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AP Lit terms
AP Lit literary terms
88
Literature
12th Grade
09/22/2010

Additional Literature Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Affective Fallacy
Definition
"confusing a work of literature with its effects on the reader" - doesn't talk about the text itself, but focuses on how the text makes a reader feel or respond.
Term
Ambiguity
Definition
A Fault in style; use of vague or equicoval expression
Term
Amphibrach
Definition
unstressed-stressed-unstressed
Term
amphimacer
Definition
stressed-unstressed-stressed
Term
anacrusis
Definition
unstressed syllable at the start of a line of poetry that does not contribute to the meter. Like a musical grace note
Term
anadiplosis
Definition
means to double back; repeats word or phrase that appears at then end of a sentence or clause at the beginning of the next one. "fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering"- yoda star wars
Term
Antimetabole
Definition
the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order (ex: "I know what I like, and like what I know"). Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country
Term
Antistrophe
Definition
Part of ode sung by chorus in Greek tragedy in returning movement from West to East in response to strophe
Term
Apollonian Structure
Definition
Classical, refined, controlled, calm, formal
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
Addresses something inhuman, dead, or absent
Term
Approximate rhyme
Definition
Also slant, imperfect, near or oblique rhyme-almost rhymes by not quite, as in "push" and "rush"
Term
Artistic Unity
Definition
All elements of a piece work together to achieve a central purpose
Term
Bathos
Definition
"ludicrous decent from the elevated to the commonplace, anticlimax"
Term
Bildungsroman
Definition
Coming of age novel
Term
Breve
Definition
Symbol for an unstressed syllable (looks like a U)
Term
Caesura
Definition
Pause in speech, usually in the midst of alliteration
Term
Catalexis
Definition
The absence of a syllable in the last metrical foot of a line or verse
Term
Catharsis
Definition
Aristotelian term meaning relase experienced by audience at end of tragedy
Term
Chiasmus
Definition
Figure of sppeche in which two clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the two clauses display inverted parallelism. An example of a parallel sentence is "he knowingly lied and we blindly followed" (ABAB). inverting into chiasmus: "He knowingly lied and we followed blindly" (ABBA)
Term
Continuous Form
Definition
The form of a poem in which lines are not formally grouped and break according to rules, just meaning
Term
Denotation
Definition
Dictionary definition
Term
Deus ex machina
Definition
"god from the machine"-improbably rescue froman impossible situation on stage
Term
Diacope
Definition
Repetition after an intervening word or phrase (In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. Paul Harvey)
Term
Dichotomy
Definition
Opposites on the same spectrum, like good/evil
Term
Didactic Literature
Definition
Teaches a lesson
Term
Digression
Definition
Veering off topic; can contribute to understanding of a work in some cases
Term
Dionysian Structure
Definition
Free, less structured, irrational, exuberant, musical
Term
Double Rhyme
Definition
A rhyme in which the repeated vowel is in the penultimate syllable, like rightly, sprightly, Mr. Knightly, politely. A form of feminine rhyme.
Term
Dramatic Conventions
Definition
Any device in a play that isn't realistic but is accepted by audience and author as realistic or necessary
Term
Dramatic framework
Definition
The situation that the author creates for the characters to reveal his theme
Term
Eclogue
Definition
Short descriptive poem of pastoral life
Term
Exphrastic Poetry
Definition
Inspired by another work of art, usually visual art
Term
Elegy
Definition
Poem celebrating a dead person
Term
End rhyme
Definition
Rhymes that occur at the ends of lines
Term
End-stopped line
Definition
A line that ends in natural speech pause- usually punctuated
Term
Enjambment
Definition
"When once line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning. This is also called a run-on line."
