Ap Lit Exam

Front 1

Allusion

Back 1

a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person, or work

Front 2

Attitude

Back 2

A speaker's, author's, or character's disposition toward or opinion of a subject.

Front 3

Allegory

Back 3

A story in which people, things, and events have another meaning

Front 4

Ambiguity

Back 4

Multiple meanings a literary work may communicate, especially two meanings that are incompatible

Front 5

Apostrophe

Back 5

Direct address, usually to someone or something that is not present

Front 6

Connotation

Back 6

the implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning (denotation)

Front 7

Convention

Back 7

A device of style or subject matter so often used that it becomes a recognized means of expression.

Front 8

Denotation

Back 8

the dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to connotation

Front 9

Hyperbole

Back 9

Deliberate exaggeration, overstatement

Front 10

Literal

Back 10

Not figurative, accurate to the letter, matter of fact or concrete

Front 11

Oxymoron

Back 11

a combination of opposites, the union of contradictory terms

Front 12

Paradox

Back 12

a statement that seems to be self-contradicting but, in fact, is true

Front 13

Personification

Back 13

A figurative use of language which endows the nonhuman with human characteristics

Front 14

Reliability

Back 14

a quality of some fictional narrators whose word the reader can trust

Front 15

Rhetorical Question

Back 15

a question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply, only one possible answer

Front 16

Soliloquy

Back 16

a speech in which a character who is alone speaks his or her thoughts aloud

Front 17

Stereotype

Back 17

A conventional pattern, expression, character, or idea

Front 18

Details

Back 18

items or parts that make up a larger picture or story

Front 19

Devices of Sound

Back 19

the techniques of deploying the sound or words, especially in poetry

Front 20

Diction

Back 20

the choice of words used

Front 21

Figurative Language

Back 21

writing that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and irony

Front 22

Imagery

Back 22

the images of a literary work, sensory details of a work, the figurative language of a work

Front 23

Irony

Back 23

a figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ

Front 24

Metaphor

Back 24

a figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term like 'as' 'like' or 'than'

Front 25

Narrative Technique

Back 25

the methods involved in telling a story

Front 26

Omniscient point of view

Back 26

the vantage point of a story in which the narrator can know, see, and report whatever he or she chooses.

Front 27

Point of view

Back 27

any of several possible vantage points from which a story is told

Front 28

Resources of Language

Back 28

a general phrase for the linguistic devices or techniques that a writer can use

Front 29

Rhetorical techniques

Back 29

the devices used in effective or persuasive language

Front 30

Satire

Back 30

writing that seeks to arouse a reader's disapproval of an object by ridicule

Front 31

Settling

Back 31

the background in a story

Front 32

Strategy

Back 32

the management of language for a specific effect

Front 33

Structure

Back 33

the arrangement of materials within a work

Front 34

Style

Back 34

the mode of expression in language

Front 35

Symbol

Back 35

Something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else

Front 36

Syntax

Back 36

the structure of a sentence

Front 37

Theme

Back 37

the main though expressed by a work

Front 38

Tone

Back 38

the manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude

Front 39

Digression

Back 39

the use of material unrelated to the subject of a work

Front 40

Epigram

Back 40

a pithy saying, often using contrast.