AP Lit Terms Test 4 (Onomatopoeia to Romance)

ONOMATOPOEIA

The use of words whose sounds echo their sense. Examples: "Pop." "Zap."

OXYMORON

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Examples: "Jumbo shrimp," "Pretty ugly," "Bitter-sweet"

PARABLE

A relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life.

PARADOX

A statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.

KOAN

A paradox used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge. Example: "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

PARALLEL STRUCTURE (Parallelism)

The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.

PARATACTIC SENTENCE

A sentence that simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences. Example: "I am tired: it is hot."

PARODY

A work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style.

PERIODIC SENTENCE

A sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements.

PERSONIFICATION

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.

PLOT

The series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline.

EXPOSITION

The part of the plot that introduces characters, situation, and setting.

RISING ACTION

The part of the plot involving complications in conflict and situations (may introduce new ones as well).

CLIMAX

The point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. Also called the "turning point."

RESOLUTION

The conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled. Often called the denouement.

POINT OF VIEW

The vantage point from which the writer tells the story.

FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW

One of the characters tells the story.

THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

An unknown narrator tells the story, but zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

OMNISCIENT POINT OF VIEW

An all-knowing narrator tells the story using third person pronouns, telling us everything about many characters.

OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW

A totally impersonal and objective narrator tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events.

POLYSYNDETON

A sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate items in a series. Instead of "X, Y, and Z" the writer uses "X and Y and Z."

PROTAGONIST

The central character in a story who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero. A tragic hero always has a hamartia (tragic flaw) leading to their downfall.

PUN

A "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things.

QUATRAIN

A poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.

REFRAIN

A word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem.

RHYTHM

A rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language.

RHETORIC

The art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.

RHETORICAL QUESTION

A question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer.

ROMANCE

In general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful.