AP Literature Flashcards

2460148437	Allegory	A work that functions on a symbolic level.	0
2460148438	Alliteration	The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."	1
2460148439	Allusion	A reference contained in a work.	2
2460148440	Anapest	A metrical pattern of two unaccented syllables followed by accented syllable.	3
2460148441	Antagonist	The force or character that opposes the main character, the protagonist.	4
2460148442	Apostrophe	Direct address in poetry. Yeats's line "Be with me Beauty, for the fire is dying" is a good example.	5
2460148443	Aside	Words spoken by an actor intended to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters on stage.	6
2460148444	Aubade	A love poem set at dawn which bids farewell to the beloved.	7
2460148445	Ballad	A simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue that is written in quatrains, generally with a rhyme scheme of a b c d.	8
2460148446	Blank Verse	Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Most of Shakespeare's plays are in this form.	9
2460148447	Cacophony	Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of a literary work.	10
2460148448	Caesura	A break or pause within a line of poetry indicated by punctuation and used to emphasize meaning.	11
2460148449	Catharsis	According to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences.	12
2460148450	Character	One who carries out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are all types of characters.	13
2460148451	Climax	The turning point of action or character in a literary work, usually the highest moment of tension.	14
2460148452	Comic Relief	The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event.	15
2460148453	Conflict	A clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self.	16
2460148454	Connotation	The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning.	17
2460148455	Convention	A traditional aspect of a literary work, such as a soliloquy in a Shakespearean play or a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy.	18
2462677668	Couplet	Two lines of rhyming poetry; often used by Shakespeare to conclude a scene or an important passage.	19
2462685399	Dactyl	A foot of poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.	20
2462689828	Denotation	The literal of dictionary meaning of a word.	21
2462692282	Denouement	The conclusion or tying up of loose ends in a literary work; the resolution of the conflict and plot.	22
2462699915	Deus Ex Machina	A Greek invention, literally "the god from the machine" who appears at the last moment and resolves the loose ends of a play. Today, the term refers to anyone, usually of some stature, who untangles, resolves, or reveals the key of the plot of a work.	23
2462711784	Diction	The author's choice of words.	24
2462713859	Dramatic Monologue	A type of poem that presents a conversation between a speaker and an implied listener. Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a perfect example.	25
2462718115	Elegy	A poem that laments the dead or a loss. "Elegy for Jane" by Roethke is a specific example. Gray's "Elegy in a Country Church Yard" is a general example.	26
2462725768	Enjambment	A technique in poetry that involves the running on of a line or stanza. It enables the poem to move and to develop coherence as well as directing the reader with regard to form and meaning. Walt Whitman uses this continually.	27
2462742105	Epic	A lengthy, elevated poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero. "Beowulf" is a prime example.	28
2462748049	Epigram	A brief witty poem. Pope often utilizes this form for satiric commentary.	29
2462750877	Euphony	The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work.	30
2462758620	Exposition	Background information presented in a literary work.	31
2462759961	Fable	A simple, symbolic story, usually employing animals as characters. Aesop and La Fontaine are authors who excel at this form.	32
2462766347	Figurative Language	The body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. It includes metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, hyperbole, and others discussed in Chapter 8.	33
2462773326	Flashback	A device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, or episodes.	34
2462780315	Foot	A metrical unit in poetry; a syllabic measure of a line: iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, and spondee.	35
2462787076	Foreshadowing	Hints of future events in a literary work.	36
2462789329	Form	The shape or structure of a literary work.	37
2462790663	Free Verse	Poetry without a defined form, meter, or rhyme scheme.	38
2462792579	Hyperbole	Extreme exaggeration. In "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose," Burns speaks of loving "until all the seas run dry."	39
2462797289	Iamb	A metrical foot consisting of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one; the most common poetic foot in the English language.	40
2462802058	Idyll	A type of lyric poem which extols the virtues of an ideal place or time.	41
2462805204	Image	A verbal approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion.	42
2462964533	Imagery	The total effect of related sensory sensory images in a work of literature.	43
2462978179	Impressionism	Writing that reelects a personal image of a character, event, or concept. 'The Secret Sharer' is a fine example.	44
2462993543	Irony	An unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen. It involves dialogue and situation, and it can be intentional or unplanned. Dramatic irony centers around the ignorance of those involved while the audience is aware of the circumstance.	45
2463021997	Lyric Poem	A type of poetry characterized by emotion, personal feelings, and brevity; a large and inclusive category of poetry that exhibits rhyme, meter, and reflective thought.	46
2463079104	Magical Realism	A type of literature that explores narratives by and about characters who inhabit and experience their reality differently from what we term the objective world. Writers who are frequently placed in this category include Gabriel García Márquez, Günter Grass, and Isabel Allende.	47
2463092614	Metaphor	A direct comparison between dissimilar things. "Your eyes are stars" is an example.	48
2463099860	Metaphysical Poetry	Refers to the work of poets like John Donne who explore highly complex, philosophical ideas through extended metaphors and paradox.	49
2463104914	Meter	A pattern of beats in poetry.	50
2463107354	Metonymy	A figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea. ("The pen is mightier than the sword.")	51
2463117713	Monologue	A speech given by one character. (Hamlet's "To be or not to be...")	52
2463122109	Motif	The repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work which is use to develop theme or characters.	53
2463128712	Narrative Poem	A poem that tells a story.	54
2463132175	Narrator	The speaker of a literary work.	55
2463133466	Octave	An eight line stanza, usually combined with a sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet.	56
2463184541	Ode	A formal, lengthy poem that celebrates a particular subject.	57
2463189091	Onomatopeia	Words that sound like the sound the represent (hiss, gurgle, bang).	58
2499466193	Oxymoron	An image of contradictory terms (bittersweet)	59
2499470979	Parable	A story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson. (The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a fine example).	60
2499479270	Paradox	A set of seemingly contradictory elements which nevertheless reflects an underlying truth. For example, in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, the Friar says to Hero, "Come, Lady, die to live."	61
2499498077	Parallel Plot	A secondary story line that mimics and reinforces the main plot. (Hamlet loses his father, as does Ophelia).	62
2499515272	Parody	A comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original.	63
2499520793	Pathos	The aspects of a literary work that elicit pity from the audience.	64
2499525447	Personification	The assigning of human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts. (Wordsworth personifies "the sea that bares her bosom to the moon" in the poem "London, 1802."	65