AP Literature (Gill) Terms Flashcards

7231504253	allegory	The term loosely describes any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning	0
7231652340	alliteration	The repetition of sounds especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells").	1
7231652341	allusion	A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.	2
7231531297	archetype	An original model or pattern from which other later copies are made, especially a character, an action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life.	3
7231533412	aside	In drama, a few words or a short passage spoken by one character to the audience while the other actors on stage pretend their characters cannot hear the speaker's words.	4
7231534278	bildungsroman	The German term for a coming-of-age story.	5
7231536263	character (round)	Character capable of growth and change during the course of the narrative.	6
7231538761	character (flat)	Character built around a single idea or quality and unchanging over the course of the narrative.	7
7231539914	character (static)	a literary or dramatic character who undergoes little or no inner change	8
7237518702	character (dynamic)	character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude	9
7231535078	climax	The moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the crisis reaches its point of greatest intensity and is thereafter resolved.	10
7231653544	conflict (internal)	Conflict within a character	11
7231655166	conflict (external)	Conflict between a character and his environment.	12
7231569499	convention	A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film.	13
7231569500	connotation	the non literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.	14
7231569501	denotation	the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color	15
7231656285	diction	related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.	16
7231657083	exposition	a type of writing used to reveal information	17
7231599173	figurative language	A deviation from what speakers of a language understand as the ordinary or standard use of words in order to achieve some special meaning or effect.	18
7231570441	foil	A character that serves by contrast to highlight or emphasize opposing traits in another character.	19
7231661429	imagery	the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions	20
7231572214	in medias res	Latin for "the middle of things." A technique used to heighten dramatic tension or to create a sense of mystery.	21
7231602032	irony (verbal)	also known as sarcasm, which a speaker makes a statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply from the meaning that the words ostensibly express.	22
7231603429	irony (dramatic)	involves a situation in a narrative in which the reader knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know.	23
7231604183	irony (situational)	in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked.	24
7231662691	mood	the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work	25
7231605707	monologue	used to refer to a character speaking aloud to himself, or narrating an account to an audience with no other character on stage.	26
7231610419	motif	A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature.	27
7231611115	myth	a traditional tale of deep cultural significance to a people	28
7231612688	oxymoron	a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox	29
7231613420	paradox	a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity	30
7231663246	parody	a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule	31
7231663832	personification	a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions	32
7231613838	persona	An external representation of oneself which might or might not accurately reflect one's inner self; involves exaggerating certain characteristics and minimizing others.	33
7231664637	point of view (first)	the protagonist narrates the story	34
7231616487	point of view (third, omniscient)	a narrator who knows everything that needs to be known about the agents and events in the story	35
7231617722	point of view (third, objective)	when the narrator reports speech and action, but never comments on the thoughts of other characters	36
7231618558	point of view (third, limited)	a narrator who is confined to what is experienced, thought, or felt by a single character	37
7231665214	resolution	the ending, untying, final of the novel.	38
7231622032	satire	An attack on or criticism of any stupidity or vice in the form of scathing humor.	39
7231665793	simile	An analogy or comparison implied by using an adverbial preposition such as like or as.	40
7231623946	soliloquy	A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone.	41
7231624618	stock character	a character type that appears repeatedly in a particular literary genre	42
7231667345	symbol	A word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level.	43
7231668434	syntax	word order and sentence structure of a language.	44
7231628195	theme	A central idea or statement that unifies and controls an entire literary work	45
7231634541	tragedy	A serious play in which the chief character, by some peculiarity of psychology, passes through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe.	46
7231634542	tragic hero	The main character in a Greek or Roman tragedy	47
7231637645	catharsis	An emotional discharge that brings about a moral or spiritual renewal or welcome relief from tension and anxiety	48
7231637658	verisimilitude	The sense that what one reads is "real," or at least realistic and believable.	49
7231640713	willing suspension of disbelief	Temporarily and willingly setting aside our beliefs about reality in order to enjoy the make-believe of a play, a poem, film, or a story.	50