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AP Literary Terms > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

1
Q

A type of detail that discusses intangible questions like good and evil

A

Abstract

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2
Q

In drama, a grouping of scenes

A

Act

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3
Q

A verb construction in which the subject performs the action

A

Active Voice

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4
Q

Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together

A

Alliteration

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5
Q

Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something

A

Allusion

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6
Q

A comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

A

Analogy

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7
Q

The repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent.

A

Anaphora

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8
Q

A brief story told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows the character of an individual

A

Anecdote

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9
Q

An opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero in a story

A

Antagonist

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10
Q

Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure

A

Antithesis

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11
Q

Calling out to an imaginary dead or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation

A

Apostrophe

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12
Q

A typical character, action, or situation that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature. (ex: hero, mentor, devil)

A

Archetype

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13
Q

The main statement of a poem, essay, a short story which usually appears as an introduction, or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers

A

Argument

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14
Q

Occurs when a writer displays a partiality for or prejudice against someone, something or some idea

A

Argumentation bias

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15
Q

A characters quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on the stage is supposed to hear

A

Aside

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16
Q

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are together

A

Assonance

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17
Q

a writing style where conjunctions are omitted in a series of words, phrases, or clauses. It is used to shorten a sentence and focus on its meaning. Ex. “I came, I saw, I conquered” – Julius Caesar

A

ASYNDETON

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18
Q

the author’s reason for or intent in writing the work

A

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

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19
Q

a poem that retells a legend or a folktale

A

BALLAD

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20
Q

unrhymed iambic pentameter

A

BLANK VERSE

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21
Q

a listing of the characters in a play, often with a short description next to the name

A

CAST OF CHARACTERS

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22
Q

the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

A

CHARACTERIZATION

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23
Q

the author reveals to the reader what the character is
like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people (showing how other characters feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature

A

INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

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24
Q

the author tells us directly what the character is like:

sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form

A

DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

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25
Q

A character who does not change much in the course of a story

A

STATIC CHARACTER

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26
Q

A character who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action.

A

DYNAMIC CHARACTER

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27
Q

Someone who has only one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.

A

FLAT CHARACTER

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28
Q

Someone who has more dimensions to their personalities—they are complex, just as real people are.

A

ROUND CHARACTER

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29
Q

a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, which has become lifeless because of overuse.

A

CLICHE

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30
Q

a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations. Example: “He’s out of his head if he thinks I’m gonna go for such a stupid idea.

A

COLLOQUIALISM

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31
Q

an elaborate metaphor (often extended) that compares two things that are startlingly different. Conceit examples have a surprising or shocking effect on the readers because they are novel comparisons unlike the conventional comparisons made in similes and metaphors.

A

CONCEIT

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32
Q

the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.

A

CONFLICT

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33
Q

a conflict between two people (man vs. man), between a person and a natural occurrence (man vs. nature), or between a person and an accepted tenet of society (man vs. society).

A

EXTERNAL CONFLICT

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34
Q

a conflict involving opposing forces within a

person’s mind (man vs. self).

A

INTERNAL CONFLICT

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35
Q

the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.

A

CONNOTATION

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36
Q

the repetition of consonant sounds, though not solely at the beginning of the words as in alliteration. Example: yellow lollipop

A

CONSONANCE

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37
Q

two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry

A

COUPLET

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38
Q

the dictionary definition of the word

A

DENOTATION

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39
Q

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area. Example: “ya’ll” or “youse guys”

A

DIALECT

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40
Q

conversation between characters. In literature, it is indicated with quotation marks. In drama, it is indicated by the placement next to a character’s name

A

DIALOGUE

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41
Q

the splitting of a whole into two non-overlapping parts (e.g., eastern culture and western culture)

A

DICHOTOMY

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42
Q

a speaker or writer’s choice of words

A

DICTION

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43
Q

a form of literature that is performed for an audience, either on stage or before a camera

A

DRAMA

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44
Q

A Shakespearean Drama that in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.

A

COMEDY

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45
Q

a play that chronicles the life of an English monarch, such as Henry VIII

A

HISTORY (Shakespearean Drama)

46
Q

in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end

A

TRAGEDY (Shakespearean Drama)

47
Q

a long narrative poem, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.

A

EPIC

48
Q

a stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the ends of the clauses or sentences. Ex. “I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best.” – JFK

A

EPISTROPHE

49
Q

an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality. “Father of our country” and “the great Emancipator” are examples

A

EPITHET

A Homeric epithet is a compound adjective used with a person or thing: “swift-footed Achilles”; “rosy-fingered dawn.”

50
Q

a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

A

ESSAY

51
Q

a polite term substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Example: “passed away” instead of “died”

A

EUPHEMISM

52
Q

a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.

A

FABLE

53
Q

Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.

A

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

54
Q

a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.

A

FLASHBACK

55
Q

A character who acts as contrast to another character, often a funny side kick to the dashing hero or a villain contrasting the hero.

A

FOIL

56
Q

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot.

A

FORESHADOWING

57
Q

poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

A

FREE VERSE

58
Q

type of literature Ex. poetry, fiction, drama, nonfiction

A

GENRE

59
Q

The physical movement of a character during a play. Used to reveal character, and may include facial expressions as well as movements of other parts of an actor’s body.

