Ap English Exam Flashcards
What is Alliteration
When the beginning of words start with the same consonant or vowel sounds in stressed syllables- and the words are close together
ex. The cute cat climbed up the crooked table
What is Allusion
A brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place, and event to to another work or passage. The writer expects the reader to recognize the reference. There are 4 of them, historical, biblical, literary, and mythological.
What is a biblical allusion
A biblical allusion refers to a reference from the Bible.
ex. To the garden of Eden
What is a literary allusion
They refer to a person, place, or something from another text.
ex. She was a real Einstein
What is a historical allusion
Refers to a person, place, or event from a significant time in history
ex. It was a regular Battle of the Bulge or she’s another Joan of the Arc.
What is a mythological allusion
Refers to something from mythology.
ex. That is my Achilles’ heel
What is a Couplet
A couple is made of two people, things, two of everything. So a couplet is made up of two lines that rhyme.
ex. “For there never was a story of more woe,
Then this of Juliet and her Romeo.
What is a Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to give a statement.
ex. I am so hungry I could eat a horse
What is a Metaphor
A figure of speech which 2 unlike things are compared without using “like” or “as” or “than”.
ex. He is a fish when it comes to swimming.
What is Onomatopoeia
When a word is used that demonstrates a sound.
ex. buzz, zap, crunch
ex. The bees buzzed
What is Oxymoron
A word or group of words that is self-contradicting
ex. pretty ugly, bittersweet, slumber party
What is a Paradox
At first doesn’t make sense, and you have to reflect to better understand.
ex. “In order to keep the peace, we have to go to war”
What is Personification
A figure of speech where objects, animals, or ideas are given a human trait or personality.
ex. The stars danced in the sky
What is a Simile
A figure of speech which 2 unlike things are compared using “like”, “as”, or “than”
ex. Her eyes are as blue as the ocean
What is a Theme
A statement of the central idea of a work, usually implied rather than directly stated. Can include a message, moral, or lesson.
What is Juxtaposition
Take 2 different things and compare them to see similarities and differences (the foil).
ex. What Romeo wants in love, and what Mercutio wants
What is Enjambment
It spills onto the next page so the reader is carried smoothly without interruption
ex. In the Highwayman
What is a Rhyme Scheme
It is how a poem is written (pattern)
What is Tone and Mood
Tone is the writer’s attitude towards the subject of the message.
The mood is how you are feeling and your attitude while reading the story.
What is Archetype
Model, pattern, or symbol
What is Dramatic Irony
It is when the audience knows something that the characters don’t.
ex. In Lamb to the Slaughter the police say, The weapon is under our very noses, and it is. Then Mary giggles after.
What is Situational Irony
It is when the outcome is different than from what was expected.
ex. a soccer player kicking the ball in there own net
What is Soliloquy
It is saying your thoughts out loud that come from the heart (the balcony scene)
IT CANNOT BE HEARD BY ANYONE ELSE
What is Catharsis
It is the emotional release felt by audience at the end of a tragic drama. The term comes from Aristotle’s Poetics, in which he explains this frequently felt relief in terms of purification of emotions caused by watching tragic events.
Basically means purification
What is Tragedy
A serious dramatic work in which the protagonist experiences a series of unfortunate reversals due to some character trait, referred to as tragic flaw (wheel of fortune)
What is Tragic Flaw
A weakness in a hero’s character that leads to their downfall. The most common tragic flaw is hubris.
What is Hubris
Hubris is Greek for pride.
What is Tragic Hero
The protagonist in tragedy. This character has a trait flaw, which leads to their downfall.
What are the 6 themes in all the stories that were talked about
- Tragedy
- Love/Loss/Heartbreak
- Fate vs Free Will
- Cautionary Tales - lessons to be learned
- Temptation
- Greed/Selfishness/Desire
