AP Literature Literary Terms

AP Literature Literary Terms - SRDS Flashcards

5539817570	allegory	a work of literature that can be read on two or more levels-one literal and others symbolic	0
5539817571	alliteration	repetition of the same consonant sound used within lines of poetry and prose	1
5539817572	allusion	reference to a person, text or event outside the text	2
5539817573	ambiguity	allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work.	3
5539817574	ambivalence	coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings	4
5539817575	anachronism	something that is out of its proper or chronological order	5
5539817576	analogy	comparison based on similarity	6
5539817577	anecdote	brief story about an amusing or strange event	7
5539817578	antagonist	principal character or force in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama	8
5539817579	antecedent	the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun	9
5539817580	anticlimax	something trivial or commonplace that follows a series or significant events -usually after a climactic event	10
5539817581	antihero	a protagonist who is noticeably unheroic. he/she might be awkward, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, obtuse, or just normal; but antiheroes are always flawed in some fundamental way.	11
5539817582	antimetabole	a rhetorical scheme involving repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order. Example:"one should eat to live, not live to eat"	12
5539817583	antithesis	a figure of speech in which a thought is balanced with a contrasting thought in parallel arrangements of words and phrases, and is also the second of two contrasting or opposing parts.	13
5539817584	aphorism	a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle	14
5539817585	apostrophe	a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction such as liberty or love	15
5539817586	apothesis	elevating someone or something to a god like status	16
5539817587	archetype	a term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader	17
5539817588	aside	piece of a dialogue intended for the audience and supposedly unheard by others on a stage	18
5539817589	assonance	close repetition of similar vowels in conjunction with dissimilar consonant sounds	19
5539817590	autobiography	biography of a person written by that person	20
5539817591	bathos	humor caused by a radical juxtaposition of the serious with the frivolous Example: "In the United States, Osama Bin Laden is wanted for conspiracy, murder, terrorism, and unpaid parking tickets."	21
5539817592	blank verse	verse consisting of unrhymed lines, usually iambic pentameter	22
5539817593	caesura	a pause withing a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line	23
5539817594	canon	those works generally considered by scholar, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study, which collectively constitute the "masterpieces" of literature	24
5539817595	catharsis	release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit	25
5539817596	characterization	act of creating and developing a character	26
5539817597	direct characterization	when the writer states or describes a character's traits	27
5539817598	indirect characterization	when the writer shows a character's personality through his or her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and appearance, or through another character's observations and reactions.	28
5539817599	chorus	In Greek tragedies, a group of people who serve mainly as commentators on the characters and events - they add to the audience's understanding of the play by expressing traditional moral, religious, and social attitudes.	29
5539817600	cliche	trite or overused expression or idea	30
5539817601	climax	moment of great or culminating intensity in a narrative or drama, especially the conclusion of a crisis	31
5539817602	colloquial	refers to a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions.	32
5539817603	comic relief	a humorous scene or incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise serious work	33
5539817604	complication	element that complicates the plot and prevents resolution	34
5539817605	conceit	an unusual or surprising comparison between two very different things	35
5539817606	conflict	opposition between characters or fores in a work of writing, drives/shapes plot	36
5539817607	conontation	associative meanings of a word in addition to its literal sense (negative, positive, neutral)	37
5539817608	consonance	repetition of consonant sound sin conjunction with dissimilar vowel sounds (as in blank and think or strong and string)	38
5539817609	convention	a characteristic of a literary genre that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time to be recognized as a familiar technique.	39
5539817610	counter plot	also known as sub-plot, subsidiary action in a play or story which coincides with the main action	40
5539817611	couplet	two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter	41
5539817612	heroic couplet	couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter	42
5539817613	denotation	specific or direct meaning of a word found in the dictionary, in contrast to its figurative or associative meanings	43
5539817614	denouement	part of a literary work in which the complications of the plot are resolved or simplified (resolution)	44
5539817615	deus ex machine	"god out of a machine" (Latin) -in Greek drama a god was often lowered onto the stage by a mechanism of some kind to rescue the hero or untangle the plot. Thus, the term refers to any artificial device or coincidence used to bring about a convenient and simple solution to a plot	45
5539817616	dialect	regional variety of language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety or speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists	46
5539817617	diction	choice and use of words in speech or writing as a part of writer's style	47
5539817618	didactic	a work that intends to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson	48
5539817619	doggerel	a derogatory term used to describe poerty whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heaved-handed	49
5539817620	double entendre	a word or phrase having double meaning	50
5539817621	elegiac	lamenting or mournful tone	51