A

GESTURE

60
Q

a 3 line poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third

A

HAIKU

61
Q

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times….”

A

HYPERBOLE

62
Q

An expression where the literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the expression. Ex. It’s raining cats and dogs.

A

IDIOM

63
Q

the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation in the reader’s mind

A

IMAGERY

64
Q

the process of arriving at a conclusion using known evidence or premises and logically forming an opinion or interpretation

A

INFERENCE:

65
Q

a discrepancy between appearances and reality

A

IRONY

VERBAL IRONY occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.

SITUATIONAL IRONY takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected
to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

DRAMATIC IRONY is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play
or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.

66
Q

a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, or actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts

A

JUXTAPOSITION

67
Q

a 5 line, typically humorous poem with aabba rhyme scheme

A

LIMERICK

68
Q

a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form (a double negative): Hawthorne— “wedging their not unsubstantial persons … into the throng”

A

LITOTES

69
Q

a statement that says less than what is meant (understatement). Example: During the second war with Iraq, American troops complained of a fierce sand storm that made even the night-vision equipment useless. A British commando commented about the storm: “It’s a bit breezy.”

A

MEIOSIS

70
Q

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles.

A

METAPHOR

IMPLIED METAPHOR does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison: “I like to see it lap the miles” is an implied metaphor in which the verb lap implies a comparison between “it” and some animal that “laps” up water.

EXTENDED METAPHOR is a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. (called conceit if it is quite elaborate).

MIXED METAPHOR is a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible. “The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas.”

71
Q

a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables (the “beat” of the poem)

A

METER

72
Q

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example, Two
households, both alike in dignity.

A

IAMBIC PENTAMETER

73
Q

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. “We requested from the crown support for our petition.” The crown is used to represent the monarch.

A

METONYMY

74
Q

An extended speech by one person.

A

MONOLOGUE

75
Q

An emotion the reader feels as a result of the author’s diction and the details selected.

A

MOOD

76
Q

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme. Kurt Vonnegut uses “So it goes” throughout Slaughterhouse-Five to remind the reader of the senselessness of death

A

MOTIF

77
Q

a lyrical poem in the form of an address to a particular subject

A

ODE

78
Q

the use of words whose sounds echo their sense. “Pop.” “Zap.”

A

ONOMATOPOEIA

79
Q

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. “Jumbo shrimp.” “Pretty ugly.” “Bitter-sweet”

A

OXYMORON

80
Q

a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which (if true) defies logic or reason, similar to circular reasoning (e.g., “I always lie” because if it is true, than it must also be false)

A

PARADOX

81
Q

the repetition of words or phrases that have similar

grammatical structures.

A

PARALLEL STRUCTURE

82
Q

a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style.

A

PARODY

83
Q

a verb construction in which the subject is acted upon Ex. The ball was hit by Timmy

A

PASSIVE VOICE

84
Q

a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.

A

PERSONIFICATION

85
Q

the series of related events in a story or play sometimes called the storyline

A

PLOT

86
Q

the vantage point from which the writer tells the story, aka perspective.

A

POINT OF VIEW

87
Q

a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect Ex. He ran and jumped and laughed
for joy

A

POLYSNDETON

88
Q

the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero

A

PROTAGONIST

89
Q

a “play on words” based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things.

A

PUN

90
Q

a poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.

A

QUATRAIN

91
Q

a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated regularly, for effect, several times in a poem

A

REFRAIN

92
Q

a literary device that repeats a word or phrase for emphasis or clarification

A

REPETITION

93
Q

words that sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds.

A

RHYME

94
Q

a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language.

A

RHYTHM

95
Q

the art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.

A

RHETORIC

96
Q

a question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer.

A

RHETORICAL QUESTION

97
Q

a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.

A

SATIRE

98
Q

In drama, the action of the play is divided into scenes. A scene changes whenever the changes.

A

SCENE

99
Q

a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles.

A

SIMILE

100
Q

a monologue often used in drama to reveal the innermost thoughts of a character

A

SOLILOQUY

101
Q

a 14 line poem written in Iambic Pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme … the Shakespearean Sonnet Rhyme Scheme is ababcdcdefefgg

A

SONNET

102
Q

In drama, the instructions for the director, the performers, and the stage crew. They are printed in italics or enclosed in (parentheses).

A

STAGE DIRECTIONS

103
Q

a group of lines arranged together in a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose

A

STANZA

104
Q

a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea that does not allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices.

A

STEREOTYPE

105
Q

the characteristic way in which a writer uses language: a writer’s distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax

A

STYLE

106
Q

a feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story.

A

SUSPENSE

107
Q

a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself.

A

SYMBOL

108
Q

a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. “If you don’t drive properly, you will lose your wheels.” The wheels represent the entire car.

A

SYNECDOCHE

109
Q

the arrangement of words into a sentence; the grammatical sentence structure.

A

SYNTAX

110
Q

the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

A

THEME

111
Q

the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience,
revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

A

TONE

AP Literary Terms (3 decks)

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