AP Literature and Composition Terms Flashcards

7851193597	alliteration	The repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginnings of words. Ex: Peter piper picked a pepper.	0
7851193598	Allusion	A reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person, or work. Ex: "The lord giveth, and the lord taketh" said Billy.	1
7851193599	Antithesis	A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas. Ex: The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, and wretches hang that jury-men may dine.	2
7851193600	Apostrophe	A figure of speech in which someone uses some abstract quality, or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present. Ex: If only George Washington were here.	3
7851193601	Assonance	The repitition of identical or similar vowel sounds. Ex: A land laid waste with all its young men slain.	4
7851193602	Black Verse	Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Ex: Meter in Shakespeare's plays.	5
7851193603	Cacophony	A harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones. sometimes a result of a flaw. Ex: Irks care the crop-full bird.	6
7851193604	Devices of Sound	The techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry. Ex: Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, etc.	7
7851193605	Diction	The use of words in a literary work. Ex: Polite, formal, informal, etc.	8
7851193606	Enjambment	The continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next. Ex: AAAA AAA AAAA AAAA AAAAAA AAA A AA AAAA AA AAAA AAAAAAAA.	9
7851193607	Figurative Language	Writing that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, irony, and simile. Uses words to mean something other than their literal meaning. Ex: Metaphor, simile, irony.	10
7851193608	Free Verse	Poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical. Ex: AAAAA AAA AAAAA AAA AAAAAAA AAAAA AAA AAA AAA.	11
7851193609	Heroic Couplet	Two ended-stopped iambic pentameter lines rhymed aa, bb, cc with the though usually completed in the two-line unit. Ex: But when o mischief mortals bend their will, How soon they find fit instruments of ill!	12
7851193610	Hyperbole	A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration. It may be used seriously or for comic effect.	13
7851193611	Imagery	The images of a literary work; the sensory details of a work. Two main forms are auditory and tactile. Ex: This bag weighs a million pounds.	14
7851252147	Irony	The contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning. Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning. Ex: His hair was black, soft, and smelled of cherry blossoms.	15
7851266498	Metaphor	A figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of like, or, and than. Ex: The black bat night.	16
7851283039	Meter	The repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry. Emphasizes the musical quality of language and relates to subject. Each unit is a foot. Ex: AA, BB, CC, AA, BB, CC.	17
7851300157	Metonymy	A figure of speech which is characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself. Ex: Crown = King.	18
7851311167	Paradox	A situation, action, or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least make sense. Ex: Pinocchio tells you he can forcefully make his nose grow, will it grow?	19
7851324288	Parallelism	A similar grammatical structure within a line or lines of poetry. Ex: Till I leave, till I die, till I'm damned I shall not leave.	20
7851332207	Personification	A kind of metaphor that gives an inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics. Ex: The tree swayed like a Peruvian flute player.	21
7851343811	Pun	A play on words that are identical or similar in sound, but have sharply diverse meanings. They can be either serious or humorous. Ex: They went and told the sexton and the sexton tolled the bell.	22
7851356078	Rhyme	Close similarity or identity of sound between accented syllables occupying corresponding positions in two or more lines of a verse. For a true rhyme the vowels must be preceded by different consonants. Ex: He ran to the fan.	23
7851375440	Satire	Writing that seeks to arouse a reader's disapproval of an object by ridicule. Usually a comedic form that exposes errors with an eye to correct vice and folly. Ex: Many comedy shows.	24
7851389084	Simile	A directly expressed comparison; a figure of speech comparing two objects, using like, as, and than. Ex: He was as quick as a cheetah.	25
7851400262	Symbol	Something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else. Ex: A cross.	26
7851406494	Syntax	The ordering of words into patterns or sentences. If an author shifts words from a usual order , it is most likely an older work. Ex:	27
7851418757	Theme	The main thought expressed by a work. Usually represented by a person, action, or image. Ex: Greed, compassion, etc.	28
7851428657	Tone	The manner in which an author expresses their attitude; the intention of the voice that expresses meaning. Ex: The author wrote with an angered tone.	29
7851436708	Understatement	The opposite of a hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is. Ex: Macbeth telling Lennox,"Twas a rough night" after he killed Duncan.	30