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Test your basic knowledge |
AP Literary Terms
Start Test
Study First
Subjects
:
english
,
ap
,
literature
Instructions:
Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can
study here
.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.
This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole ('fifty masts' for fifty ships) or the whole signifies the part ('days' for life - as in 'He lived his days in Canada'). Also when the name of the material stands for the thing itself ('pigskin'
abstract
oxymoron
dramatic irony
synecdoche
2. Similar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is.
foot
verisimilitude
analogy
roman a clef
3. A term for the title character of a work of literature
personification
omniscient narrator
pulp fiction
eponymous
4. The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader - a viewer - or the world at large
style
denouement
persona
canon
5. A list of works cited or otherwise relevant to a subject or other work.
realism
hyperbole
bibliography
humanism
6. A novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action
style
Gothic novel
epic
sarcasm
7. A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter - rhyme - or some other plan
cacophony
metonymy
stanza
paraphrase
8. A humorous play on words - using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest different meanings
versification
romance
synecdoche
pun
9. A tale in which a young protagonist experiences an introduction to adulthood. The character may develop understanding via disillusionment - education - doses of reality - or any other experiences that alter his or her emotional or intellectual maturi
coming-of-age story
frame
caesura
plot
10. A concise but ingenious - witty - and thoughtful statement
motif
epigram
litotes
ballad
11. A figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated. Ex: 'The White House says...'
ode
metonymy
fable
annotation
12. The quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that suprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene
denotation
elliptical construction
wit
burlesque
13. A sharp - caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony - which is more subtle
hyperbole
connotation
sarcasm
allusion
14. The interpretation or analysis of a text.
protagonist
frame
explication
paradox
15. The excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their death
diction
point of view
hubris
rhetoric
16. A word or phrase representing that which can be seen - touched - tasted - smelled - or felt
canon
frame
image
exegesis
17. The action in a play or story that occurs after the climax and that leads to the conclusion and often to the resolution of the conflict
fable
parable
roman a clef
falling action
18. A story containing unreal - imaginary features
fantasy
ellipsis
frame
oxymoron
19. A term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experience; also nauseatingly nostalgic and mawkish
voice
first-person narrative
oxymoron
sentimental
20. The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker
Gothic novel
blank verse
voice
idyll
21. A short tale often featuring nonhuman characters that act as people whose actions enable the author to make observations or draw useful lessons about human behavior
figurative language
litotes
adage
fable
22. A person - scene - event - or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set
blank verse
anachronism
assonance
sarcasm
23. A form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw and a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguish
metaphysical poetry
sarcasm
tragedy
rhyme scheme
24. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry
rhythm
fantasy
blank verse
exegesis
25. A simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited
verse
aphorism
indirect quotation
ballad
26. A rendering of a quotation in which actual words are not stated but only approximated or paraphrased
paraphrase
indirect quotation
epithet
muse
27. A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes
allegory
villanelle
belle-lettres
oxymoron
28. A popular form of verse consisting of fourteen lines and a prescribed rhyme scheme.
rhyme scheme
epic
naturalism
sonnet
29. Two rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter and used widely in eighteenth-century verse.
narrative
rhetorical stance
metaphysical poetry
heroic couplet
30. The main idea or meaning - often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built
theme
antithesis
euphony
indirect quotation
31. Pleasing - harmonious sounds
euphony
prosody
classicism
lyric poetry
32. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry
prosody
pun
paraphrase
belle-lettres
33. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation
theme
invective
litotes
apostrophe
34. A highly regarded work of literature or other art form that has withstood the test of time
anachronism
bombast
picaresque novel
classic
35. The total environment for the action in a novel or play. It includes time - place - historical milieu - and social - political - and even spiritual circumstances
extended metaphor
pseudonym
setting
style
36. In poetry - the use of successive lines with no punctuation or pause between them
diction
quatrain
pulp fiction
enjambment
37. The high point - or turning point - of a story or play
personification
protagonist
climax
rhetorical stance
38. A sentence containing a deliberate omission of words. In the sentence 'May was hot and June the same -' the verb 'was' is omitted from the second clause
mode
farce
elliptical construction
protagonist
39. The works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studied
irony
bathos
canon
climax
40. A detailed analysis or interpretation of a work of literature
hubris
exegesis
belle-lettres
synecdoche
41. A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness - although it may have a serious - scornful purpose.
oxymoron
caricature
style
farce
42. A figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics
ambiguity
idyll
aphorism
personification
43. In literature - the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem
pseudonym
ottava rima
Middle English
deus ex machina
44. The choice of words in oral and written discourse
diction
bathos
Bildungsroman
kenning
45. A quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea
elliptical construction
montage
metaphysical poetry
belle-lettres
46. The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence
epigram
tone
genre
loose sentence
47. A literary style used to poke fun at - attack - or ridicule an idea - vice - or foible - often for the purpose of inducing change
epithet
satire
tragedy
stanza
48. A unit of stressed and unstressed syllables used to determine the meter of a poetic line.
narrative
mode
catharsis
foot
49. The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction
ottava rima
denouement
carpe diem
novel of manners
50. A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. Ex: He's not a bad dancer
sentimental
litotes
annotation
Middle English