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ap lit > Poetry Terms > Flashcards

Poetry Terms Flashcards

1
Q

archetype

A

an idealized model of a person, object, or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned, or emulated

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2
Q

free verse

A

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

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3
Q

interior monologue

A

writing that records that thinking that goes on inside a character’s head; it is coherent as if character were talking

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4
Q

blank verse

A

poetry written without rhymes, but which retains a set metrical pattern, usually iambic pentameter

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5
Q

symbol

A

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

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6
Q

satire

A

a work that uses mockery, humor, and wit to criticize and cause change in human nature and institutions

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7
Q

in medias res

A

“in the midst of things” - standard of epic poetry where the action begins in the middle instead of at the beginning

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8
Q

mood

A

the emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

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9
Q

apostrophe

A

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea

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10
Q

deus ex machina

A

any artificial device or coincidence used to bring about a convenient and simple solution to a plot

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11
Q

allusion

A

reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of cultures

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12
Q

antagonist

A

opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

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13
Q

epigraph

A

a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

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14
Q

local color

A

a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape

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15
Q

enjambment

A

the continuation of the sense and, therefore, the grammatical construction of a sentence beyond the end of a line of poetry

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16
Q

anti-hero

A

central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes such as courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples

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17
Q

consonance

A

in poetry, when words appearing at the ends of two or more verses have similar final consonant sounds but have final vowel sounds that differ

Ex) “stuff” and “off”

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18
Q

farce

A

a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations

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19
Q

dramatic irony

A

an occasion in a play, film, or other work in which a character’s words or actions convey a meaning unperceived by the character but understood by the audience

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20
Q

litotes

A

a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form

Ex) Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record?

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21
Q

dialect

A

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

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22
Q

alliteration

A

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

Ex) The soul selects her own society

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23
Q

onomatopoeia

A

the use of words whose sounds echo their sense

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24
Q

polysyndeton

A

sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series

Ex) X and Y and Z

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25
Q

internal rhyme

A

rhyme within a line of poetry instead of at the end

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26
Q

anticlimax

A

the intentional use of fancy language to describe the trivial or commonplace, or a sudden transition from a significant thought to a trivial one in order to achieve a humorous or satiric effect

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27
Q

euphemism

A

the substitution of a comfortable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something unpleasant

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28
Q

verbal irony

A

when the intended meaning of a statement differs from the apparent meaning

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29
Q

metaphor

A

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

30
Q

chiasmus

A

in poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed

Ex) “flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike”

31
Q

personification

A

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

32
Q

motif

A

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation is 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

33
Q

soliloquy

A

a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage

34
Q

euphony

A

harmony or beauty of sound which provides a pleasing effect to the ear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect

35
Q

ambiguity

A

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meaning in a work

36
Q

tone

A

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

37
Q

hyperbole

A

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect

Ex) “if I told you once, I’ve told you a million times”

38
Q

simile

A

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

39
Q

kenning

A

a compound poetic phrase substituted for the usual name of a person or thing

Ex) “Whale Road” for ocean ; “fender-bender”

40
Q

juxtaposition

A

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit

41
Q

cacophony

A

unpleasant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables which are grating to the ear, usually inadvertent, but sometimes deliberately used in poetry for effect

42
Q

foreshadowing

A

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

43
Q

catharsis

A

a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that consists of overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter, or any extreme change in emotion

44
Q

synecdoche

A

a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole

Ex) “if you don’t drive properly, you will lose your wheels”

45
Q

diction

A

the choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, figurative language in literary work; the manner or mode of verbal expression, particularly with regard to clarity and accuracy

46
Q

asyndeton

A

commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z… the writer uses X, Y, Z

47
Q

cliche

A

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

48
Q

anaphora

A

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

49
Q

allegory

A

story or poem in which characters, setting, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities

50
Q

imagery

A

the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, place, thing, or experience

51
Q

hubris

A

excessive pride or ambition that leads to a character’s downfall

52
Q

tragic flaw

A

in a tragedy, the quality within a hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall

53
Q

epistrophe

A

device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

54
Q

metonymy

A

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it

Ex) “we requested from the crown support for our petition

55
Q

stream of consciousnes

A

a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind

56
Q

foil

A

a character who acts as contrast to another character

57
Q

assonance

A

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

Ex) “do not go gentle into that good night”

58
Q

paradox

A

a statement which contains seemingly contradictory elements or appears contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as true when viewed from another angle

59
Q

oxymoron

A

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

Ex) Jumbo Shrimp

60
Q

aside

A

a comment made by a stage performer that is intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly not by other characters

61
Q

couplet

A

two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry

62
Q

genre

A

a category of literary work which may refer to both the content of a given work and to its form, such as poetry, novel, or drama

63
Q

frame narrative

A

a story within a story, within sometimes yet another story

64
Q

suspension of disbelief

A

a willingness of a reader or viewer to ignore minor inconsistencies or unbelievable behavior so as to enjoy a work of fiction

65
Q

persona

A

the narrator in a non first-person novel through which the author speaks

66
Q

parody

A

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

67
Q

exposition

A

in drama, the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the play

68
Q

protagonist

A

the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action

69
Q

meter

A

the repetition of sound patterns that creates a rhythm in poetry

70
Q

pun

A

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

71
Q

quatrain

A

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

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