AP Literature Fiction Terms Flashcards

10559869819	allusion	An indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place, or artistic work; the nature and relevance of which is not explained by the writer, but relies on the reader's familiarity with what is thus mentioned.	0
10559869820	anaphora	Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. Ex: "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France."	1
10559869821	antagonist	The character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story.	2
10559869822	characterization	The process by which a writer makes a character seem real to the reader.	3
10559869823	colloquialism	Spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate everyday speech.	4
10559869824	denouement	A French term meaning "unraveling" or "unknotting," used to describe the resolution of the plot following the climax.	5
10559869825	dialogue	The verbal exchanges between characters.	6
10559869826	diction	An author's choice of words. Since words have specific meanings and since one's choice of words can affect feelings, a writer's choice of words can have great impact in a literary work.	7
10559869827	epiphany	In fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself/herself.	8
10559869828	flashback	A narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work.	9
10559869829	foil	A character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character.	10
10559869830	foreshadowing	The introduction early in a story of verbal and dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later.	11
10559869831	frame Story	The result of inserting one more more stories within the body of a narrative that encompasses the smaller ones	12
10559869832	hyperbole	A figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration is used for deliberate effect.	13
10559869833	verbal irony	A figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing, but means the opposite.	14
10559869834	situational irony	An event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience.	15
10559869835	litotes	A type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite. Ex. Describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, "It was not a pretty picture."	16
10559869836	motif	A recurrent image, word, phrase, represented object, or action that tends to unify the literary work or may be elaborated into a more general theme.	17
10559869837	parody	A literary form in which the style of an author or particular work is mocked in its style for the sake of comic effect.	18
10559869838	personification	A metaphor in which human qualities are attributed to non-humans or animals.	19
10559869839	plot	An author's selection and arrangement of incidents in a story to shape the action and give the story a particular focus.	20
10559869840	point of view	The perspective from which the writer tells the story (first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, third person objective).	21
10559869841	prose	Ordinary writing as distinguished from verse.	22
10559869842	protagonist	The central character of a literary work.	23
10559869843	pun	A play on words that relies on a word's having more than one meaning or sounding like another word.	24
10559869844	round character	A fully developed character	25
10559869845	satire	A literary work which exposes and ridicules human vices or folly. It is usually intended as a moral criticism directed against the injustice or social wrong.	26
10559869846	setting	The physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs.	27
10559869847	stock character	A fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner or speech, and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of given cultures.	28
10559869848	suspense	The anxious anticipation of a reader or an audience as to the outcome of a story.	29
10559869849	symbol	A figure of speech in which something (object, person, situation, or action) means more than what it is. A symbol may be read literally and metaphorically.	30
10559869850	syntax	The way in which linguistic elements (words and phrases) are arranged to form grammatical structure.	31
10559869851	theme	The abstract concept explored in a literary work.	32
10559869852	tone	The author's implicit attitude toward a reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author's style.	33