AP English Literature and Composition Semester One Final Exam Study Guide

These flashcards cover key concepts and details from the AP English Literature and Composition Semester One Final Exam Study Guide, focusing on poetry analysis, literary concepts, and characteristics of poetic forms.

What does short fiction typically focus on?

A single event, character, or theme.

What are the essential elements of storytelling in short fiction?

Plot, characters, setting, point of view, and theme.

What does 'in medias res' mean in storytelling?

Starting in the middle of the action.

What is plot structure in a story?

The arrangement of events typically including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

What defines a round character?

A round character is complex and multidimensional with fully developed personalities.

What is the difference between flat characters and round characters?

Flat characters are one-dimensional and serve as archetypes, while round characters are complex and evolve.

What is the role of setting in a story?

Setting provides the time, place, and social context for the characters' actions.

What does atmosphere refer to in literature?

The emotional tone or mood created by the setting, language, and imagery.

What are the types of narrations mentioned?

First-person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient, second-person, and stream of consciousness.

What is symbolism in literature?

The use of objects, characters, or events to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

What is imagery?

The use of vivid, descriptive language to create mental pictures and sensory impressions.

What is a metaphor?

A direct comparison between two unrelated things.

What is the purpose of figurative language in poetry?

To add depth, reinforce themes, and invite interpretation.

What is a sonnet?

A 14-line poem typically written in iambic pentameter.

What is enjambment in poetry?

The continuation of a sentence or phrase beyond the end of a line without a pause.

What are the three main questions to analyze a poem?

What does the poem say? How does the poem say what it says? Why does the poem matter?

What defines narrative poetry?

It tells a story with characters and a plot.

What is a villanelle?

A 19-line poem divided into five tercets followed by a quatrain, using two repeating rhymes and refrains.

What is similie

/ A comparison using “like” or “as”

What is Metaphor

A direct comparison between unlike things

What is personification

Giving human qualities to non-human entities

Apostrophe

Addressing someone or something absent or non-human as if present

metonomy

Substituting a related object or concept for the thing itself (e.g., the crown for monarchy).

synecdoche

A part representing the whole or the whole representing a part (e.g., All hands on deck).

allegory

A narrative with a second, symbolic meaning beneath the surface.

paradox

A statement that appears contradictory but reveals a truth (e.g., The child is father of the man).

hyperbole (overstatement)

Deliberate exaggeration for effect (e.g., I’ve told you a million times).

understatement

Downplaying something for emphasis (e.g., It’s just a scratch for a large wound).

irony

A contrast between expectation and reality, often used for humor or criticism.

form

The overall design or shape of a poem, determined by structure, rhythm, and rhyme scheme.

lines

The basic units of a poem, which may vary in length and meter

stanzas

Groups of lines forming units, similar to paragraphs in prose.

end stopped line

A line in which a sentence or thought ends with punctuation.

enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or phrase beyond the end of a line without a pause.

caesura

a pause within line of poetry often marked by punctuation

lyric poetry

Poetry that expresses personal emotions or thoughts, often musical (e.g., sonnets, odes).

dramatic poetry

Poetry that presents a scene or dialogue from a character’s perspective (e.g., dramatic monologues).

sestina

A 39-line poem made of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoi, using rotating end words.

volta (turn)

A shift in thought, tone, or argument, often occurring in the ninth line of a Petrarchan sonnet or the final couplet of a Shakespearean sonnet.

shifts

Changes in tone, perspective, subject, or form that signal transitions in meaning or mood that add complexity, emphasize key ideas, or marks emotional or thematic turning points.

contrasts

The juxtaposition of opposing elements such as light/dark or life/death.

function of contrasts

Highlights tension, reinforces themes, and engages the reader through dynamic interplay.