AP Literature Terms Flashcards

14605244140	Allusion	An indirect reference to another idea, person, place, event, artwork, etc. to enhance the meaning of the work in which it appears.	0
14605268275	allusion example	If he's not careful, his love life could end up like Romeo and Juliet's.	1
14605246327	Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds	2
14605287839	assonance example	how now brown cow	3
14605246917	Alliteration	Repetition of consonant sounds	4
14605289416	alliteration example	Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.	5
14605291199	Analogy	A comparison between two different items that an author may use to describe, define, explain, etc. by indicating their similarities.	6
14605291819	analogy example	Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.	7
14605294013	antithesis	Two opposing ideas presented in a parallel manner	8
14605295012	antithesis example	"Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind."	9
14605297788	Apostrophe	A device or figure of speech that is most frequently found in poetry when a writer speaks directly to an abstract person, idea, or ideal.	10
14605298640	apostrophe example	Mark Antony's address to the dead Caesar in Julius Caesar	11
14605301670	Anecdote	A little known story told for rhetorical effect	12
14605303173	Anecdote Example	"You know, when I was a kid, my dog was my best friend. My childhood was better because of him."	13
14605306646	Archetype	An iconic representation of a psychological type	14
14605310309	Ballad	A poem written to tell a tale.	15
14605310746	Connotation	The emotional feel of a word.	16
14605313097	connotation example	"Chicken- a term used to describe someone who is a coward."	17
14605314940	Caricature	An exaggerated representation of someone or something for a humorous effect	18
14605315607	caricature example	My opponents want lower taxes not to shrink government but to destroy it.	19
14605318151	Diction	The conscious decision the author makes when choosing vocabulary to create an intended effect.	20
14605318766	Denotation	The literal definition of a word	21
14605322071	Dramatic Monologue	A poem told from a first person point of view to an unseen audience	22
14605325636	Epithet	An adjective or adjective phrase that an author uses to describe the perceived nature of a noun by accentuating one of its dominant characteristics.	23
14605326839	epithet example	Alexander the Great	24
14605328835	Epic	A literary work that relates tales of heroism	25
14605331803	Emulation	Imitating a writer's style or approach.	26
14605332802	Hyperbole	Exaggeration or overstatement to emphasize a point or to achieve a specific effect that can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, or even ironic.	27
14605333859	hyperbole example	I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.	28
14605336394	Juxtaposition	Placing two or more concepts side by side.	29
14605337379	Juxtaposition example	It was the best of times, it was the worst of times	30
14605339939	Lyric	A poem expressing emotional thoughts	31
14605341662	Metaphor	A direct comparison between two unlike things	32
14605343001	metaphor example	Our lives are grapes, bitter and sweet.	33
14605344888	Metonymy	A metaphor in which the actual subject is represented by an item with which it is closely associated.	34
14605347945	metonymy example	The pen is mightier than the sword	35
14605349940	Meter	Rhythm; series of accented and unaccented syllables.	36
14605350541	Nemesis	Unrelenting matchless foe.	37
14605360875	Ode	Lengthy poem that addresses a lofty or exalted topic	38
14605365238	Onomatopoeia	The word imitating the sound that is being made.	39
14605366162	onomatopoeia example	Bang! The plate crashed to the floor	40
14605367771	Oxymoron	Figure of speech in which opposite ideas are combined	41
14605370507	oxymoron example	cruel kindness	42
14605394184	Parallelism	Grammatically similar constructions that create a sense of balance that allows the audience to compare and contrast the parallel subjects	43
14605396982	parallelism example	like father, like son	44
14605400592	Pastoral	Poetry that idealizes the simple lives of shepherds in a rural setting.	45
14605401781	Persona	The projected personality of the person telling the story.	46
14605405411	Parable	Story told to teach a moral lesson	47
14605406310	Personification	Figure of speech in which a non-human thing is given human characteristics.	48
14605406814	personification example	Lightning danced across the sky.	49
14605411926	Quatrain	A stanza with four lines	50
14605412935	Rhetorical Question	A question to which one does not expect an answer.	51
14605415016	rhetorical question example	Can fish swim? Can birds fly? Do dogs bark?	52
14605419799	Simile	Figure of speech that uses the words like or as to compare two seemingly unlike things	53
14605420515	simile example	"He is as hungry as a horse"	54
14605423241	Speaker	The voice of one who tells a story	55
14605424003	Scansion	The act of analyzing rhythm and rhyme	56
14605424854	Soliloquy	Thoughts expressed by a person who is alone.	57
14605427026	Sonnet	Lyric poem of fourteen lines, typically written in iambic pentameter and usually following strict patterns of stanza division and rhyme.	58
14605430693	Synecdoche	A metaphor that uses a part to represent the whole.	59
14605433964	synecdoche example	"He got a new set of wheels."	60
14605435311	Syntax	The grammatical structure of sentences.	61
14605436036	Understatement/Litote	Language that makes something seem less important than it really is.	62
14605436763	understatement example	"I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain."	63