example: Pretty Little Liars last episode of season two when they found out who A was | 21 | |
| 7030991042 | Colloquial | used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary Example: It's lit | 22 | |
| 7030993836 | Conceit | a fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor Example: Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet) He compares Juliet to a boat in a storm. | 23 | |
| 7030993837 | Connotation | an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning Example: "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day" | 24 | |
| 7030996005 | Consonance | refer to the repetition of ending sounds that are consonants Example: "I held my nose in the breeze so I would not sneeze on your knees" | 25 | |
| 7030996006 | Couplet | two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit. Example: I have the measles and the mumps,/ a gash, a rash and purple bumps. | 26 | |
| 7030996915 | Diction | he choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing Example: His perfect diction never failed to be commented on. | 27 | |
| 7030997846 | Deus ex machina | an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel. Example: Bob used deus ex machina so his characters could escape their sticky situation. | 28 | |
| 7030997847 | Elegy | a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. Example: Since I am not an animal lover, I could only sigh as Ann sang an elegy for her dead cat. | 29 | |
| 7030999688 | Ellipsis | the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues Example: So... what happened? | 30 | |
| 7030999704 | Enjambment | the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. Example: "I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree." Kilmer | 31 | |
| 7031000810 | Epic | a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation Example: In early times the war of the Epigoni was a favorite subject of epic poetry. | 32 | |
| 7031002072 | Epigram | a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way Example: "Make crime pay: become a lawyer" Will Rogers | 33 | |
| 7031002073 | Euphemism | a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Example: Saying "passed away" instead of "died" | 34 | |
| 7031006580 | Exposition | comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory Example: In 1887 the Piedmont exposition was held in Atlanta. | 35 | |
| 7031006581 | Fable | a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral. Example: The tortoise and the hare is a fable (slow and steady wins the race) | 36 | |
| 7031007497 | Falling Action | the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reached and the conflict has been resolved Example: The falling action of the book Goldilock and the three bears was that she got out of bed and ran away | 37 | |
| 7031007498 | Farce | a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations Example: Many argue that the government today is a mere farce of what it started out as | 38 | |
| 7031008805 | First-person Narrative | a point of view (who is telling a story) where the story is narrated by one character at a time Example: You are the smartest person in the room | 39 | |
| 7031008806 | Flashback | a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story Example: Jane The Virgin and Pretty Little Liars go back in the past to give info | 40 | |
| 7031009466 | Foil | prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding Example: The detective foiled their plan. | 41 | |
| 7031009467 | Foreshadowing | be a warning or indication of (a future event) Example: PLL uses foreshadowing at the end of the episodes | 42 | |
| 7031010368 | Free Verse | poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter. Example: Milk & Honey book | 43 | |
| 7031010369 | Genre | a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Example: There are different genres of music on pandora (hip hop, pop, country) | 44 | |
| 7031013143 | Hyperbole | exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally Example: She weighed a million pounds after eating dinner | 45 | |
| 7031013144 | Imagery | visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work Example: If you are a fan of music, then imagery surrounds you in songs. Many people agree that songs are but poetry set to music. Which puts pictures in your mind. | 46 | |
| 7031014162 | In medias res | into the middle of a narrative; without preamble Example: The odyssey- Started in the middle and went back to the same point to hook the audience. | 47 | |
| 7031014163 | Irony | the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect Example: PLL uses irony because Mona was their friend | 48 | |
| 7031016086 | Juxtapose | place or deal with close together for contrasting effect Example: Happiness/sadness | 49 | |
| 7031018024 | Litotes | ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary Example: No big deal my life is just over | 50 | |
| 7031018025 | Lyric | expressing the writer's emotions, usually briefly and in stanzas or recognized forms Example: He also drew up select lists of epic and lyric poets. | 51 | |
| 7031019158 | Metaphor | a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable Example: She was so red she was a tomato. | 52 | |
| 7031019159 | Meter | in nouns denoting lines of poetry with a specified number of feet or measures Example: All i could see from where I stood. | 53 | |
| 7031020013 | Metonymy | the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant Example: The "pen" stands in for "the written word." | 54 | |
| 7031020014 | Mood | a temporary state of mind or feeling Example: He has been in a grumpy mood since he got up. | 55 | |
| 7031020015 | Motif | an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of theme Example: Death is the depressing motif that appears in each of the artists paintings. | 56 | |
| 7031021351 | Narrator | a person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem. Example: There is narrator in Jane The Virgin. | 57 | |
| 7031021352 | Ode | a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter. It is the ode on the fall of the king of Babylon. Example: Pindaric, Horatian, and Irregular are 3 types of odes. | 58 | |
