AP Lit Terms

Question 1

major unit of action in a drama or a play

Answer 1

Act

Question 2

a story where something or someone represents an idea about life; often have morals involved

Answer 2

Allegory

Question 3

repetition of constant sounds at the beginning of words

Answer 3

Alliteration

Question 4

reference in a work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events

Answer 4

Allusion

Question 5

comparison of two or more alike objects suggest if they are alike in one way, they will be alike in other ways as well

Answer 5

Analogy

Question 6

Brief account of an event or incident that usually is said to make a point or enterain

Answer 6

Anecdote

Question 7

Actors speech, that is directed to the audience, that isn’t supposed to be heard by other actors on stage

Answer 7

Aside

Question 8

Repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry

Answer 8

Assonance

Question 9

Particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing.

Answer 9

Audience

Question 10

Writer of a book, article, or other text

Answer 10

Author

Question 11

the reason the author created a particular work

Answer 11

Authors Purpose

Question 12

Form of nonfiction where a person tells the story of their life

Answer 12

Autobiography

Question 13

Story of a person’s life that is written by someone else

Answer 13

Biography

Question 14

Poem that tells a story and is meant to be sung or recited

Answer 14

Ballad

Question 15

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Answer 15

Blank Verse

Question 16

Pause or sudden break in a line of poetry

Answer 16

Caesura

Question 17

Two events are related; one event brings about causes and the other brings abput effects

Answer 17

Cause and Effect

Question 18

Person who is responsible for thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature. Every one has their own personality.

Answer 18

Character

Question 19

Character who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main character in some way. Doesnt have to ne a person just something that prevents “happily ever after”

Answer 19

Antagonist

Question 20

Characters who are cental to the plot of a story; usually dynamic and round

Answer 20

Main Characters

Question 21

A less important character who interacts with main characters, helping move the plot along and providingbbackground for the story, usually static and flat

Answer 21

Minor Characters

Question 22

All techniques that writers use to create characters

Answer 22

Characterization

Question 23

Characters personality

Answer 23

Character trait

Question 24

Author directly states a characters traits or makes direct comments about a characters nature

Answer 24

Direct Characterization

Question 25

Character who changes throughout the course of the story

Answer 25

Dymanic Character

Question 26

Character about whom little information is provided

Answer 26

Flat Character

Question 27

Author doesnt directly state a characters traits; they leave that for the reader to conclude

Answer 27

Indirect Characterization

Question 28

Character who is fully described by author

Answer 28

Round Character

Question 29

Character who doesnt change or who changes very little in a story

Answer 29

Static Character

Question 30

Order in which events happen in time

Answer 30

Chronological Order

Question 31

Readers process of pausing occasionally while reading to quickly review what he or she understands

Answer 31

Clarifying

Question 32

Type of figurative language. Containing an overused unoriginal expression

Answer 32

Cliche

Question 33

Dramatic work that is often light and often humorous in tone. It usually ends happily

Answer 33

Comedy

Question 34

Process of identifiying similarities

Answer 34

Comparison

Question 35

Type of poetry that uses ots physical or visual formto present its message

Answer 35

Concrete Poetry

Question 36

Tension or problem in the story; a struggle between opposing forces

Answer 36

Conflict

Question 37

Dominate or most important conflict in the story

Answer 37

Central Conflict

Question 38

Problem or struggle that exists between the main character and an outside force

Answer 38

External Conflict

Question 39

Problem that takes place in the main characters mind

Answer 39

Internal Conflict

Question 40

Readers process of rearing the content of a literary work to his/her own knowledge and experience

Answer 40

Connecting

Question 41

Idea, feelings associated by a word opposed to its dictionary definition

Answer 41

Connotation

Question 42

Reletition of consonant sounds anywhere within a line of poetry

Answer 42

Consonance

Question 43

Hints or suggestions that surround unfamiliar words/phrases and clarify their meaning

Answer 43

Context clues

Question 44

Process of pointing out differences between things

Answer 44

Contrast

Question 45

a rhymed pair of lines in a poem. One of Shakespeare's trademarks was to end a sonnet with one of these.

Answer 45

Couplet

Question 46

Opposite of connotation in that it is the exact or dictionary meaning of a word

Answer 46

Denotation

Question 47

form of language that is spoken in a particular place by a particular group of people

Answer 47

Dialect

Question 48

conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. A dialogue occurs in most works of literature

Answer 48

Dialogue

Question 49

meant to be performed by actors before an audience, characters actions or dialogues tell a story

Answer 49

Drama

Question 50

combining several pieces of information to make an inference

Answer 50

Drawing Conclusions

Question 51

Literary device that is used when a character revels his/her innermost thoughts and feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the story line

Answer 51

Dramatic Monologue

Question 52

type of literature defined as a song or poem that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died.

Answer 52

Elegy

Question 53

in poetry, incomplete syntax at the end of a line, meaning running over into the next line without terminal punctuation

Answer 53

Enjambment

Question 54

short poem or verse that seeks to ridiculed throughout, usually with witticism or sarcasm

Answer 54

Epigram