AP English Literature Terms Flashcards

2291342239	devices of sound	the techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry (rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia)	0
2291342240	style	the characteristic manner of expression of an author; includes diction, syntax, figurative language, imagery, selection of detail, sound effects, and tone	1
2291342241	point of view	any of several possible vantage points from which a story is told	2
2291342242	theme	the main thought expressed by a work; meaning of the work as a whole	3
2291342243	allusion	a reference in a work of literature to something outside of the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary even, person, or work	4
2291342244	symbol	something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else.	5
2291342245	simile	a comparison; a figure of speech comparing two objects usually using "like," "as," or "than"	6
2291342246	rhetorical techniques	the devices used in effective or persuasive language, such as apostrophe, contrast, repetition, paradox, understatement, sarcasm, satire, and rhetorical	7
2291342247	narrative techniques	the methods involved in telling a story; asks you to discuss procedures used to tell a story; (point of view, manipulation of time, dialogue, or interior monologue)	8
2291342248	diction	word choice, important to the meaning and the effect of the passage	9
2291342249	figurative language	writing that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and irony	10
2291342250	details	smaller items or parts making up a larger picture or story; as when describing a character or scene	11
2291342251	structure	the arrangement of materials within a work; the logical division of a work	12
2291342252	attitude	a speaker's, author's, or character's disposition toward or opinion of a subject or writing	13
2291342253	setting	the background, physical location, or time and place to a story	14
2291342254	imagery	the sensory details of a work; visual, auditory, or tactile images evoked by the words of a literary work or images evoked through figurative language (metaphors, similes, diction)	15
2291342255	metaphor	a figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparitive term such as "like," "as," or "than"	16
2291342256	tone	the manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude, intonation of the voice that expresses meaning.	17
2291342257	irony	a situation or use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy.	18
2291342258	syntax	the structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence.	19
2291342259	rhetorical strategy	the management of language for a specific effect such as in sonnets when Shakespeare spends the first nine lines describing the speaker's discontent, then three lines describing the happiness...	20
2291342260	satire	writing that seeks to arouse a reader's disapproval of an object through ridicule	21
2291342261	omniscient point of view	the vantage point of a story in which the narrator can know, see, and report whatever he or she chooses; free to describe the thoughts of any character, skip about in time or place, or speak directly to the reader	22
2291342262	alliteration	the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words close to each other, i.e., Romagnano's Rubies of Redundant Rhetoric	23
2291342263	resources of language	a general phrase for the linguistic devices or techniques that a writer uses; invites students to discuss the style and rhetoric of a passage through: diction, syntax, figurative language, imagery	24
2291342264	apostrophe	usually (in poetry) the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or personified abstraction either to begin a poem or make a dramatic break absent person, or to a place or thing.	25
2291342265	denotation	the basic dictionary definition of a word	26
2291342266	allegory	an extended narrative in prose or verse (poetry) in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities; (many connected metaphors); writer intends a second meaning beneath the surface story; may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric	27
2291342267	connotation	a word's overtones of meaning; what a word suggests beyond its dictionary definition	28
2291342268	slant rhyme	words with any kind of sound similarity	29
2291342269	synethesia	presentation of one sense experience in terms usually associated with another sensation (eg. "melodious ground")	30
2291342270	catharsis	the emotional release that an audience member experiences as a result of watching a tragedy	31
2291342271	classicism	the principles and styles admired in the classics of Greek and Roman literature, such as objectivity, sensibility, restraint, and formality	32
2291342272	colloquialism	a word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing	33
2291342273	common meter	a closed poetic quatrain, rhyming abab, in which lines of iambic tetrameter alternate with iambic trimeter	34
2291342274	caesura	a speech pause occurring within a line	35
2291342275	Petrarchan sonnet	a fixed form poem of 14 lines, divided between eight lines called the octave, rhyming abbaabba, and six lines called the sestet (usually rhyming cdcdcd or cdecde)	36
2291342276	enjambment	a line having no end punctuation but running over to the next line	37
2291342277	epigram	a concise, witty saying in poetry or prose; either stands	38
2291342278	versimilitude	a characteristic whereby the setting, circumstances, characters, dialogue, actions, and outcomes in a work are designed to seem true, life-like, real, plausible, and probable	39
2291342279	loose	term for a sentence in which the main point is put at the beginning	40
2291342280	exposition	immediate revelation to audience of setting or other background info necessary for understanding the plot; explanation; one of the four modes of discourse	41
2291342281	prompt	in writing, the cue, suggestion, or reminder given to the student as instruction for the content of an essay.	42
2291342282	malapropism	the comic use of an improperly pronounced word, so that what comes out is a real but also incorrect word. The new word must be close enough to the correct word so that the resemblance is immediately recognized, along with the error	43
2291342283	sarcasm	bitter or cutting speech; speech intended to give pain to the person addressed	44
2291342284	foil	a character, usually minor, designed to highlight qualities of a major character	45
2291342285	plot	the plan or groundwork for a story, the arrangement or order of event	46
