ap lit

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Terms in this set (171)
abstract
an abbreviated synopsis of a longer work of scholarship or research
adge
a saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in metaphorical language
allegory
a story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning
alliteration
the repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose
-often used for ornament or emphasis
allusion
a reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea
ambiguity
a vagueness of meaning a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretations
anachronism
a person, scene, event, or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work was set
analogy
a comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things
annotation
a brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text of work of literature
antagonist
a character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict
antithesisa rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentencesaphorisma short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentimentApollonianin contrast to Dionysian, it refers to the most noble, godlike qualities of human nature and behaviorapostrophea rhetorical device in which a speaker addresses a person or personified thing not presentarchetypean abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or formassonancethe repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group or words or lines in poetry and proseballada simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recitedbarda poet; in olden times, a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompanimentbathosthe use of insincere or overdone sentimentallybildungsromana german word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as the hero travels in quest of a goalblank versepoetry written in iambic pentameter -lines generally do not rhymebombastinflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjectsburlesquea work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitationcacophonygrating, inharmonious soundscaesuraa pause somewhere in the middle of a verse, often but not always marked by punctuationcanonthe works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studiedcaricaturea grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and thingscarpe diem"seize the day"; enjoy life while you cancatharsisa cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pit and terror of a dramatic tragedyclassica highly regarded work of literature or other art form that has withstood the test of timeclassical, classicismderiving from the orderly qualities of ancient Greek and Roman culture; implies formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraintclimaxthe high point, or turning point, of a story or playcoming-of-age-story/novela tale in which a young protagonist experiences an introduction to adulthoodconceita witty or ingenious thought; a diverting or highly fanciful idea often stated in figurative languageconnotationthe suggested or implied meaning of a word or phraseconsonancethe repetition of two or more or more consonant sounds in a group of words or a line of poetrycoupleta pair of rhyming lines in a poemdenotationthe dictionary definition of a worddenouementthe resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fictiondeus ex machinathe use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problemdictionthe choice of words in speech and writing -serves to create meaning, portray characters, convey tone, develop themes, etc.Dionysianas distinguished from Apollonian, the word refers to sensual, pleasure-seeking impulsesdramatic ironya circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than the chracterelegya poem or prose selection that laments or meditates on the passing or death of something or someone of valueellipsisthree periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotationelliptical constructiona sentence containing a deliberate omission of wordsempathya feeling of association or identification with an object or personend-stoppeda term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctuationenjambmentin poetry,the use of successive lines with no punctuation or pause between themepican extended narrative poem that tells of the adventures and exploits of a hero that generally larger than life and is often considered a legendary figure such as Odysseus or Beowulfepigrama concise but ingenious, witty and thoughtful statementeuphonypleasing, harmonious soundsepithetan adjective or phrase that expresses a striking quality of a person or thingeponymousa term for the title character of a work of literatureeuphemisma mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt termexposea piece of writing that reveals weaknesses, faults, frailties, or other shortcomingsexpositionthe background and events that lead to the presentation of the main idea or purpose of a work of literatureexplicationthe interpretation or analysis of a textextended metaphora series of comparisons between two unlike objectsfablea short tale often featuring nonhuman characters that act as people whose actions enable the author to make observations or draw useful lessons about human behaviorfalling actionthe action in a play or story that occurs after the climax that leads to the conclusion and often to the resolution of the conflictfantasya story containing unreal, imaginary featuresfarcea comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a scornful, serious purposefigure of speech, figurative languageimplies meaningsfirst person narrativea narrative told by a character involved in the story -uses i and weflashbacka return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present actionfoila minor character whose personality or attitude contrasts with that of the main characterfoota unit of stressed and unstressed syllables used to determine the meter of poetic lineforeshadowingproviding hints of things to come in a story or playframea structure that provides premise or setting for a narrativefree versea kind of poetry without rhymed lines, rhythm or fixed metrical feetgenrea term used to describe literary forms, such as novel, play, and essaygothic novela novel in which supernatural horror and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the actionsharanguea forceful sermon, lecture, or tiradeheroic couplettwo rhymed lines in iambic pentameter and used widely in 18th century versehubristhe excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their deathhumanisma belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativityhyperboleoverstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effectidylla lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or placeimagea word or phrase representing that which can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or feltin media resa latin term for a narrative that starts not at the beginning of events but at some other critical pointindirect quotationa rendering of a quotation in which actual words are not stated but only approximated or paraphrasedironya mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasmkenninga device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualitieslampoona mocking, satirical assault on a person or situationlight versea variety of poetry meant to entertain or amuse, but sometimes with a satirical thrustlitotesa form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensitylook sentencea sentence that follows the customary word order of English sentenceslyric poetrypersonal, reflective poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings about the subjectmaxima saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truthmelodramaa literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional responsemetaphora figure of speech that compares of unlike objectsmetaphysical poetrythe work of poets, particularly those of the 17th century, that uses elaborate conceits, is highly intellectual, and expresses the complexities of love and lifemeterthe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetrymetonymya figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associatedMiddle Englishthe language spoken in England roughly between 1150 and 1500 ADmock epica parody of traditional epic form -usually treats a frivolous topic with extreme seriousness, using conventions such as invocations to the Muse, action-packed battle scenes, and accounts of heroic exploitsmodethe general form, pattern, and manner of expression of a work of literaturemontagea quick succession of images or impressions used to express an ideamoodthe emotional tone in a work of literature evoked through the author's diction, choice of details, themes, settings, events, and moremorala brief and often simplistic lesson that a reader may infer from a work of literaturemotifa phrase, idea, or event that through repetitions serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literaturemuseone of the ancient Greek goddesses presiding over the artsmythan imaginary story that has become accepted part of the cultural or religious tradition of a group or society -often used to explain natural phenomenanarrativea form of verse or prose that tells a story, often with a beginning, middle, and endnaturalisma term used as a synonym for realism; also a view of experience that is generally characterizes as bleak and pessimistic -characters in these particular works often struggle unsuccessfully to exercise free willnon sequitora statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one belownovellaa work of fiction roughly 20,000 to 50,000 words - longer than a short story, but shorter than a novelnovel of mannersa novel focusing on and describing the social customs and habits of a particular social groupodea lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings towards the subjectOld Englishthe Anglo-Saxon language spoken in what is now England from approximately 450 to 1150 ADomniscient languagea narrator with unlimited awareness, understanding, and insight of characters, setting, background, and all other elements of a storyonomatopoeiathe use of words whose sounds suggest their meaningottava rimaan eight line rhyming stanza of a poemoxymorona term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create a paradoxical effectparablea story consisting of events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derivedparadoxa statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless trueparodyan imitation of a work meant to ridicule its style and subjectparaphrasea version of a text put into simpler, everday wordspastorala work of literature dealing with rural lifepathetic fallacyfaulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or non-human objectspathosthat element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrowpentametera verse with five poetic feet per lineperiodic sentencea sentence that departs from the usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main thought only at the endpersonathe role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader, a viewer, or the world at largepersonificationa figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristicsplotthe interrelationship among the events in a storypicaresque novelan episodic novel about a roguelike wanderer who lives off his witspoint of viewthe relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poemprotagonistthe main character in a work of literaturepseudonymalso called 'pen name' -a false name or alias used by writerspulp fictionnovels written for mass consumption, often emphasizing exciting and titillating plotspuna humorous play on words, using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest different meaningsquatraina four line poem or a four-line unit of a longer poemrealismthe depiction of people, things, and events are they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effectrhetoricthe language of a work and its style; words, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway an audiencerhetorical questiona question that has the expected answer built in so that it either requires no response of the answer is self evidentrhetorical stancelanguage that conveys a speaker's attitude or opinion with regard to a particular subjectrhyme schemethe repetition of similar sounds at regular intervalsrhythmthe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetryroman a cleffrench for a novel in which historical events and actual people appear under the guise of fictionromancean extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic placessarcasma sharp, caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony which is more subtlesatirea literary style used to poke fun at, attack, or ridicule an idea, vice, or folible, often for the purpose of inducing changescanthe act of determining the meter of a poetic linesentimenta synonym for view or feeling; also a refine and tender emotion in literaturesentimentala term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experiencesettingthe total environment for the action in a novel or playsimilea figurative comparison using the words like or assonneta popular form of verse consisting of 14 lines and a prescribed rhyme schemestanzaa group of two or more lines of poetry combined according to subject matter, rhyme, or another planstream on consciousnessa style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mindstylethe manner in which an author uses and arranges words, shapes ideas, forms sentences, and creates a structure to convey ideassubplota subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play, usually connected by the main plotsubtextthe implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a worksymbolismthe use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the orignal objectsynecdochea figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies the partsyntaxthe arrangement of the words in a sentence -it may refer specifically to the length of sentences, the organization of clauses, the type of sentences, or its structurethemethe main idea or meaning, often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is builttitle charactera character whose name appears in the title of a novel or playtonethe author's attitude toward the subject being written abouttragedya form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw and a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguishtropethe generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, simile, and metaphorverbal ironya discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken wordsversea synonym for poetryversimillitudesimilar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life a it isversificationthe structural form of a line of verse as revealed by the number of feet it containsvillanellea French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of 19 lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymesvoicethe real or assumed personality used by a writer or speakervoltaany shift or turning point in a work of prose or poetrywitthe quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpected cleverness