AP Lit Vocab (part 5)

m thru n

masque

an elaborate & spectacular dramatic entertainment popular among English aristocracy late 16th & early 17th centuries

maxim

a concise statement expressing a principle or rule of conduct

melodrama

a drama that has stereotyped characters exaggerated emotions, conflict that pits & all-good hero/heroine against an all-evil villain

metaphor

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between 2 things that are basically dissimilar

metaphysical conceit

a far-fetched, extended long comparison between two very dissimilar things throughout the text

metaphysical poetry

the poetry of John Donne & other 17th century poets who wrote in a similar style

meter

a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

metonymy

a figure of speech when something very closely associated with a thing is used to stand for or suggest the thing itself

miracle play

a popular religious drama of medieval England

mock epic

a comic literary form that treats a trivial subject in the grand heroic style of the epic

morality play

an outgrowth of miracle plays; virtus and vices personified

motif

a recurring feature in a work of literature (e.g: name/img)

motivation

the reasons either stated/implied for character’s behavior

mystery play

a popular form of medieval religious drama based on biblical history

myth

a story often about immortals and sometimes connected w/ religious rituals intended to give meaning to the mysteries of the world

narrative poem

a poem that tells a story

narrator

one who narrates/tells a storyan etra

naturalism

an extreme form of realism

neoclassicism

a revival in the 17th & 18th centuries of classical standards of order, balance, and harmony in literature

novel

a book-length fictional prose narrative having many characters and often a complex plot