AP Literature: Quiz 1 Terms

allegory

a story with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning
ex. animal farm

alliteration

the repitition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in neighboring words
ex. anxious ants avoid anteaters

allusion

an indirect or passing reference to an event, person, place or artistic work that the author assumes the reader will understand

ambiguity

a word, phrase or attitude that has double or even multiple meanings, resulting in multiple interpretations

anaphora

the regular reputation of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

apostrophe

a rhetorical device in which the speaker addresses a dead or absent person, or an inanimate object or abstraction

archetype

a pattern or model of an action, a character type, or an image that recurs consistently enough in life and literature to be considered universal

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words

asyndeton

conjunctions are omitted, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose

blank verse

poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

caricature

a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things
ex. clueless

catharsis

the effect of purification achieved by tragic drama; emotional release

climax

the turning point or high point in a plot's action

colloquial

words or phrases that are used in everyday conversation; informal writing

consonance

the repetition of identical or similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different

couplet

two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and that are written to the same meter

dénouement

the portion of a plot that reveals the final outcome of its conflicts or the solution of its mysteries

deus ex machina

the resolution of a plot by use of highly improbable change, coincidence or artificial device that solves some difficult problem or crisis

diction

the choice of words used in a literary work

digression

a portion of a written work that interrupts or pauses the development of the theme of plot

dissonance

harshness of sound and/or rhyme, either inadvertent or deliberate

dramatic irony

a situation in which the audience knows more about a character's situation that the character does, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character's expectations
ex. romeo and juliet

dystopia

an undesirable imaginary society

end-stopped

a line brought to a pause at which the end of a verse line coincides with the completion of a sentence, clause, or other independent unit of syntax

enjambment

the running over of the sense and grammatical structure form one verse line or couplet to the next without a punctuated pause

epistolary

a novel written in the form of correspondence between characters
ex. frankenstein, perks of being a wallflower

euphony

a pleasing smoothness of sound, perceived by the ease with which the words can be spoken in combination

exposition

the setting forth of a systematic explanation of or argument about nay subject; or the opening part of a play or story

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is sustained for several lines or that becomes the controlling image of an entire poem

fable

a brief tale that conveys a moral lesson usually by giving human speech and manners to animals and inanimate things
ex. the tortoise and the hare

falling action

the segment of the plot that comes between the climax and the conclusion

farce

a type of drama related to comedy but emphasizing improbable situations, violent conflicts, physical action, and coarse wit over characterization or articulated plot

flashback

a way or presenting scenes or incidents that took place before the opening scene