Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Ap Lit > AP Lit Terms > Flashcards

AP Lit Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Abstract

A

in writing; typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Academic

A

adj; describing style; dry and theoretical writing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Accent

A

in poetry; refers to stressed portion of a word; to BE or NOT to be

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

aesthetic

A

adj; something that is appealing to the senses; artistic judgement; the study if beauty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

allegory

A

a story that has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

alliteration

A

the repetition of initial consonant sounds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

allusion

A

a reference to another work or famous figure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

anachronism

A

Greek; misplaced in time; a wristwatch in Julius Caesar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

analogy

A

a type of comparison

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

anecdote

A

a short narrative

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

antecedent

A

word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun refers to or replaces

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

anthropomorphism

A

when something is given human like characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

anticlimax

A

when an action produces far smaller results than anticipated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

antihero

A

protagonist that is unheroic; weak, cowardly, dishonest or any undesirable qualities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

aphorism

A

a short and witty saying

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

apostrophe

A

when a speaker speaks directly to something that is non-human; Wilson the volleyball

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

archaism

A

deliberate use of old-fashioned language to create a feeling of antiquity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

aside

A

speech made by an actor to the audience as though momentarily stepping outside of the action of the play; Myer’s time outs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

assonance

A

the repeated use of vowel sounds; Old King Cole was a merry old soul

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

atmosphere

A

emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

ballad

A

long narrative poem with regular meter and rhyme; has a naive folksy quality; distinguishes it from epic poetry

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

bathos

A

trying to elicit tears from every hiccup

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

pathos

A

evoking feelings of sympathy and pity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

black humor

A

use of disturbing themes in humor/comedy; suicide jokes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

bombast

A

using pretentious language to sound smarterer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

burlesque

A

a broad parody, takes style, form drama, and exaggerates it into ridiculousness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

cacophony

A

in poetry; harsh awkward sounds which are difficult to pronounce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

cadence

A

the beat or rhythm of poetry in a general sense

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

canto

A

name for a section dividing a long work of poetry; poem into parts like the chapters of a book

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

caricature

A

a portrait that exaggerates a facet of personality or appearance

31
Q

catharsis

A

from Aristotle; the cleansing of emotions an audience member experiences, having lived vicariously through the experiences on stage

32
Q

chorus

A

Greek drama; a group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it

33
Q

classic

A

“typical” or an accepted masterpiece

34
Q

coinage

A

a neologism (new word or phrase) invented on the spot; often people’s names; that’s such a Macy thing to do

35
Q

colloquialism

A

common everyday language; almost slang (non academic)

36
Q

complex; dense

A

two terms carrying similar meaning, suggesting a multitude or a variety of layers and meanings

37
Q

conceit

A

a startling or unusual metaphor, or a metaphor expanded over several lines

38
Q

controlling image

A

when a metaphor dominates the entire work

39
Q

connotation

A

the implied meaning of a word

40
Q

denotation

A

the literal meaning of a word

41
Q

consonance

A

harmony/agreement among components; repetition of consonants (ends of stressed syllables)

42
Q

couplet

A

pair of lines that end in rhyme or two consecutive lines that rhyme

43
Q

decorum

A

related to behavior, speech, according to occasion; Rules of decorum; decorum delegates!

44
Q

diction

A

the choice of words in a work

45
Q

syntax

A

the order of words in a work

46
Q

dirge

A

a song for the dead; sung slowly; melancholy

47
Q

dissonance

A

disagreement among sounds or ideas

48
Q

doggerel

A

cruel, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme

49
Q

dramatic irony

A

when the audience knows something that the characters on stage don’t; Oedipus

50
Q

dramatic monologue

A

when a speaker in a play directly says something to a silent audience; breaking the 4th wall

51
Q

elegy

A

poem for the dead; or to mourn the loss of something

52
Q

enjambment

A

the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause

53
Q

epic

A

a long narrative poem on a serious theme in a dignified style; deals with glorious or profound subject matter

54
Q

epitaph

A

lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place; on a tombstone

55
Q

euphemism

A

a word or phrase to sugar coat a harsh one; passed away instead of died

56
Q

euphony

A

when sounds blend harmoniously together

57
Q

explicit

A

to say something directly or clearly

58
Q

farce

A

modern; extremely broad humor

traditional; funny play/comedy

59
Q

feminine rhyme

A

when the last lines rhyme by their final two syllables

60
Q

foil

A

a secondary character whose purpose is to highlight a characteristic of the main character; usually by contrast

61
Q

implicit

A

to say or write something that is implied, but is never stated directly

62
Q

in medias res

A

in the midst of things

63
Q

interior monologue

A

in novels and poetry; refers to writing that records the mental talking that goes on inside a character’s head

64
Q

inversion

A

switching the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase; Yoda

65
Q

verbal irony

A

saying the opposite of what you mean/intend

66
Q

situational irony

A

a direct opposite result of what was expected

67
Q

lament

A

a passionate expression of grief or sorrow

68
Q

lampoon

A

to publicly criticize someone or something by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm; Ratatouille

69
Q

lyric

A

poetry; explores the poet’s personal interpretation and feelings about the world

70
Q

masculine rhyme

A

a rhyme on the final stressed syllable

71
Q

melodrama

A

cheesy theater; where the good guy is GOOD and the bad guy is BAD; ProZD and Antman

72
Q

metaphor

A

directly comparing two things by saying that one thing IS the other

73
Q

simile

A

comparing two things by using LIKE or AS

74
Q

metonymy

A

a word that substitutes another word, while sharing similar attributes

Ap Lit (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions