AP Literature - Literary Terms Flashcards

10473943268	allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.	0
10473943269	alliteration	It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.	1
10473943270	allusion	A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.	2
10473943271	anagram	a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase	3
10473943272	antecedent	The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.	4
10473943273	antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	5
10473943274	anaphora	A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences.	6
10473943275	anastrophe	Inversion of the natural or usual word order	7
10473943276	antithesis	A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.	8
10473943277	aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
10473943278	apostrophe	A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.	10
10473943279	assonance	Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity	11
10473943280	asyndeton	A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction), e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered." The parts of the sentence are emphasized equally; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence.	12
10473943281	blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	13
10473943282	caesura	A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.	14
10473943283	cacophony	Harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds	15
10473943284	cadence	Rhythmic rise and fall	16
10473943285	conceit	A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.	17
10473943286	connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	18
10473943287	consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	19
10473943288	couplet	A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem.	20
10473943289	dactyl	A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables	21
10473943290	denotation	Dictionary definition of a word	22
10473943291	denouement	an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot	23
10473943292	diction	The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	24
10473943293	didactic	Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson	25
10473943294	dirge	a funeral hymn or mournful speech	26
10473943295	euphemism	An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant	27
10473943296	end-stopped line	A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation	28
10473943297	enjambment	A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.	29
10473943298	epitaph	A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone	30
10473943299	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	31
10473943300	epistolary	A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters	32
10473943301	flashback	A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events	33
10473943302	foreshadowing	A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.	34
10473943303	foot	A metrical unit composed of stressed and unstressed syllables.	35
10473943304	frame story	A secondary story or stories embedded in the main story	36
10473943305	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	37
10473943306	genre	A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.	38
10473943307	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	39
10473943308	heroic couplet	A pair of rhymed, iambic pentameter lines.	40
10473943309	hexameter	A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.	41
10473943310	hubris	Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy	42
10473943311	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	43
10473943312	iamb	A common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable.	44
10473943313	imagery	Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.	45
10473943314	irony	A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.	46
10473943315	verbal irony	In this type of irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer's true meaning	47
10473943316	situational irony	Occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected	48
10473943317	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	49
10473943318	jargon	Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand	50
10473943319	juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	51
10473943320	kenning	A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities.	52
10473943321	metaphor	A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.	53
10473943322	meter	A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry	54
10473943323	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it	55
10473943324	mood	Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader	56
10473943325	motif	(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design	57
10473943326	motivation	A psychological factor that provides a directional force or reason for behavior.	58
10473943327	narration	The purpose of this type of rhetorical mode is to tell the story or narrate an event or series of events.	59
10473943328	novel	A long fictional narrative written in prose, usually having many characters and a strong plot.	60
10473943329	novella	A short novel usually under 100 pages.	61
10473943330	novelette	When a novel is short and has chapters reffered to as vignettes	62
10473943331	octave	a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter	63
10473943332	ode	A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.	64
10473943333	onomatopoeia	A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.	65
10473943334	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.	66
10473943335	paean	song of joy or triumph; a fervent expression of joy	67
10473943336	parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	68
10473943337	paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	69
10473943338	parallelism	Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other	70
10473943339	parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	71
10473943340	pedantic	An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.	72
10473943341	pentameter	a rhythm in poetry that has five stressed syllables in each line (five metrical feet)	73
10473943342	persona	A pattern of relatively permanent traits, dispositions, or characteristics that give some consistency to people's behavior.	74
10473943343	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	75
10473943344	plot	Sequence of events in a story	76
10473943345	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	77
10473943346	polysyndeton	Deliberate use of many conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. Hemingway and the Bible both use extensively. Ex. "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"	78
10473943347	prosody	Appropriate expression when reading. Includes pitch (intonation), loudness, stressing phrases, etc.	79
10473943348	protagonist	Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal.	80
10473943349	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
10473943350	quatrain	4 line stanza	82
10473943351	refrain	A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.	83
10473943352	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer	84
10473943353	end rhyme	A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line	85
10473943354	eye rhyme	rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation	86
10473943355	forced rhyme	when two words don't really rhyme together, but an author uses similar spelled, or sounding words to try to create a rhyme; Ex: stone, one	87
10473943356	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	88
10473943357	slant rhyme	rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme	89
10473943358	rhyme scheme	A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem	90
10473943359	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	91
10473943360	sestet	a rhythmic group of six lines of verse	92
10473943361	shifts/turns	Changes in the speaker's attitude. Look for key words such as but, yet, however, and although, punctuation, and stanza division.	93
10473943362	sonnet	14-line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually written in iambic pentameter	94
10473943363	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.	95
10473943364	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa	96
10473943365	syntax	Arrangement of words in phrases and sentences	97
10473943366	theme	A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.	98
10473943367	tone	A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.	99
10473943368	understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	100
10473943369	villanelle	A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes.	101