2291342286	euphemism	an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive	47
2291342287	antagonist	the person, idea, force, or general set of circumstances opposing the protagonist	48
2291342288	stream of consciousness	a literary technique which seeks to describe an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes	49
2291342289	limited omniscient	a third person narration in which the thoughts and actions of the protagonist are the focus of attention	50
2291342290	foreshadowing	the use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in the work	51
2291342291	objective point of view	third person narration reporting speech and action, but excluding commentary on the actions and thoughts of the character; also called dramatic	52
2291342292	genre	a type of literary work, such as novel or poem	53
2291342293	gothic	referring to a type of novel, 18th century, using mystery, suspense, and sensational and supernatural occurrences to evoke terror	54
2291342294	omniscient	a third person narration in which the speaker or narrator, with no apparent limitations, may describe intentions, actions, reactions, locations, and speeches of any or all of the characters, and may also describe their innermost thoughts	55
2291342295	humor	anything that causes laughter or amusement	56
2291342296	hyperbole	deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis	57
2291342297	second person narration	a narration in which a listener ("you") is the protagonist and the speaker is someone with knowledge the protagonist does not possess or understand about his or her own actions	58
2291342298	first person point of view	the use of an "I" speaker or narrator who tells about things that s/he has seen, done, spoken, heard, thought	59
2291342299	pastiche	a medley of various ingredients, cobbled together from different works or writers	60
2291342300	bildungsroman	a coming-of-age story, concerned with the education, development and maturation of a young protagonist	61
2291342301	lyric	a type of melodious, imaginative, and subjective poetry that is usually short and personal, expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker rather than telling a story	62
2291342302	episodic novel	a narrative composed of loosely connected incidents, each one more or less self-contained, often connected by a central character or characters	63
2291342303	metonymy	a figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated, such as using "the crown" to refer to a monarch	64
2291342304	assonance	the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words	65
2291342305	dynamic character	a character who undergoes adaptation, change, or growth. A short story usually has only one, but a novel may have several	66
2291342306	static character	a character who undergoes no change	67
2291342307	pseudonym	a fictitious name used by an author to hide identity; also called pen name	68
2291342308	oxymoron	a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as "wise fool"	69
2291342309	parable	a short tale that teaches a moral; may be found in The Bible	70
2291342310	paradox	a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements but that turns out to have a rational meaning	71
2291342311	parallism	the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side to side and making them similar in form	72
2291342312	parody	a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements	73
2291342313	argument	one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion	74
2291342314	Shakespearean sonnet	a fourteen line poem composed of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg	75
2291342315	protagonist	the main character of a literary work	76
2291342316	realism	a 19th century literary movement in Europe and US that stressed accuracy in the portrayal of life, thus real life; focused on characters with whom middle-class readers could easily identify; in direct contrast with romanticism	77
2291342317	end rhyme	repetition of accented vowel sound and all succeeding consonants at the conclusion of a line	78
2291342318	speaker	the narrator of a story or poem, the point of view	79
2291342319	romanticism	a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement that began in the 18th century as a reaction against neoclassicism	80
2291342320	novel	a long work of prose fiction	81
2291342321	sonnet	a fourteen line lyric poem in iambic pentameter	82
2291342322	argument	the development of an idea, including the introduction of a hypothesis, supporting details, and logical conclusion	83
2291342323	stanza	a group of lines in the formal pattern of a poem	84
2291342324	suspension of disbelief	the demand made of a theater audience to provide some details with their imagination and to accept the limitations of reality and staging	85
2291342325	voice	the way a written work conveys an author's attitude	86
2291342326	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using "boards" to mean "a stage"	87
2291342327	poetry	a literary genre that is foremost characterized by the rhythmical qualities of language	88
2291342328	prose	writing lacking the formal structure of meter or rhyme, often considered to be representative of the patterns of normal speech	89
2291342329	assertion	a sentence putting an idea (the subject) into operation (the predicate) necessary for both developing and understanding the idea	90
2291342330	anaphora	the repetition of the same word or phrase throughout a work; the effect is to lend weight or emphasis	91
2291342331	meaning	that which is to be understood in a work	92
2291342332	description	the exposition of scenes, actions, attitudes, and feelings	93
2291342333	dialect	language characteristics involving pronunciation	94
2291342334	farce	an outlandish physical comedy	95
2291342335	fiction	narratives based in the imagination of the author; one of three major genres of literature	96
2291342336	flashback	a method of narration in which past events are introduced into present action	97
2291342337	jargon	vocabulary exclusive or particular to a specific group	98
2291342338	denouement	the final stage of plot development, in which mysteries are explained, characters find their destinies, and the work is completed.	99
2291342339	sestina	highly structured poem with 39 lines, iambic pentameter, and repetitino of six words from first stanza in each of six stanzas	100
2291342340	consonance	the repetition of consonants (or consonant patterns) especially at the ends of words	101