AP Literature - Literary Terms Flashcards

5925108593	allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.	0
5925108594	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
5925108595	allusion	A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.	2
5925108596	anagram	a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase	3
5925108597	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	4
5925108598	antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	5
5925108599	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
5925108600	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	7
5925108601	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	8
5925108602	assonance	Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity	9
5925108603	blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	10
5925108604	caesura	A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.	11
5925108605	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	12
5925108606	connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	13
5925108607	consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	14
5925108608	couplet	A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.	15
5925108609	denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	16
5925108610	denouement	an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot	17
5925108611	diction	The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	18
5925108612	didactic	Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson	19
5925108613	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	20
5925108614	end-stopped line	A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation	21
5925108615	enjambment	A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.	22
5925108616	epitaph	A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	23
5925108617	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	24
5925108618	epistolary	A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters	25
5925108619	flashback	A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events	26
5925108620	foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	27
5925108621	foot	A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.	28
5925108622	frame story	A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story	29
5925108623	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	30
5925108624	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	31
5925108625	heroic couplet	A pair of rhymed, iambic pentameter lines.	32
5925108626	hubris	Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	33
5925108627	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	34
5925108628	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.	35
5925108629	imagery	Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.	36
5925108630	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.	37
5925108631	verbal irony	In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	38
5925108632	situational irony	Occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected	39
5925108633	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	40
5925108634	jargon	Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand	41
5925108635	juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	42
5925108636	kenning	A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities.	43
5925108637	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.	44
5925108638	meter	A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	45
5925108639	mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	46
5925108640	motif	(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design	47
5925108641	octave	a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter	48
5925108642	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	49
5925108643	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	50
5925108644	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	51
5925108645	paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	52
5925108646	parallelism	Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other	53
5925108647	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	54
5925108648	pentameter	a rhythm in poetry that has five stressed syllables in each line (five metrical feet)	55
5925108649	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	56
5925108650	plot	Sequence of events in a story	57
5925108651	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	58
5925108652	protagonist	Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal.	59
5925108653	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.	60
5925108654	quatrain	4 line stanza	61
5925108655	refrain	A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.	62
5925108656	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer	63
5925108657	end rhyme	A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line	64
5925108658	eye rhyme	rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation	65
5925108659	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	66
5925108660	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	67
5925108661	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	68
5925108662	sestet	a rhythmic group of six lines of verse	69
5925108663	sonnet	14-line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually written in iambic pentameter	70
5925108664	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.	71
5925108665	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa	72
5925108666	syntax	Arrangement of words in phrases and sentences	73
5925108667	theme	A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.	74
5925108668	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	75
5925108669	understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	76