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AP Literary Terms
Tons of terms, perfect for any AP Language or Literature class.
103
Literature
12th Grade
09/12/2010

Additional Literature Flashcards

 


 

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Term
ALLEGORY
Definition
story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other
people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.
Term
ALLITERATION
Definition
repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are
close together.
Term
ALLUSION
Definition
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 (usually from literature, etc.).
Term
AMBIGUITY
Definition
deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting,
meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way-
- this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness,
and detracts from the work.
Term
ANALOGY
Definition
Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike
Term
ANAPHORA
Definition
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.
Term
ANASTROPHE
Definition
Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a
sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.
Term
ANECDOTE
Definition
Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something,
often shows character of an individual
Term
ANTAGONIST
Definition
Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a
story.
Term
ANTIMETABOLE
Definition
Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical
order.
Term
ANTITHESIS
Definition
Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by
means of grammatical structure.
Term
ANTIHERO
Definition
Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with
heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.
Term
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
Definition
attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate
object (Personification)
Term
APHORISM
Definition
brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life,
or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.
Term
APOSTROPHE
Definition
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.
Term
APPOSITION
Definition
Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate
elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first
(often set off by a colon).
Term
ASSONANCE
Definition
the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant
sounds especially in words that are together.
Term
ASYNDETON
Definition
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.... see
polysyndeton.
Term
BALANCE
Definition
Constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and
importance. Sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well.
Term
CHARACTERIZATION
Definition
the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a
character.
Term
CHIASMUS
Definition
In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is
syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed.
Term
CLICHE
Definition
is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because
of overuse. Avoid clichés like the plague. (That cliché is intended.)
Term
COLLOQUIALISM
Definition
a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal
writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.
Term
COMEDY
Definition
in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by
the main character or characters.
Term
CONCEIT
Definition
an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different.
Often an extended metaphor.
Term
CONFESSIONAL POETRY
Definition
a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses
intimate material from the poet’s life.
Term
CONFLICT
Definition
the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.
Term
CONNOTATION
Definition
the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached
to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.
Term
COUPLET
Definition
two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.
Term
DIALECT
Definition
a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the
inhabitants of a certain geographical area.
Term
DICTION
Definition
a speaker or writer’s choice of words.
Term
DIDACTIC
Definition
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or
provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Term
ELEGY
Definition
a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.
Term
EPANALEPSIS
Definition
device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or
phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.
Term
EPIC
Definition
a long narrative poem, written in heightened language , which recounts the deeds
of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.
Term
EPIGRAPH
Definition
a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of
the theme.
Term
EPISTROPHE
Definition
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 (it is the opposite
of anaphora).
Term
EPITHET
Definition
an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently
used to emphasize a characteristic quality.
Term
ESSAY
Definition
a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a
subject.
Term
EXPLICATION
Definition
act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually
involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.
Term
FABLE
Definition
a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about
how to succeed in life.
Term
FARCE
Definition
a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are
involved in silly, far-fetched situations.
Term
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Definition
Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but
are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.
Term
FLASHBACK
Definition
a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a
story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.
Term
FOIL
Definition
A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to
the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero.
Term
FORESHADOWING
Definition
the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a
plot.
Term
FREE VERSE
Definition
poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.
Term
HYPERBOLE
Definition
a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement,
for effect.
Term
HYPOTACTIC
Definition
sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or
sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them.
Term
IMAGERY
Definition
the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person ,
a thing, a place, or an experience.
Term
INVERSION
Definition
the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase.
Term
IRONY
Definition
a discrepancy between appearances and reality.
Term
VERBAL IRONY
Definition
occurs when someone says one thing but really means
something else.
Term
SITUATIONAL IRONY
Definition
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.
Term
DRAMATIC IRONY
Definition
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.
Term
JUXTAPOSITION
Definition
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.
Term
LITOTES
Definition
is a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through
the negation of a negative form
Term
LOCAL COLOR
Definition
a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special
emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape.
Term
LOOSE SENTENCE
Definition
one in which the main clause comes first, followed by further
dependent grammatical units.
Term
LYRIC POEM
Definition
a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or
thoughts of the speaker. A ballad tells a story.
Term
METAPHOR
Definition
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.
Term
METONYMY
Definition
a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by
something closely associated with it.
Term
MOOD
Definition
An atmosphere created by a writer’s diction and the details selected.
Term
MOTIF
Definition
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.
Term
MOTIVATION
Definition
the reasons for a character’s behavior.
Term
OXYMORON
Definition
a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a
brief phrase.
Term
PARABLE
Definition
a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a
good life.
Term
PARADOX
Definition
a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.
Term
PARALLEL STRUCTURE
Definition
(parallelism) the repetition of words or phrases that have
similar grammatical structures.
Term
PARATACTIC SENTENCE
Definition
simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences.
Term
PARODY
Definition
a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the
writer’s style.
Term
PERIODIC
Definition
sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of
the sentence, after all introductory elements.
Term
PERSONIFICATION
Definition
a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human
feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
Term
PLOT
Definition
the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline.
Term
POINT OF VIEW
Definition
the vantage point from which the writer tells the story.
Term
POLYSYNDETON
Definition
sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the
items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z... Polysyndeton results in X and Y and Z...
Term
PROTAGONIST
Definition
the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the
action. Usually the hero or anti-hero; in a tragic hero, like John Proctor of The
Crucible, there is always a hamartia, or tragic flaw in his character which will lead to
his downfall.
Term
PUN
Definition
a “play on words” based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words
that sound alike but mean different things.
Term
REFRAIN
Definition
a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several
times in a poem.
Term
RHYTHM
Definition
a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and
unstressed syllables in language.
Term
RHETORIC
Definition
Art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.
Term
RHETORICAL QUESTION
Definition
a question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring
an answer.
Term
ROMANCE
Definition
in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest
and is successful.
Term
SATIRE
Definition
a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an
attempt to bring about a change.
Term
SIMILE
Definition
a figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike
things, using words such as like, as , than, or resembles.
Term
SOLILOQUY
Definition
a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are
on stage.
Term
STEREOTYPE
Definition
a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not
allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices.
Term
STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Definition
a style of writing that portrays the inner (often
chaotic) workings of a character’s mind.
Term
STYLE
Definition
the distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer’s distinctive use of
diction, tone, and syntax.
Term
SUSPENSE
Definition
a feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a
story.
Term
SYMBOL
Definition
a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands
for something more than itself.
Term
SYNECDOCHE
Definition
a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole.
Term
SYNTACTIC FLUENCY
Definition
Ability to create a variety of sentence structures,
appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length.
Term
SYNTACTIC PERMUTATION
Definition
Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex
and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow.
Term
TALL TALE
Definition
an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously
unbelievable.
Term
TELEGRAPHIC SENTENCE
Definition
A sentence shorter than five words in length.
Term
THEME
Definition
the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work.
Term
TONE
Definition
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.
Term
TRAGEDY
Definition
in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some
other unhappy end.
Term
TRICOLON
Definition
Sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three
independent clauses.
Term
UNDERSTATEMENT
Definition
a statement that says less than what is meant.
Term
UNITY
Definition
Unified parts of the writing are related to one central idea or organizing
principle. Unity is dependent upon coherence.
Term
VERNACULAR
Definition
the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality.
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