AP Lit Terms Quiz #1

Subject

What the story is literally about

Theme

The underlying idea the writer is trying to argue

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces

External conflict

A conflict between a character and someone else/society/nature/something else

Internal conflict

A conflict between a character and themselves

Protagonist

The main character in a story’s central conflict

Antagonist

The character opposing the protagonist

Characterization

How the writer conveys character personalities

Direct characterization

When the writer directly describes a character’s personality/feelings through abstract statements

Indirect characterization

When a writer subtly implies personalities/feelings by actions in a way that must be inferred

Setting

Time and place where a story takes place

Point of view

Perspective from which a story is told from

1st person point of view

A point of view told by a character in the story

3rd person point of view

A point of view told by a narrator outside of the story

Dramatic point of view

When the narrator simply reports on what the characters do

Omniscient point of view

When the narrator can report on the thoughts and feelings of every character

Limited omniscience point of view

When the narrator selectively reports back on the thoughts and feelings of a select few characters