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AP Lit Vocab Terms > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

1
Q

Allegory

A

a work in which setting, events, characters are symbolic

a story that systematically assigns a second meaning to elements of the narrative

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2
Q

Alliteration

A

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line of poetry or in a close proximity

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3
Q

Allusion

A

References to literary works, persons, sayings, and other elements of cultural heritage

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4
Q

Ambiguity

A

double or even multiple meaning

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5
Q

Anaphora

A

repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive lines, clauses, or sentences

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6
Q

Antithesis

A

balanced statement of contrast

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7
Q

Apostrophe

A

the addressing of someone or something that cannot respond or a speech to an abstraction

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8
Q

Archetype

A

a character type or an image that recurs consistently enough in life and literature to be considered universal

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9
Q

Artistic Unity

A

The condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose

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10
Q

Assonance

A

repetition of vowel sounds in a line of poetry or in close proximity

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11
Q

Asyndeton

A

connects words or phrases in a series without using conjunctions, connectives

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12
Q

Auditory Images

A

reference to sounds

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13
Q

Bildungsroman

A

type of novel that chronicles a character’s moral and psychological growth; a growing of age work

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14
Q

Binary Opposition

A

the idea that one idea is defined by its opposite; generally, society has a preference for one over the other: rich/poor, young/old

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15
Q

Blank verse

A

unrhymed iambic pentameter

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16
Q

Cacophony

A

a harsh, discordant, unpleasant word choice and arrangement of sounds

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17
Q

Catalog

A

a list of people, things, or attributes in poetry

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18
Q

Catharsis

A

emotional release that watching a tragedy offers the audience

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19
Q

Carpe Diem Poetry

A

poetry that emphasizes the shortness of life and the need to act in or enjoy the present

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20
Q

Caesura

A

a pause or break in a line of verse, typically signifies a foot between two words in classical literature

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21
Q

Conceit

A

an elaborate and extended metaphor

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22
Q

Concrete Poetry

A

Poetry that draws most or all of its meaning from the visual impact of the poem

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23
Q

Connotation

A

implication of a word tor phrase rather than literal meaning

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24
Q

Consonance

A

Repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the ends of words: “first and last”, “odds and ends”, etc

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25
Q

Convention

A

device of style or subject that is used so frequently as to become a recognized means of expression

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26
Q

Couplet

A

Two successive lines of poetry, usually in the same meter

27
Q

Denotation

A

the actual definition of a word

28
Q

Diction

A

a writer’s or speaker’s choice of words–can be formal or informal, technical or common, etc.

29
Q

Didactic Poetry

A

purpose is to teach or preach; poetry that is instructional

30
Q

Elegy

A

an elegy is a poem mourning the loss of someone or something

31
Q

Enjambment

A

a line of poetry having no end punctuation but running over to the next line

32
Q

Epic

A

Usually a long narrative poem that features heroic characters, momentous events, and highly elevated diction

33
Q

Epiphany

A

a moment of revelation or profound insight

34
Q

Epitaph

A

lines composed to mark someone’s death

35
Q

Epithet

A

a characterizing word or phrase

36
Q

Euphemism

A

replaces an offensive term with a less offensive one

37
Q

Figurative Language

A

expressions that conform to a particular pattern or form

metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole

communicates beyond the literal meaning of words

38
Q

Frame Story

A

a story within a story, connected by narration

39
Q

Free Verse

A

poetry that does not rhyme or follow specific rules

relies on cadences and punctuation for rhythm

40
Q

Hamartia

A

fatal flaw in tragic poetry

41
Q

Hubris

A

overwhelming pride or insolence that results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy

42
Q

Hyperbole

A

emphasis achieved through exaggeration

43
Q

Imagery

A 
the representation through language of sensory experience
Sight - Visual
Sound - Auditory
Smell - Olfactory
Taste - Gustatory
Touch - Tactile
Internal - Organic
Movement - Kinesthetic
44
Q

Internal Rhyme

A

Occurrence of rhyming words within a single line of poetry

45
Q

Incongruity

A

quality of being inharmonious or incompatible or inconsistent

46
Q

Irony

A

Figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ
Situational
Verbal
Dramatic

47
Q

Litotes

A

figure of speech which uses understatement for emphasis usually with a negative association for ironic effect

48
Q

Loose Sentence

A

a sentence grammatically complete at some point before the end

49
Q

Malapropism

A

the comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound but different in meaning

50
Q

Metaphor

A

comparison between two things; one is directly equated with another

51
Q

Metaphysical Conceit

A

An elaborate and extended metaphor that links two apparently unrelated concepts in unusual ways

52
Q

Metaphysical Poetry

A

poetry which applies to the intellect as well as the imagination through irony, conceit, and paradox

53
Q

Meter/Measure

A

the number of feet within a line in a traditional verse

54
Q

Trochee

A

stressed syllable followed by unstressed

55
Q

Anapest

A

Unstressed, unstressed, stressed

syllable pattern

56
Q

Spondee

A

stressed, stressed

57
Q

Dactyl

A

Stressed, unstressed, unstressed

58
Q

Metonymy

A

figure of speech that substitutes the name of a related object, person, or idea for the subject at hand

59
Q

Monologue

A

Drama: the speech of a character who is alone on stage
Writing: the direct presentation of a character’s unspoken thoughts

60
Q

Motif

A

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation

61
Q

Overstatement

A

emphasis achieved through exaggeration

62
Q

Oxymoron

A

combination of contradictory terms

63
Q

Paradox

A

seemingly contradictory but true at some level

AP Lit Vocab Terms (6 decks)

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