5539817622	end rhyme	rhyming words repeat at the end of lines	52
5539817623	enjambemnt	continuation of grammatical structure in a poem beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza and into the next (also called a run-on line)	53
5539817624	epic	a long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero of great historic or legendary importance	54
5539817625	epiphany	comprehension of perception of reality by a sudden realization or discovery which changes a character	55
5539817626	epistile	a kind of letter to a friend or audience	56
5539817627	epigrammatical	tense and ingenious in expression	57
5539817628	ethos	a means of persuasion based on the credibility/character of the person making a claim/appeal	58
5539817629	euphemism	the substitution of a comfortable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something unpleasant	59
5539817630	exact rhyme	rhyme in which words have identical sounds like dear/snear	60
5539817631	existentialism	philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's actions	61
5539817632	explicatoin	writing that presents a detailed analysis or thoughtful interpretation of a text. usually involving close reading and special attention to figurative language	62
5539817633	exposition	part of a story that provides the background information to understand the characters and the action	63
5539817634	extended metaphor	a comparison which continues to be elaborated through detail	64
5539817635	eye rhyme	rhyme which gives the impression of exact rhyme but does not have identical sounds (come/home, forth/worth)	65
5539817636	falling actrions	part of the narrative that follows the climax	66
5539817637	farce	a type of comedy characterized by a wide range of humor, weird incidents, and often vulgar subject matter	67
5539817638	fiction	literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact	68
5539817639	figurative language	language which uses figures of speech (example: simile, metaphor., personification, etc.)	69
5539817640	flat character	character which does not change, with few traits, static	70
5539817641	foil	character that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another	71
5539817642	foot (metric)	unit of rhythm, long/short, stressed/unstressed, Terms for the number of feet per line : 1-monometer, 2- dimeter, 3-trimeter, 4-tetrameter, 5-pentameter, 6-hexameter, 7-heptameter, 8-octameter	72
5539817643	foreshadowing	technique of arranging events and information so that later events are prepared for or shadowed before	73
5539817644	free verse	verse with no regular meter or line length; depends on natural speech's rhythms	74
5539817645	genre	category of artistic composition, marked by a distinctive style form, or content (example: epic, tragedy, lyric, etc.)	75
5539817646	hero	the protagonist, central character in a work of literature	76
5539817647	hubris	the most common defect in the tragic hero which leads to his or her downfall	77
5539817648	hyperbole	figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or efrect	78
5539817649	lamb	metrical foot consisting of unstressed and stressed syllable (U/) as in the word defeat	79
5539817650	iambic pentameter	poetic line of five iambic feet	80
5539817651	imagery	use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas	81
5539817652	incongruity	something in the work which shows a discrepancy or ocntradiciton	82
5539817653	verbal irony	when what is said is not what is meant, when meaning is contrary to the words	83
5539817654	dramatic irony	when the audience or reader knows something that a character doesn't	84
5539817655	situational irony	when what happens contradicts expectations	85
5539817656	jargon	technical vocab peculiar to trade or profession	86
5539817657	juxtapostion	to place things side by side for the purposes of comparing or contrasting	87
5539817658	literal	primary, non-figurative meaning of words, dictionary meaning	88
5539817659	litotes	the opposite of hyperbole- example: saying "not bad" to something that is very good or beautiful	89
5539817660	logos	a means of persuasion by the use of reasoning	90
5539817661	lyric poetry	typically does not tell a story; instead focuses on expressing the poet's/speaker's personal thoughts on feelings	91
5539817662	meiosis	understatement' the opposite of exaggeration (Litotes is a type of meiosis in which write uses a statement in the negative to create the effect)	92
5539817663	metaphor	figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates on thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison	93
5539817664	meter	pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables; particular arrangement of words in poetry, such as iambic pentameter, determined by the kind and number of metrical units in a line.	94
5539817665	metonymy	using vaguely suggestive, physical object to embody a more general idea	95
5539817666	monologue	literary composition in which a single person speaks alone, with or without an audience ( also known as dramatic monologue)	96
5539817667	mood	pervading impression or atmosphere of a literary work	97
5539817668	motif	a conspicuous, recurring element, such as type of incident, a device, an object, a reference, or verbal formula	98
5539817669	motivation	reason that explains or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech	99
5539817670	myth	explanations of the natural order and cosmic forces; story which is not "true" and which involves supernatural elements	100
5539817671	narrative	writing which tells a story, with a beginning, middle, and end	101
5539817672	narrorator	person telling story	102
5539817673	nonfiction	prose works other than fiction	103
5539817674	octave	groups of eight lines of poetry, especially the first eight lines of Petrarchan sonnet, rhyming abba abba	104
5539817675	ode	lyric poem which honors something and has a stately tone and style	105
5539817676	omniscent	having total knowledge, knowing everything	106
5539817677	onomatopoeia	formation of use of words such as a buzz or murmur that imitate the sound associated with the objects or actions they refer to	107
5539817678	oxymoron	figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combines	108
5539817679	paradox	seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true ( example: standing is more tiring than walking)	109
5539817680	parallelism	repetition of a sentence or pattern or grammatical structure	110
5539817681	paraody	imitative use of words, style, attitude, tone and ideas of an author in such a way as to make them look ridiculous	111
5539817682	pathos	quality which invokes feelings of tenderness, pity, or sorrow; a means persuading by appealing the reader's emotions	112
5539817683	person	the speaker (first person "I") the individual addressed (second person "you") and the individual or thing spoken of ( third person "he/she/it")	113
5539817684	persona	voice or character representing the speaker in the literary work	114
5539817685	personfication	figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are given human qualities or are represented as possessing human form	115
5539817686	plagarism	stealing of other people's words, dishonesty, in written work	116
5539817687	plot	plan of vents or main story in a narrative or drama	117
5539817688	poetic justice	term which conveys the idea that the evil are punished appropriately and the good rewarded as they should be	118
5539817689	poetic license	liberty allowed to the poet to work (even distort) the language according to his/her needs in use of figurative speech, rhyme, syntax, for example	119
5539817690	point of view	position of narrator in a piece of literature: first person, third person limited, third person omniscient	120
5539817691	preface	intro to literary work	121
5539817692	prologue	opening section of a work, a kind of interjection which is part of the work	122
5539817693	prose	ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure	123
5539817694	protagonist	main character in a drama or other literary work	124
5539817695	proverb	short, pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept	125
5539817696	pseudonym	name other than his/her own taken by the author	126
5539817697	pun	play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words	127
5539817698	quatrain	stanza or poem of four lines	128
5539817699	realism	a vague term, but generally the documenting of life with bare truth, not idealism; focuses on the gritty, truthful scenes of people and thier (usually difficult) lines	129
5539817700	refrain	phrase, line, or lines repeated at intervals during a poem	130
5539817701	resolution	the conclusion of a plot's conflicts and complications	131
5539817702	rhetoric	art or study of using language effectively and persuasively	132
5539817703	rhyme scheme	arrangement of rhymes in a poem or stranza	133
5539817704	rhythm	patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech	134
5539817705	rising action	part of a drama or story in which conflicts are complicated/build toward comes before the climax	135
5539817706	round character	character which is dynamic and complex, has many traits	136
5539817707	sarcasm	a form of verbal irony used to express contempt or to ridicule	137
5539817708	satire	literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit	138
5539817709	scansion	analysis of verse into metrical patterns	139
5539817710	sestet	group of six lines, especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet	140
5539817711	setting	time, place, and circumstances in which writing takes place	141
5539817712	simile	figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as	142
5539817713	slang	language of the street, common, informal language	143
5539817714	slant rhyme	rhyme that is not true, either deliberate so or because of incompetence (example : other/powder)	144
5539817715	soliloquy	dramatic form of discourse in which a character reveals his or her thoughts when alone, unaware of the presence of other characters	145
5539817716	sonnet	14 line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes and written in iambic pentameter	146
5539817717	stanza	groups of lines in poetry	147
5539817718	sterotype	a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for nay individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices	148
5539817719	stream of conciousness	literary technique that presents the thought and feelings of a character as they develop	149
5539817720	style	way in which something is said, done or expressed	150
5539817721	subjectivity	personal expirience and feeling, the opposite of objectivity, where the writeer is outside the work, detached from it	151
5539817722	subtext	what is implied but not written	152
5539817723	suspense	anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation	153
5539817724	symbol	something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something intagible	154
5539817725	synecdoche	a figure of speech by which a part Is put for the whole	155
5539817726	synthesis	description of one kind of sense impression by using words that usually describe another, as in I heard a blinding roar	156
5539817727	syntax	sentence construction	157
5539817728	tetremeter	line of verse consisting of four metrical feet	158
5539817729	theme	central idea of work	159
5539817730	thesis	main idea of a work	160
5539817731	tone	general quality, effect, or atmosphere; writers' attitude (especially towards readers), manner, mood	161
5539817732	topic sentence	main, focusing idea of a paragraph	162
5539817733	tragedy	drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequences of a tragic flaw, a moral weakness, or an inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances	163
5539817734	transition	word, phrase, sentence, or series of sentences connecting one part of discourse to another	164
5539817735	trope	another word for figurative language	165
5539817736	turning point	observable moment when in a narrative there is a definitive change in one directionand one becomes aware that it will now move towards the end	166
5539817737	vernacular	standard native language of a country or locality; everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language	167
5539817738	verse	line of metrical writing	168
5539817739	vignette	sketch or short composition	169
5539817740	voice	distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or a character in a book	170
5539817741	zeugma	figure of speech in which a word stands in the same relation to two others terms, but with a different meaning, a common device in satire	171