AP Literature Literary Terms: Prose Flashcards

10714551910	Allegory	A literary work in which characters, objects, actions, or the story as a whole, represent abstractions or symbols	0
10714555477	Ambiguity	The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.	1
10714558215	Analogy	A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way	2
10714559256	Anaphora	the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses	3
10714562594	Inversion	Inverted order of words in a sentence	4
10714563979	anecdote	A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.	5
10714566037	Antithesis	contrasting ideas laid out with the structure of the sentence. ex. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.	6
10714567262	Chiasmus	a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases; gives the sentence a different meaning ex. One should eat to live, not live to eat.	7
10714573092	Anthromorphism	attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object; but this personification is sustained throughout the literary piece	8
10714578649	Aphorism	A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.	9
10714581126	Asydenton	Commas used (with no conjunctions) to separate a series of words. ex. "I came, I saw, I conquered"	10
10714586574	foil character	A character who is used as a contrast to another character; the contrast emphasizes the differences between the two characters, bringing out the distinctive qualities in each.	11
10714589901	Classic Hero	Attractive, successful; embodies the values of his society, capable, wins in the end	12
10714591610	Everyman Hero	a hero that is an everyday person; not unique	13
10714593083	Anti-hero	a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.	14
10714594268	tragic hero	A literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy	15
10714596134	cliche	a worn-out idea or overused expression	16
10714596637	Colloquialism	informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing; voice of narrator	17
10714598057	Connotation	All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests	18
10714599225	Denotation	The dictionary definition of a word	19
10714600004	Dialect	A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.	20
10714604991	Diction	A writer's or speaker's choice of words	21
10714605625	didactic	intended to instruct, has educational purpose; can characterize the tone of author	22
10714607950	Epigraph	the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at or foreshadows its theme	23
10714609360	Epistrophe	Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses	24
10714610674	Fable	A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters	25
10714614343	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	26
10714615095	situational irony	irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.	27
10714616079	Juxtaposition	Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts	28
10714617271	Litotes	A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite ex. The ice cream was not too bad.	29
10714631522	local color	writing which presents the mannerisms, dress, speech and customs of a particular geographical region; gives an impression based on these factors	30
10714633521	loose sentence	A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. ex. I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall.	31
10714641031	extended metaphor	A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.	32
10714642955	dead metaphor	a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid	33
10714643786	Metonymy	a metaphor or symbol that most people would recognize; substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it	34
10714647622	Motif	A recurring theme, subject or idea that may help foreshadow something later on	35
10714651230	faulty narrator	a narrator who the reader does not trust and the author does not support; could be because of childishness, insanity or falsehood	36
10714652891	Oxymoron	conjoining contradictory terms ex. deafening silence	37
10714655037	Parable	A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	38
10714655817	Paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. ex. Jesus' blood washes us white as snow	39
10714660238	parallel structure	the way the sentence is structured shows a repeat in which the two parts go together ex. chiasmus, antithesis, juxtaposition	40
10714936645	Parody	A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.	41
10714937126	periodic sentence	A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.	42
10714939024	Satire	A literary work that uses exaggeration and humor to get a point across or to criticize human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies	43
10714943501	stream of consciousness	a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.	44
10714944539	Syntax	Sentence structure	45
10714945536	Style	the author's syntax and diction; which words are used and how they are used	46
10714947345	synechdoche	where a part stands for the whole ex. All hands on deck	47
10714949348	tall tale	an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable	48
10714952326	Theme	Central idea of a work of literature, often author's message on a certain topic	49
10714955779	Tone	Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character that affects the overall mood	50
10714957289	Understatement	the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. ex. You're not bad at math.	51
10714958761	Vernacular	Everyday language of ordinary people	52
10714959410	voice	The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker; the way we are able to get to know the character and their qualities through the way they speak or think.	53