| 7031026455 | Omniscient Point of View | the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters Example: Jane the Virgin's narrator. | 59 | |
| 7031027678 | Onomatopoeia | the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named ( Example: Cheer team's music- SNAP, CRACKLE, POP | 60 | |
| 7031028873 | Oxymoron | a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction Example: "Pretty ugly" | 61 | |
| 7031028874 | Parable | a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson Example: It was a parable of impending doom. | 62 | |
| 7031029462 | Paradox | a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true Example: In a strange paradox, the medicine made Heather sick before it made her better. | 63 | |
| 7031029463 | Parody | an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect Example: When I heard the parody of the love song, I could not stop laughing. | 64 | |
| 7031031186 | Pastoral | a work of literature portraying an idealized version of country life Example: For some years previously the pastoral industry had been declining drought. | 65 | |
| 7031031187 | Pathos | a quality that evokes pity or sadness Example: ASPCA commercials with the sick homeless animals | 66 | |
| 7031031188 | Persona | the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others Example: Toby's persona is misunderstood in season 1 of pll | 67 | |
| 7031032298 | Personification | the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. Example: The sunshine danced down the ceiling and swam into the floor. | 68 | |
| 7031034864 | Plot | the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence. Example: Wonder Woman movie has a great plot (leads up to big war) | 69 | |
| 7031039308 | Protagonist | the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. Example: Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games series. | 70 | |
| 7031040161 | Quatrain | a stanza of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes Example: He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there's some mistake. The onyl torres sounds the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake | 71 | |
| 7031040162 | Realism | the quality or fact of representing a person, thing, or situation accurately or in a way that is true to life Example: It is thus opposed to natural realism and to idealism. | 72 | |
| 7031040163 | Refrain | a repeated line or number of lines in a poem or song, typically at the end of each verse. Example: She could not refrain from weeping at these words. | 73 | |
| 7031041658 | Rhetorical Question | a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer Example: Is rain wet? | 74 | |
| 7031041659 | Rhyme | correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words Example: Dr. Seuss books. | 75 | |
| 7031041660 | Rhythm | a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound Example: Songs have rhythm | 76 | |
| 7031043111 | Rising Action | a plot is a series of relevant incidents that create suspense, interest and tension in a narrative Example: Pretty little Liars has rising action | 77 | |
| 7031043112 | Sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or convey contempt Example: My sister is really sarcastic | 78 | |
| 7031043807 | Satire | the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Example: A modest proposal by Jonathan Swift. | 79 | |
| 7031043808 | Setting | the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place Example: PLL is set in rosewood | 80 | |
| 7031045231 | Shakespearean Sonnet | the sonnet form used by Shakespeare, composed of three quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg. Also called Elizabethan sonnet, English sonnet Example: Italian/english sonnets | 81 | |
| 7031045232 | Simile | a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid Example: The sky was as blue as the Atlantic ocean. | 82 | |
| 7031047374 | Soliloquy | an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers Example: Speech by Macbeth " She should have died hereafter" | 83 | |
| 7031047375 | Stanza | a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse Example: Couplets, Tercets, and quatrains | 84 | |
| 7031049444 | Stereotype | a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing Example: While many people believe the stereotype all teenagers are lazy, their beliefs are false. | 85 | |
| 7031049445 | Structure | the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex Example: A small door in the stone structure opened. | 86 | |
| 7031050285 | Style | the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words Example: Songwriters have a style of writing their music | 87 | |
| 7031050286 | Syllogism | an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises) Example: All birds lay eggs. A chicken lays eggs. A chicken is a bird. | 88 | |
| 7031052034 | Symbolism | the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities Example: Mockingjay symbolizes freedom in The Hunger Games | 89 | |
| 7031053606 | Synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa Example: Calling a car wheels | 90 | |
| 7031054242 | Syntax | the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language Example: People who text on their phone while watching a movie are very annoying. | 91 | |
| 7031055177 | Terza Rima | an arrangement of triplets, especially in iambs, that rhyme Example: From Second Satire by Sir Thomas Wyatt | 92 | |
| 7031055178 | Theme | the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic Example: The theme of Animal Farm is leadership and corruption | 93 | |
| 7031055179 | Tone | the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc Example: joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic, and optimistic. | 94 | |
| 7031056336 | Tragedy | a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character Example: Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy | 95 | |
| 7031056337 | Voice | the form or a format through which narrators tell their stories Example: In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is a good example of voice (character voice) | 96 |