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AP Literature > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

Memorize all the literary terms by October 15.

1
Q

Allegory

A

Symbolic device in which characters or events in a story symbolize ideas or concepts

Ex. Aslan –> Jesus (comes back to life after getting executed)

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2
Q

Alliteration

A

Repetition of an initial consonant sound. Often used in poetry

Ex. Blown away –> every Brick –> every Board –> Blown away

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3
Q

Anagram

A

Writers jumble up parts of words in order to create a new word

Ex. “O Draconian devil O lame saint” = “Leonardo Da Vinci The Mona Lisa

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4
Q

Analogy

A

Comparison between two things for explanation or clarification

Ex. Barrack Obama comparing the economy to a car being in a ditch

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5
Q

Antagonist

A

Character or group of characters that oppose the protagonist

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6
Q

Anthropomorphism

A

Human quality, emotion, or ambition is given to a non-human object/being

Ex. Alice in Wonderland - animals, card, inanimate objects

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7
Q

Antithesis

A

Writer puts two sentences of contrasting meanings close to one another

Ex. “You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no”

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8
Q

Apostrophe

A

Speaker addresses an object, concept, or person that is unable to respond

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9
Q

Archetype

A

Concept, person, or object that serves as a universally accepted/understood prototype of its kind

Ex. Hero, wise old wizard, creepy neighbor, jocks and cheerleaders, etc.

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10
Q

Atmosphere

A

Created when setting/scene triggers emotion

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11
Q

Catharsis

A

Releasing strong or repressed emotion for the audience

Ex. Providing comic relief during something very sad

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12
Q

Caricature

A

Simple image exaggerating features of a person (subject)

Ex. Ugly caricature drawing with big headed people or something like that

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13
Q

Cliche

A

Expression that has been so overused that it becomes annoying

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14
Q

Cliffhanger

A

Protagonist is confronted with a dilemma at the end of a chapter or episode so audience returns to see the resolution

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15
Q

Character (round/dynamic)

A

Character that changes/grows throughout the story

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16
Q

Character (flat/static)

A

Character that remains the same throughout the story, not changing

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17
Q

Climax

A

Most intense or exciting part of a story

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18
Q

Conflict

A

Struggle between opposing forces

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19
Q

Dark Comedy

A

Making light of a dark situation (solemn subject matter)

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20
Q

Denotation

A

Dictionary definition of a word

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21
Q

Dystopia

A

Imagined setting where everything is bad

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22
Q

Epithet

A

Descriptive device used to add to a person/place’s regular name to give it specialty

Ex. Alexander “The Great”

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23
Q

Euphemism

A

Milder form of negative descriptions (sex, violence, death)

Ex. Died –> Passed away

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24
Q

Flashback

A

Earlier event inserted into normal chronology of a story

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25
Q

Flash Forward

A

Future events are hinted to show what may happen later in a story

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26
Q

Foil

A

Character who’s primary purpose to contrast another character

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27
Q

Foreshadowing

A

Words/phrases that give hints about what may happen in the future

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28
Q

Genre

A

Category of artistic composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter

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29
Q

Hubris

A

Another way of saying someone is over arrogant, usually leading to their downfall

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30
Q

Hyperbole

A

Extreme exaggeration used for effect

31
Q

Idiom

A

Expression that cannot be understood from individual meanings, but understood by most people

32
Q

Imagery

A

Provide the reader w/ mental images using the five senses

33
Q

Internal Rhyme

A

Practice of forming a rhyme in only one line of a verse. Constructed within the middle of a line and rhymes with something at the end of the line.

Ex. “There’s vomit on his sweater already”

34
Q

Verbal Irony

A

When a writer makes a statement that has a different meaning than what the words suggest.

Ex. “Awesome job!” - after crashing a car

35
Q

Situational Irony

A

Reader is led to believe one thing will occur, but the opposite occurs

36
Q

Dramatic Irony

A

Audience knows something that characters do not

37
Q

Kenning

A

New compound-phrase for common person, place, thing, or idea

Ex. bone-house = body, sea-wood = ship

38
Q

Malapropism

A

Substituting words with similar sounds that have 0 connected meanings

Ex. We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it!

