Ap Literature Ap Exam Terms

Front 1

Allusion

Back 1

is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficticious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event.
An allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion.

Front 2

Attitude

Back 2

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

Front 3

Details

Back 3

items or parts that make up a larger picture or story. Chaucer's "Prologue" to The Canterbury Tales is celebrated for its used of a few details to bring the characters to life.

Front 4

Devices of sound

Back 4

The techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry. Among devices of sound are rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia

Front 5

Diction

Back 5

Word choice

Front 6

Figurative Language

Back 6

Writing that uses figures of speech (as opposed to literal language of that which is actual or specifically denoted) such as metaphor, simile, and irony

Front 7

Imagery

Back 7

The images of a literary work; the sensory details of a work; the figurative language of a work . appeals to the 5 senses

Front 8

Irony

Back 8

A figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ. can be cruel in nature

Front 9

Metaphor

Back 9

A figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term like "as," "like," or "than."

Front 10

Narrative Techniques

Back 10

The methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts

Front 11

Point of View

Back 11

Any of several possible vantage points from which a story is told.

Front 12

Resouces of language

Back 12

A general phrase for the linguistic devices of techniques that a writer can use.

Front 13

Rhetorical techniques

Back 13

The devices used in effective or persuasive language.

Front 14

Satire

Back 14

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

Front 15

Setting

Back 15

The background to a story; the physical location of a play, story, or novel. The setting of a narrative will normally involve both time and place.

Front 16

Simile

Back 16

A directly expressed comparison; a figure of speech comparing two objects, usually with "like," "as," or "than."

Front 17

Strategy

Back 17

The management of language for a specific effect. The strategy or rhetorical strategy of a poem is the planned placing of elements to achieve an effect

Front 18

Structure

Back 18

The arrangement of materials within a work; the relationship of the parts of a work to the whole; the logical divisions of a work

Front 19

Style

Back 19

The mode of expression in language; the characteristic manner of expression of an author

Front 20

Symbol

Back 20

Something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else.

Front 21

Syntax

Back 21

The structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence.

Front 22

Theme

Back 22

The main thought expressed by a work

Front 23

Tone

Back 23

The manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude; the intonation of the voice that expresses meaning

Front 24

Apostrophe

Back 24

Direct address, usually to someone or something that is not present. comes from the author

Front 25

Connotation

Back 25

The implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning (denotation). ( positive or negative)

Front 26

Convention

Back 26

A device of style or subject matter so often used that it becomes a recognizable means of expression. For example, a lover observing the literary love conventions cannot eat or sleep and grows pale and lean. ( whats traditional of expected )

Front 27

Denotation

Back 27

The dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to connotation.

Front 28

Hyperbole

Back 28

Deliberate exaggeration, overstatement.

Front 29

Literal

Back 29

Not figurative; accurate to the letter; matter of fact or concrete.

Front 30

Oxymoron

Back 30

A combination of opposites; the union of contradictory terms. Romeo’s line “feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health” has four .
examples of the device.

A PHRASE

Front 31

Paradox

Back 31

A statement that seems to be self-contradictory but, in fact, is true.

A STATEMENT

Front 32

Personification

Back 32

A figurative use of language that endows nonhuman (ideas, inanimate objects, animals, abstractions) with human characteristics. Ex: “Love is swift of foot.”

Front 33

Rhetorical Question

Back 33

A question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply. No reply is expected because the question presupposes only one possible answer.

Front 34

Soliloquy

Back 34

A speech in which a character who is alone speaks his or her thoughts aloud. A monologue also has a single speaker, but the monoloquist speaks to others who do not interrupt.

Front 35

Stereotype

Back 35

A conventional pattern, expression, character, or idea. a generalization of a character or culture

Front 36

Alliteration

Back 36

a pattern of sound that includes the repetition of consonant sounds. The repetition can be located at the beginning of successive words or inside the words.

Front 37

Assonance

Back 37

The repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words.

Front 38

Blank Verse

Back 38

unrhymed verse, esp. the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse.

Front 39

End-stopped

Back 39

grammatical pause at the end of a line of verse

Front 40

Free verse

Back 40

verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern

Front 41

Heroic couplet

Back 41

a stanza consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter, esp. one forming a rhetorical unit and written in an elevated style, as, Know then thyself, presume not God to scan / The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Front 42

Iamb

Back 42

a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long in quantitative meter, or an unstressed followed by a stressed in accentual meter, as in Come live / with me / and be / my love.

