AP LIT TERMS 75-145 (TEST)

iambic pentameter

iambic pentameter

A five-foot line made up of an unaccented followed by an accented syllable. It is the most common metric foot in English-language poetry.

imagery

Anything that affects or appeals to the reader’s senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell.

in medias res

In literature, a work that begins in the middle of the story.

interior monologue

A literary technique used in poetry and prose that reveals a character’s unspoken thoughts and feelings.

internal rhyme

A rhyme that is within the line, rather than at the end. The rhyming may also be within two lines, but again, each rhyming word will be within its line, rather than at the beginning or end.

inversion

A switch in the normal word order, often used for emphasis or for rhyme scheme.

litotes

A figure of speech and form of verbal irony consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite; it is a type of meiosis in which the writer uses a statement in the negative to create the effect.

lyric poem

A fairly short, emotionally expressive poem that conveys the feelings and observations of a single speaker.

meiosis

A euphemistic figure of speech that intentionally understates something or implies that it is lesser in significance or size than it really is; the opposite of exaggeration

metamorphosis

A radical change in a character, either physical or emotional.

metaphor

A figure of speech which compares two dissimilar things, asserting that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another.

meter

The rhythmical pattern of a poem. Just as all words are pronounced with accented (or stressed) syllables and unaccented (or unstressed) syllables, lines of poetry are assigned similar rhythms.

metonymy

A figure of speech that replaces the name of something with a word or phrase closely associated with it.

monologue

A long speech made by one person, often monopolizing a conversation.

myth

A story usually with supernatural significance, that explains the origins of gods, heroes, or natural phenomena. Although they are fictional stories, they contain deeper truths, particularly about the nature of humankind.

narrative poem

A poem that tells a story.

near/ off/ slant rhyme

A rhyme based on an imperfect or incomplete correspondence of end syllable sounds.

octave

An eight-line stanza; the first eight lines of a sonnet, especially one structured as an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet.

ode

Usually a lyric poem of praise written in moderate length with a serious subject, an elevated style, and an elaborate stanza pattern. The ___ often praises people, poetry, natural scenes, abstract concepts, etc..

onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds.

oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory words, placed side by side.

paean

A hymn sung in ancient Greece in invocation of or thanksgiving to a deity; any song of praise.

parable

A short story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.

paradox

Two contradictory ideas that seemingly reveal a truth.

parallelism

The repeated use of the same grammatical structure in a sentence or a series of sentences. This device tends to emphasize what is said and thus underscores the meaning. This can also refer to two or more stories within a literary work that are told simultaneously and that reinforce one another.

parody

A comical imitation of a serious piece of literature with the intent of ridiculing the author or his work.

pastoral

A poem, play, or story that celebrates and idealizes the simple life of shepherds and shepherdesses.

pathos

The quality of a literary work or passage which appeals to the reader’s or viewer’s emotions.

periodic sentence

A sentence that delivers its point at the end; usually constructed as a subordinate clause followed by a main clause.

personification

The attribution of human characteristics to an animal or to an inanimate object.

point of view

Perspective of the speaker or narrator in a literary work.

polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions in close succession.

prose

the ordinary language people use to express themselves; the opposite of poetry.

protagonist

The main or principal character in a work; often considered the hero or heroine.

physiognomy

The assessment of a person's character or personality from his or her outer appearance, especially the face. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object or terrain.

pun

Humorous play on words that have several meanings or words that sound the same but have different meanings.

quatrain

Four-line stanza.

refrain

Repetition of a line, stanza, or phrase.

repetition

A word or phrase used more than once to emphasize an idea.

rhetorical question

A question with an obvious answer, so no response is expected; used for emphasis or to make a point.

satire

The use of humor to ridicule and expose the shortcomings and failings of society individuals, and institutions, often in the hope that change and reform are possible.

scansion

The process of measuring metrical verse; marking accented and unaccented syllables, dividing the lines into feet, identifying the metrical pattern, and noting significant variations from that pattern.

sestet

A six-line stanza of poetry; also, the last six lines of an Italian sonnet.

shift

In writing, a movement from one thought or idea to another; a change.

simile

A comparison of unlike things using the word like, as, or so.

soliloquy

A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.

english sonnet

Traditionally, a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter, but in contemporary poetry form may vary. A conventional ________ prescribed rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The final couplet (gg) sums up or resolves the situation described in the previous lines.

italian sonnet

Fourteen-line poem divided into two parts: the first is eight lines (abbaabba) and the second is six (cdcdcd or cdecde)

spondee

a metrical foot consisting of two syllables equally or almost equally accented.

stanza

A grouping of poetic lines; a deliberate arrangement of lines of poetry.

stock character

A stereotypical character; a type. The audience expects the character to have certain characteristics.

stream of consciousness

unbroken flow of thought and awareness of the waking mind; in a literary context used to describe the narrative method where novelists describe unspoken thoughts and feelings.

structure

________ techniques include chronological, nonlinear, stream of consciousness, and flashback.

style

The way a writer uses language. This takes into account diction, syntax, figures of speech, and so on.

surrealism

A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

syllogism

A three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise.

symbol

A concrete object, scene, or action which has deeper significance because it is associated with something else often an important idea or theme in the work.

synaesthesia

(from the Greek meaning "perceiving together"): The conflation (the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc. into one) of two or more senses (loud color).

synecdoche

a figure of speech where one part represents the entire object or vice versa.

syntax

The way in which words, phrases, and sentences are ordered and connected.

tercet

A three-line stanza exhibited in terza rima as well as in other poetic forms.

terza rima

An Italian form of iambic poetry having sets of three lines, the middle line of each set rhyming with the first and last of the succeeding: aba bcb cdc.

theme

The universal insight presented in a work. (NEVER simply one word)

tone

Refers to the speaker’s attitude toward the subject; often sets the mood of the piece.

tongue in cheek

Expressing a thought in a way that appears to be sincere but is actually joking

tragic flaw

Traditionally, a defect in a hero or heroine that leads to his or her downfall (hamartia)

transition/segue

The means to get from one portion of a poem or story to another; for instance, to another setting, to another character’s viewpoint, to a later or earlier time period. It is a way of smoothly connecting different parts of a work.

trochee

a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable.

understatement

A literary device in which a writer or speaker attributes less importance or conveys less passion than the subject would seem to demand.

verse

Metrical language; the opposite of prose.

zeugma

The use of a word or subject to govern two or more words in different ways.