AP Lit Terms Quiz #4

Euphony

The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work.

(Consonants: L, M, N, R, Soft V, Soft F, W, Y. Long Vowels: Ooo, Aaa, Eee. consonants like l, m, n, r, and soft v-sounds) to create a melodic effect, enhancing mood and beauty

ex. Poetry - John Keats, "Ode to Autumn": “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, / Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun...” The soft "s" sounds and long vowels create a soothing, calm mood. Poetry - Shakespeare, "Sonnet 18": “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” The flowing, rhythmic, and melodic phrasing creates a sense of lasting beauty. Poetry - Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The Lotos-Eaters": “Music that gentlier on the spirit lies, / Than tired eyelids upon tired eyes”. Prose - Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea: “They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.” Sweet birds sing. Softly she sleeps. Golden glow surrounds. Often used with alliteration and assonance (repeat of vowel sounds).

Exposition

Background information presented in a literary work.

ex. the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, “Two households, both alike in dignity…”, the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter

Fable

A simple, symbolic story usually employing animals as characters. Aesop and La Fontaine are authors who excel at this form.

ex.The Tortoise and the Hare (persistence), The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Fox and the Grape, The Wolf and the Lamb

Figurative Language

The body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. It includes metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, hyperbole, and others discussed in Chapter 8.

ex. “Juliet is the sun.” “They fought like cats and dogs.” “I’ve told you a million times.” “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” “The wind whispered.” “All hands on deck.”

Flashback

A device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, and episodes.

ex. The Great Gatsby, where Nick Carraway recalls his past advice to understand his present situation. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Foot

A metrical unit in poetry; a syllabic measure of a line: iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl, and spondee. The unit combining stressed (/) and unstressed (u) syllables to create meter (a patterned version of stressed and unstressed syllables). To decipher stressed from unstressed syllables, think of the Shout/Call Method: Imagine calling someone from across a room; the syllable you naturally hold longer is likely stressed (e.g., "TA-ble" vs. "ta-BLE").

ex. Iambic (unstressed-stressed, u /): The most common, mimicking natural English speech.

• Example: "de-stroy" or Keats' line, "When I have fears that I may cease to be". Or Shakespeare’s "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

• Trochaic (stressed-unstressed, / u): Creates a driving, often intense rhythm.

  • Example: "‘Double, double toil and trouble" (Shakespeare) or "‘Tapping at my chamber door" (Poe).

• Anapestic (unstressed-unstressed-stressed, u u /): Creates a galloping or light, skipping rhythm.

  • Example: "un-der-stand" or "Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown" (Byron).

• Dactylic (stressed-unstressed-unstressed, / u u): Creates a rolling, sometimes heavy rhythm.

  • Example: "Merri-ly" or "Picture yourself in a boat on a river" (Lennon/McCartney)

Foreshadowing

Hints of future events in a literary work.

ex. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, In Act 1, Scene 4, Romeo predicts that going to the Capulets' ball will begin "some consequence yet hanging in the stars" that will end in "untimely death," explicitly hinting at the tragic ending. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: The killing of Candy's old, useless dog foreshadows that Lennie will also be killed because he is no longer considered "useful" or able to be controlled. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The frequent, intense heat during the chapter where the climax occurs (Chapter 7) foreshadows the rising tension and the fatal confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.

Form

The shape or structure of a literary work.

ex. Sonnet (14-line structure): Used by Shakespeare to contain, contrast, or resolve intense emotional arguments.

• Free Verse: The lack of strict meter or rhyme, often used to reflect chaos, freedom, or natural, uninhibited thought.

• Stanzaic Structure: The division of a poem (e.g., quatrains) can create a sense of orderly progression, while enjambment between stanzas can create a breathless, rushed feeling.

• In Medias Res (Prose/Epic Form): Starting a story in the middle of action to bypass tedious exposition and engage the reader immediately.

• Stream of Consciousness: A narrative form that mimics the chaotic, uncensored, and continuous flow of human thought.

Free Verse

Poetry without a defined form, meter, or rhyme scheme.

ex. "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams: Demonstrates how free verse uses short, jagged line breaks to control speed and focus on concrete imagery, rather than following a set rhyme or meter, T.S. Eliot's "Portrait of a Lady.¨

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration. In “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose," Burns speaks of loving “until all the seas run dry.”

ex. Macbeth (Shakespeare): "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?" — Highlights overwhelming guilt.

• Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare): "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep; the more I give to thee, / The more I have..." — Emphasizes the intensity of Juliet's love.

• Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad): "I had to wait in the station for ten days—an eternity." — Exaggerates the subjective experience of time.

• "Plenty" (Isabel Dixon): "...each month was weeks too long." — Conveys the desperation and slow passage of time during poverty.