Front 43

Pentameter

Back 43

verse consisting of five metrical feet a line of

Front 44

Sonnet

Back 44

Prosody. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes

Front 45

Stanza

Back 45

an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.

Front 46

Tetrameter

Back 46

a verse of four feet.

Front 47

Antecedent

Back 47

Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause, usually a substantive, that is replaced by a pronoun or other substitute later, or occasionally earlier, in the same or in another, usually subsequent, sentence. In Jane lost a glove and she can't find it, Jane is the antecedent of she and glove is the antecedent of it.

Front 48

Clause

Back 48

Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.

Front 49

Ellipsis:

Back 49

the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction,

Front 50

Imperative

Back 50

Grammar. noting or pertaining to the mood of the verb used in commands,

Front 51

Parallel Structure

Back 51

using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

Front 52

Periodic Sentence

Back 52

a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense, as in Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.

Front 53

Syntax

Back 53

the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses) b : the part of grammar dealing with this ( sentence structure ) as a whole it can add meaning to the theme , tone or conflict in the work .

Front 54

Compare

Back 54

Emphasize similarities , but differences may be mentioned .

Front 55

Contrast

Back 55

Stress differences

Front 56

Crticize

Back 56

Express your judgment as to the correctness or merit of the matters under consideration .

Front 57

Define

Back 57

Make a clear statement including all items which belong within the category you are defining , but excluding all items which do not belong .

Front 58

Discuss

Back 58

Outline the item completely , paying special attention to organization , present pros and cons and illustrative details .

Front 59

Explain

Back 59

This is similar to discussing but there should be greater emphasis on how and why .

Front 60

Justify

Back 60

prove or show the grounds for you conclusions . try to present your evidence in a convincing form , ( sometimes this appears as a why or prove question )

Front 61

Outline

Back 61

summarize in the form of a series of headings and sub-headings

Front 62

Summariize

Back 62

present concisely the main points of the topic , omitting details and illustrations

Front 63

Trace

Back 63

Describe a development starting with its point of origin and including relevant details in sequence .

Front 64

implied metaphor

Back 64

may be subtle and not explained …brayed his refusal to leave (the man is never explained to be a mule). the writer assumes the readers command of language .

Front 65

extended metaphor

Back 65

is where part of all of a poem consist of a series of related metaphors.

Front 66

Controlling metaphor

Back 66

runs through an entire work and decides the nature of that work.

Front 67

synecdoche

Back 67

type of metaphor in which something closely associated with is substituted for it . like silver screen to motion pictures . or the crown to stand for the kind

Front 68

Narrator

Back 68

the voice of the person telling the story , not to be confused with the authors voice

Front 69

First person narrator

Back 69

the I in the story presents the point of view of only one character . the reader is restricted to this single character.

Front 70

Unreliable Narrator

Back 70

offers an interpretation of events that are somehow different from what happens in the story .

Front 71

Naïve narrators

Back 71

are usually characterized by youthful innocence

Front 72

Omniscient narrator

Back 72

is all knowing who is not a character in the story and who can move from place to place and pass back and forth through time . he can slip into and out of characters . as no human could in real life .

Front 73

Editorial omniscience

Back 73

refers to an intrusion by the narrator in order to evaluate a character for a reader. (like when the narrator in the scarlet letter describes hesters relationship to the puritan community even though hester isn’t actually talking .

Front 74

Neutral omniscience

Back 74

when an author allows a characters actions to speak for themselves . thr author does not attempt to sway opinion .

Front 75

Limited omniscience

Back 75

where an author restricts a narrator to the single prespective of either a major or minor character.

Front 76

Verbal Irony

Back 76

This occurs when a character says one thing but suggests or intends the opposite

Front 77

Dramatic Irony

Back 77

This is the contrast between what the character thinks to be true and what we (the reader) know to be true. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning intended by a character’s words or actions is opposite of the true situation. Further, the character cannot see or understand the contrast, but the audience or reader can

Front 78

Situational Irony

Back 78

It is the contrast between what happens and what was expected (or what would seem appropriate). This type of irony emerges from the events and circumstances of a story