ap lit terms 41-60

Fable

A very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral, or a practical life lesson about life.

Farce

a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations (slipping on a banna)

Figure of speech

word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood on a literal level

Flashback

A scene in a movie, play, short story, novel or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to "flash backward" and tell what happened at an earlier time.

Foil

a character who sets off another character by strong contrast

Foreshadowing

the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot

Frame story

an introductory narrative within which one or more of the characters proceed to tell a story

Free verse

poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, or create a comic effect

iambic pentameter

a line of poetry made up of five iambs

Imagery

language that appeals to the senses

in medias res

the technique of starting a story in the middle and then using a flashback to tell what happened earlier

irony

A contrast or discrepancy between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

dramatic irony

occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that a character in a play or story does not know

situational irony

occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate

verbal irony

occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something different

kenning

In Anglo-Saxon poetry, a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly.

lyric poetry

poetry that focuses on expressing emotions or thoughts, rather than on telling a story

maxim

a general truth or rule of conduct; a short saying

memoir

A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources

metaphor

A figure of speech that makes comparison between two seemingly different things without using like, as, then, or resembles

extended metaphor

A metaphor that is extended or developed, over several lines of writing or throughout an entire poem

dead metaphor

a metaphor that becomes so common (foot of bed)

mixed metaphor

the incongruous mixture of two or more metaphors

metaphysical poetry

a term applied to the poetry of John Donne, Andrew Marvell, and other seventeenth-century poets who wrote in a difficult and abstract style

Meter

a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry