AP Literature: Quiz 2 Terms

foil

a character whose qualities or actions serve to emphasize those of the protagonist by providing a strong contrast with them

foreshadowing

the organization and presentation of events and scenes in a work of fiction or drama so that the reader or observer is prepared to some degree for what occurs later in the work

frame narrative

the result of inserting one or more small stories within the body of a larger story that encompasses the smaller ones

free verse

poetry that is free of rhyme and meter resembling natural speech

grotesque

a character or location that is irregular, extravagant or fantastic in form

harmartia

the greek word for error or failure; slightly different from tragic flaw, which is a flaw of character

hubris

the greek word for insolence or affront, applied to the arrogance or pride of the protagonist in a tragedy in which he or she defies moral laws in the prohibitions of the gods.

hyperbole

exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally

imagery

the making of pictures in words

in medias res

latin for "the middle of things," the term describes the narrative practice of beginning a story in the middle of the action to involve the reader, and then sing one or more flashbacks to fill in what led up to that point

internal rhyme

rhyme which comes within the line

irony

the incongruity, or difference, between reality (what is) and appearance (what seems to be)

jargon

the special language of a profession or group

juxtaposition

the "side by side" comparison of two or more objects or ideals for the purpose of highlighting similarities or differences

limited pov

the narrator limits him;herself to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tells us only what the one character feels, thinks, sees or hears.

malapropism

the comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound, but different in meaning. functions to make characters look ignorant or amusingly uneducated.

metaphor

one thing, idea, or action, is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea or action, so as to suggest some common quality shared by the two

meter

the pattern of measured sound-units recurring more or less regularly in lines of verse

metonymy

figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a large idea

mood

the prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea...that appears throughout the same work

non sequitur

an inference or conclusion that does not follow established evidence or premises

novel of manners

a novel, usually comical and satirical, whose characters and plot emerge from and are limited by the social customs, values, habits and mores of a particular social class in a particular time and place

omniscient pov

the narrator knows all (godlike) and is free to tell us anything, including what the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do

onomatopeia

the use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to

oxymoron

a figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined in a single expression

parable

a brief tale intended to be understood as an allegory illustrating some lesson or moral

paradox

a statement or expression so surprisingly self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another sense in which it would be true

parody

a composition that ridicules another composition by imitating and exaggerating aspects of its content

pastoral

a poem dealing with rural life

pathetic fallacy

the presentation of nature as possessing human feelings

pathos

appeal to emotion

personification

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