Term
Epigram
Definition
Short, witty poem or saying expressing a single thought or observation (Here lies my wife: Here let her lie! Now she's at rest-- and so am I. -John Dryden)
Term
Epistrophe
Definition
Also epiphora; counterpart of anaphora; repetition of ends of 2+ successive sentences (of the people, by the people, for the people)
Term
Epitaph
Definition
What is written on a tombstone
Term
Epithalamion
Definition
Poem celebrating marriage
Term
Epithet
Definition
Defamatory or abusive word or phrase, also glorified nickname
Term
Epizeuxis
Definition
Repetition of a word for emphasis (and yes I said yes I will Yes- last line of Joyce's Ulysses)
Term
Euphony
Definition
Agreeable, pleasant sounds, usually vowel-heavy
Term
Expected rhythm
Definition
The basic meter of the poem-it sets you up to think the whole thing will be, say, iambic pentameter, so you notice metrical variations
Term
extended figure
Definition
a figure of speech sustained throughout several lines
Term
extra-metrical syllable
Definition
unaccented syllables at the beginnings or ends of lines
Term
feminine rhyme
Definition
rhyme between ending unstressed syllables (longing/yearning)
Term
Foil Character
Definition
Minor character whose situation parallels a major chracter and thus contrasts or distinguishes the major chracter
Term
Hamartia
Definition
ciminal act committed in ignorance
Term
Hubris
Definition
pride
Term
Ictus
Definition
Symbol to mark a stressed syllable. Looks like the Frech accent aigu
Term
Idyll
Definition
Short poem depicting peaceful, idealized country life
Term
In medias res
Definition
starting in the middle of things, an epic convention
Term
indeterminate ending
Definition
leavges the central conflict unresolved
Term
intentional fallacy
Definition
guessing the author's intent in writing based on evidence external to the writing
Term
internal rhyme
Definition
rhymin words occur withing th eline of poetry, not at the ends
Term
invective
Definition
spiteful, negative sppech; denunciation of a person usually using epithets
Term
Litotes
Definition
Understatement in which affirmative is expressed as negative (this is no small problem)
Term
Lyric Poetry
Definition
Expresses speaker's personal thoughts and feelings (ode, elegy, sonnet)
Term
masculine rhyme
Definition
the last syllable rhymes, most common- dance pants; rhyme between ending, stressed syllables
Term
metadrama
Definition
drama about drama. Also metafiction. Figure in the Carpet, Portrait of the Artist, 6 characters
Term
Metafiction
Definition
Fiction about a fiction (novel about a novelist etc.)
Term
Metaphysical conceit
Definition
overblown comparison, fairly unrealistic but clear, as in comparing woman to a rose
Term
Metonymy
Definition
the use of a related bject to represent something
Term
Mode
Definition
the way that the author conveys the mood of the piece. Focuses on style and genre.
Term
Monody
Definition
Song with continuous accompaniment
Term
Pathetic fallacy
Definition
assigning emotions to inanimate things- more than just personification, this is almost an abuse of the object and/or the reader (Cheerios is an example)
Term
Periodic Structure
Definition
A sentence in which the main clause or predicate is withheld until the end. Despite heave winds and nearly impenetrable ground fog, the plane landed safely.
Term
Phonetic intensive
Definition
A word whose sound, by an obscure process, to some degree suggests its meaning. As differentiated from onomatopoeic words, the meanings of phonetic intensives do not refer explicity to sounds
Term
Picarsque
Definition
Involves clever rogues or adveturers (picaros) who are usually lower class and live by their wits in a corrupt society. Usually humorous
Term
Prose Meaning
Definition
The total meaning of the poem- appears when you paraphrase it
Term
Prose poem
Definition
Technically written as prose, looks like a paragraphm but language is clearly poetic, often makes use of figurative language and even meter. compact, rhythmic, use poetic devices but written in sentences without line breaks.
Term
Rhetorical Poetry
Definition
Aritificially elegant language, too "high-flown" and thus unrealistic
Term
Rhetorical Stress
Definition
Emphasizes meaning- metrical variations do not always do this, but often do
Term
Rhetorical stretegies
Definition
Elements creators of text use to put forth their arguments
Term
Rhyme Royal
Definition
The rhyme royal stanza consists of seven lines, usually in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is a-b-a-b-b-c-c-. In practice, the stanza can be constructed either as a tercet and two couplets (a-b-a, b-b, c-c) or a quatrain and a tercet (a-b-a-b, b-c-c)
Term
Roman a Clef
Definition
Novel in which actual people/places/events are depictred in fictional story
Term
Stichomythia
Definition
Quich dialogue that goes back and forth (staccato)- usually short but very meaningful
Term
Substitution
Definition
In iambic pentameter, for example, if you throw in a trochee, usually to emphasize something or draw out meaning
Term
Syllogism
Definition
Logical argument (if A and B, then C)
Term
Synecdoche
Definition
The use of the part for the whole
Term
Synesthesia
Definition
Presentation of one sensory experience in terms of another one, like saying that the beach looks warm
Term
Terza Rima
Definition
Terza rima is a three-line stanza using chain rhyme in the pattern a-b-a, b-c-b, c-d-c, d-e-d. There is no limit to the number of lines, but poems or sections of poems written in terza rima end with either a single line or couplet repeating the rhyme of the middle line of the final tercet. The two possible endings for the example above are d-e-d, e or d-e-d, e-e. There is no set rhythm for terza rima, but in English, iambic pentameters are generally preferred.
Term
3rd person limited pov
Definition
only what one character thinks and feels
Term
Threnody
Definition
ode or song of lamentation, a type of dirge
Term
Volta
Definition
turn, shift in focus or meaning in a sonnet usually after line 8
Term
Zeitgeist
Definition
"time ghost"- the spirit of time
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