39
Q

Metaphor

A

Implied comparison between two unlike things that have something important in common

40
Q

Metonymy

A

The practice of not using the formal word for an object/subject by referring to another word somehow linked to the formal name/word

Ex. “The pen is mightier than the sword”
–> pen = written language | sword = physical force

41
Q

Mood

A

Author’s mental/emotional disposition towards subject of literary works. Audience feels this emotion as a result

REMEMBER: TONE IS HOW MOOD IS EXPRESSED, IT INVOKES MOOD

42
Q

Motif

A

Specific theme that dominates a literary work, defining the nature of a story

Ex. Lord of the Rings –> temptation of the ring (all the characters just pursue the ring)

43
Q

Nemesis

A

A bitter enemy, especially one that seem unbeatable

44
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

Words that imitate or replicate a sound.

45
Q

Oxymoron

A

Occur when opposite words are placed together

Ex. “Sober Mexicans is an oxymoron” -asiansoyboy

46
Q

Paradox

A

Seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement, but when investigated may turn out true.

“This statement is false”

47
Q

Parody

A

Imitation of the style of someone with a deliberate exaggeration for comedic effect

48
Q

Pathos

A

Appealing to emotion

49
Q

Pathetic Fallacy

A

Treatment of inanimate objects as though they have human feelings, thoughts, or sensations (only used for weather in literature)

Ex. “So bright the sun is ASHAMED to rise”

50
Q

Personification

A

Attaching human characteristics to inanimate objects

51
Q

Plot

A

Sequence of events that make up a story. Usually a pattern, intended or unintended

Ex. exposition–>rising action–>climax–>falling action–>resolution

52
Q

Point of View (1st person)

A

Narrator POV (uses “I” or “me”)

53
Q

Point of View (2nd person)

A

Reader POV (“you”)

54
Q

Point of View (3rd person)

A

Narrator does not participate in the events of a story (he, she, they)

55
Q

Prologue

A

Introduction to a story, usually setting the tone and providing background to the story

56
Q

Protagonist

A

Leading character or major character in a story

57
Q

Pun

A

Play on words

58
Q

Rhyme Scheme

A

Rhyming words placed at the ends of lines in poetry

Ex. ABAB AABB

59
Q

Satire

A

A piece of writing is making fun of a weakness or character flaw. Usually meant to give feelings of contempt even though may be humorous

60
Q

Setting

A

Time and place of events of a story

61
Q

Simile

A

Comparison by two unrelated and dissimilar things using like or as (and sometimes than)

62
Q

Spoonerism

A

Interchanging first letter of words to create a new and/or nonsensical words

Ex. “No wuckin forries”

63
Q

Stanza

A

Singular related chunks of lines in poetry. Particular section of a poem

64
Q

Suspense

A

Intense feeling an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events

65
Q

Symbol

A

An object that represents something else, usually something meaningful

66
Q

Synechdoche

A

Device that uses part of something to refer to a whole

Ex. “Lend me your ears” = pay attention (pay attention with your whole body)

67
Q

Theme

A

Underlying message that acts as a foundation for the entire literary piece (why did the author write the story?)

68
Q

Tone

A

Perspective or attitude the author has towards a topic

69
Q

Tragedy

A

Series of unfortunate events for a character which finally culminates into a disaster of epic proportions (usually death)

70
Q

Tragic Flaw

A

A character flaw of a tragic hero that leads to the character’s downfall

71
Q

Understatement

A

Draws attention to a fact that is already obvious and noticeable in an ironic way to play down a situation to make it seem less serious than it actually is

72
Q

Utopia

A

Ideal or perfect community

73
Q

Wit

A

Intelligent humor to write something that is clever and usually funny

AP Literature (2 decks)

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