AP Literature Vocab Flashcards

10554046436	Abstract	typically complex, discusses intangible questions like goo and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points	0
10554052725	Academic	Dry and theoretical writing. Sucking life out of.	1
10554055574	Accent	In poetry, refers ro stressed portion of a word	2
10554059375	Aesthetic	Uses as an adjective meaning "appealing to the senses"	3
10554061478	Allegory	A literary work in which characters represent abstract ideas; a symbolic representation	4
10554068838	Alliteration	Repetition of initial consonant sounds	5
10554070599	Anachronism	something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred	6
10554072416	Analogy	A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way	7
10554073440	Anecdote	A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.	8
10554076842	Antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	9
10554078525	Anthropomorphism	attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object	10
10554082705	Anticlimax	a disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events	11
10554084789	Antihero	A protagonist (main character) who is markedly unheroic: morally weak, cowardly, dishonest, or any number of other unsavory qualities.	12
10554088522	Aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	13
10554088523	Apostrophe	address to an absent or imaginary person	14
10554090123	Archaism	The use of deliberately old-fashioned language.	15
10554094189	Aside	a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage	16
10554095402	Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds	17
10554098724	atmosphere	The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene	18
10554108149	Allusion	A reference to another work of literature, person, or event	19
10554111581	Ballad	Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.	20
10554113296	Black Humor	The use of disturbing themes in comedy.	21
10554116367	Bombast	speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning	22
10554118970	Burlesque	a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor	23
10554121193	Cacophony	harsh, jarring noise	24
10554122976	Cadence	rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words	25
10554125220	Canto	A main division of a long poem	26
10554127811	carricature	drawing, imitation, or description that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects	27
10554129816	Catharsis	an emotional or psychological cleansing that brings relief or renewal	28
10554131798	Chorus	In Greek drama, the group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it.	29
10554134126	Colloquialism	informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing	30
10554135503	Conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	31
10554137940	Connotation	the implied or associative meaning of a word	32
10554139321	Consonnance	Repetition of consonant sounds	33
10554141936	Couplet	Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme	34
10554144135	Decorum	conformity to accepted standards of conduct; proper behavior	35
10554145843	Denotation	The dictionary definition of a word	36
10554147654	Diction	A writer's or speaker's choice of words	37
10554149782	Dirge	a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person	38
10554151126	Dissonance	harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds, do not go together	39
10554154769	Doggerel	badly written or trivial verse, often with a singsong rhythm	40
10554156565	Dramatic Irony	(theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play	41
10554158267	Dramatic Monologue	when a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience	42
10554162614	Elegy	a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme	43
10554164226	Enjambment	the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.	44
10554165451	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	45
10554168002	Epitaph	(n.) a brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	46
10554169088	Euphemism	a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.	47
10554171543	Euphony	any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds	48
10554173301	Farce	A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose.	49
10554187120	Feminine Rhyme	latter two syllables of first word rhyme with latter two syllables of second word (ceiling appealing)	50
10554191466	Foil	a character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another	51
10554193924	Foot	the basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry	52
10554196679	Foreshadowing	the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot	53
10554199928	Free Verse	unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern	54
10554203507	Gothic Novel	A novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action	55
10554205774	Hubris	excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	56
10554207811	Hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	57
10554209248	Interior Monologue	Narrative technique that records a character's internal flow of thoughts, memories, or ideas	58
10554211918	Inversion	the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase	59
10554216135	Irony	A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.	60
10554219429	Lampoon	to ridicule with satire	61
10554221244	Lyric	of or relating to a category of poetry that expresses emotion (often in a songlike way)	62
10554223437	masculine rhyme	final syllable of first word rhymes with final syllable of second word (scald recalled)	63
10554231027	Melodrama	A form of cheesy theater in which the hero is very, very good, the villain mean and rotten, and the heroine oh-so-pure.	64
10554232101	Metaphor	A comparison without using like or as	65
10554234688	Metonym	A word that is used to stand for something else that it has attributes of or is associated with.	66
10554234689	nemesis	the protagonist's archenemy or supreme and persistent difficulty	67
10554236633	Objectivity	an impersonal presentation of events and characters	68
10554238405	Onomatopoeia	A word that imitates the sound it represents.	69
10554239444	Oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	70
10554241306	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	71
10554242962	Paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	72
10554244684	Parallelism	the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form	73
10554246723	parody	a work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner	74
10554248447	pastoral	A work of literature dealing with rural life	75
10554250670	pathos	Appeal to emotion	76
10554252281	persona	the speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing	77
10554254120	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	78
10554254121	plaint	a poem or speech expressing sorrow	79
10554255509	Protagonist	Main character in a story	80
10554256908	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.	81
10554258453	refrain	The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at definite intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza	82
10554260113	requiem	A song of prayer for the dead.	83
10554262240	rhapsody	an intensely passionate verse or section of verse, usually of love or praise	84
10554263811	rhetorical question	a statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered	85
10554265131	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	86
10554266623	Simile	A comparison using "like" or "as"	87
10554268321	Soliloquy	in drama, a character speaks alone on stage to allow his/her thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience	88
10554269505	Stanza	a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem	89
10554272385	stock characters	standard or cliched character types: the drunk, the miser, the foolish girl, etc.	90
10554274732	subjectivity	a personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions	91
10554276668	subjunctive mood	A grammatical situation involving the words "if" and "were," setting up a hypothetical situation.	92
10554278475	summary	a brief statement or account of the main points of something.	93
10554279819	symbolism	A device in literature where an object represents an idea.	94
10554281588	theme	Central idea of a work of literature	95
10554281589	thesis	the primary position taken by a writer or speaker	96
10554282832	tragic flaw	the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall	97
10554285022	travesty	(n.) a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise, especially the clothing of the opposite sex; (v.) to ridicule by imitating in a broad or burlesque fashion	98
10554286901	truism	a way-too-obvious truth	99
10554288947	utopia	an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect	100
10554290837	zeugma	When a word is used with two adjacent words in the same construction, but only makes literal sense with one of them	101