AP Literature Terms Flashcards

9659285938	abstract	typically complex, dicusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points	0
9659285939	academic	dry or theoretical writing	1
9659285940	accent	In poetry this word refers to the stressed portion of a word	2
9659285941	aesthetic	adj. appealing to the senses; beautiful	3
9659285942	allegory	A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself.	4
9659285943	Alliteration	The repetition of the initial consonant sounds. EXAMPLE: Peter Piper picked a peck of peppers.	5
9659285944	Allusion	A reference to another work of literature, person, or event	6
9659285945	anachronism	something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred	7
9659285946	analogy	A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way	8
9659285947	anecdote	a short narrative	9
9659285948	antecedent	the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun	10
9659285949	Anthropomorphism	attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (Personification)	11
9659285950	anticlimax	a disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events	12
9659285951	Antihero	a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.	13
9659285952	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	14
9659285953	Apostrophe	Addressing something nonhuman as if it were human Example: Death, be not proud . . .	15
9659285954	archaism	The use of deliberately old-fashioned language.	16
9659285955	aside	a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage	17
9659285956	aspect	a trait or characteristic	18
9659285957	Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds	19
9659285958	Atmosphere	emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene	20
9659285959	Ballad	A story/narrative in poetic form	21
9659285960	bathos	when writing causes feelings of dignified pity or sympathy	22
9659285961	black humor	the use of disturbing themes in comedy	23
9659285962	bombast	pompous or pretentious talk or writing	24
9659285963	burlesque	A work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation.	25
9659285964	cacophony	harsh sounds	26
9659285965	cadence	rhythm	27
9659285966	canto	division of a long poem	28
9659285967	caricature	a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect	29
9659285968	Catharsis	the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.	30
9659285969	chorus	Group of citizens in a play that comment about play	31
9659285970	classic	A highly regarded work of literature or other art form that has withstood the test of time.	32
9659285971	Coinage (neologism)	A new word, usually one invented on the spot.	33
9659285972	Colloquialism	The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing	34
9659285973	Complex (Dense)	Suggesting that there is more than one possibility in the meaning of words.	35
9659285974	Conceit (Controlling Image)	A startling or unusual metaphor, or to a metaphor developed and expanded upon several lines.	36
9659285975	Connotation	the implied or associative meaning of a word	37
9659285976	Consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	38
9659285977	couplet	two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme	39
9659285978	decorum	conformity to accepted standards of conduct; proper behavior	40
9659285979	Denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	41
9659285980	Diction	A writer's or speaker's choice of words	42
9659285981	syntax	sentence structure	43
9659285982	dirge	funeral hymn	44
9659285983	dissonance	harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds	45
9659285984	doggerel	trivial, poorly constructed verse	46
9659285985	dramatic irony	when the audience knows something the characters do not	47
9659285986	dramatic monologue	when a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience	48
9659285987	elegy	a sad or mournful poem	49
9659285988	Enjambment	the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause	50
9659285989	epic	a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds	51
9659285990	epitaph	an inscription on a tombstone or burial place	52
9659285991	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	53
9659285992	euphony	pleasant, harmonious sound	54
9659285993	explicit	definite, clearly stated	55
9659285994	farce	broad comedy; mockery; humorous play full of silly things happening; ADJ. farcical	56
9659285995	feminine rhyme	lines rhymed by their final two syllables	57
9659285996	foil	A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.	58
9659285997	implicit	implied; understood but not stated	59
9659285998	in medias res	in the middle of things	60
9659285999	interior monologue	writing that records the conversation that occurs inside a character's head	61
9659286000	Inversion	Inverted order of words in a sentence	62
9659286001	irony	A contrast between expectation and reality	63
9659286002	lament	a passionate expression of grief or sorrow	64
9659286003	lampoon	a written satire used to ridicule or attack someone	65
9659286004	lyric	A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world.	66
9659286005	masculine rhyme	A rhyme ending on the final stressed syllable	67
9659286006	melodrama	A literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional response.	68
9659286007	Metaphor	A comparison without using like or as	69
9659286008	Metonymy	substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it	70
9659286009	simile	comparison using like or as	71