AP Literature - Literary Terms Flashcards

9694286081	allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.	0
9694286082	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
9694286083	allusion	A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.	2
9694286084	anagram	a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase	3
9694286085	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	4
9694286086	antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	5
9694286087	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
9694286088	anastrophe	Inversion of the natural or usual word order	7
9694286089	antithesis	A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.	8
9694286090	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
9694286091	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	10
9694286092	assonance	Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity	11
9694286093	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
9694286094	blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	13
9694286095	caesura	A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.	14
9694286096	cacophony	Harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds	15
9694286097	cadence	Rhythmic rise and fall	16
9694286098	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	17
9694286099	connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	18
9694286100	consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	19
9694286101	couplet	A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.	20
9694286102	dactyl	A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables	21
9694286103	denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	22
9694286104	denouement	an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot	23
9694286105	diction	The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	24
9694286106	didactic	Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson	25
9694286107	dirge	a funeral hymn or mournful speech	26
9694286108	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	27
9694286109	end-stopped line	A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation	28
9694286110	enjambment	A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.	29
9694286111	epitaph	A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	30
9694286112	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
9694286113	epistolary	A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters	32
9694286114	flashback	A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events	33
9694286115	foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	34
9694286116	foot	A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.	35
9694286117	frame story	A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story	36
9694286118	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	37
9694286119	genre	A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.	38
9694286120	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	39
9694286121	heroic couplet	A pair of rhymed, iambic pentameter lines.	40
9694286122	hexameter	A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.	41
9694286123	hubris	Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	42
9694286124	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	43
9694286125	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
9694286126	imagery	Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.	45
9694286127	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
9694286128	verbal irony	In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	47
9694286129	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
9694286130	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
9694286131	jargon	Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand	50
9694286132	juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	51
9694286133	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
9694286134	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.	53
9694286135	meter	A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	54
9694286136	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it	55
9694286137	mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	56
9694286138	motif	(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design	57
9694286139	motivation	A psychological factor that provides a directional force or reason for behavior.	58
9694286140	narration	The purpose of this type of rhetorical mode is to tell the story or narrate an event or series of events.	59
9694286141	novel	A long fictional narrative written in prose, usually having many characters and a strong plot.	60
9694286142	novella	A short novel usually under 100 pages.	61
9694286143	novelette	When a novel is short and has chapters reffered to as vignettes	62
9694286144	octave	a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter	63
9694286145	ode	A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.	64
9694286146	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	65
9694286147	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	66
9694286148	paean	song of joy or triumph; a fervent expression of joy	67
9694286149	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	68
9694286150	paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	69
9694286151	parallelism	Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other	70
9694286152	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	71
9694286153	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	72
9694286154	pentameter	a rhythm in poetry that has five stressed syllables in each line (five metrical feet)	73
9694286155	persona	A pattern of relatively permanent traits, dispositions, or characteristics that give some consistency to people's behavior.	74
9694286156	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	75
9694286157	plot	Sequence of events in a story	76
9694286158	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	77
9694286159	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
9694286160	prosody	Appropriate expression when reading. Includes pitch (intonation), loudness, stressing phrases, etc.	79
9694286161	protagonist	Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal.	80
9694286162	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
9694286163	quatrain	4 line stanza	82
9694286164	refrain	A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.	83
9694286165	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer	84
9694286166	end rhyme	A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line	85
9694286167	eye rhyme	rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation	86
9694286168	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
9694286169	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	88
9694286170	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
9694286171	rhyme scheme	A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem	90
9694286172	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	91
9694286173	sestet	a rhythmic group of six lines of verse	92
9694286174	shifts/turns	Changes in the speaker's attitude. Look for key words such as but, yet, however, and although, punctuation, and stanza division.	93
9694286175	sonnet	14-line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually written in iambic pentameter	94
9694286176	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.	95
9694286177	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa	96
9694286178	syntax	Arrangement of words in phrases and sentences	97
9694286179	theme	A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.	98
9694286180	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
9694286181	understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	100
9694286182	villanelle	A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes.	101