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AP Literary Terms

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 saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truth






2. A character or force in a work of literature that - by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict






3. A simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited






4. A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness - although it may have a serious - scornful purpose.






5. An abbreviated synopsis of a longer work of scholarship or research






6. The manner in which an author uses and arranges words -






7. The choice of words in oral and written discourse






8. The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines in poetry and prose






9. Novels written for mass consumption - often emphasizing exciting and titillating plots






10. The act of determining the meter of a poetic line.






11. A parody of traditional epic form. It usually treats a frivolous topic with extreme seriousness - using conventions such as invocations to the Muse - action-packed battle scenes - and accounts of heroic exploits.






12. Providing hints of things to come in a story or play






13. The main idea or meaning - often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built






14. A figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics






15. Grating - inharmonious sounds






16. The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader - a viewer - or the world at large






17. A synonym for view or feeling; also a refined and tender emotion in literature






18. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry






19. Pleasing - harmonious sounds






20. A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words - clauses - or sentences: 'They promised freedom but provided slavery'






21. A four-line poem or a four-line unit of a longer poem






22. Personal - reflective poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings about the subject






23. The main character in a work of literature






24. The repetition of two or more consonant sounds in a group of words or a line of poetry






25. The excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their death






26. A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic - metaphorical - or possibly an ethical meaning






27. The interpretation or analysis of a text.






28. Three periods (. . .) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation






29. A term for the title character of a work of literature






30. Two rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter and used widely in eighteenth-century verse.






31. A structure that provides premise or setting for a narrative






32. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry






33. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow






34. 'In the middle of things'--a Latin term for a narrative that starts not at the beginning of events - but at some other critical point.






35. A synonym for poetry. Also a group of lines in a song or poem; also a single line of poetry






36. The background and events that lead to the presentation of the main idea or purpose of a work of literature






37. In literature - the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem






38. 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'






39. The interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events - including exposition - rising action - climax - falling action - and resolution.






40. A discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words






41. A series of comparisons between two unlike objects






42. The language spoken in England roughly between 1150 and 1500 A.D.






43. A sentence that follows the customary word order of English sentences - i.e. subject-verb-object. The main idea of the sentence is presented first and is then followed by one or more subordinate clauses






44. A form of verse or prose that tells a story






45. A return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances.






46. A brief and often simplistic lesson that a reader may infer from a work of literature






47. A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity






48. A saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in metaphorical language






49. The depiction of people - things - and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect.






50. The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence