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AP Literary Terms

Subjects : english, ap, literature
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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. The act of determining the meter of a poetic line.






2. The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker






3. The language of a work and its style; words - often highly emotional - used to convince or sway an audience






4. A version of a text put into simpler - everyday words






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






6. A saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truth






7. A kind of poetry without rhymed lines - rhythm - or fixed metrical feet






8. Deriving from the orderly qualities of ancient Greek and Roman culture; implies formality - objectivity - simplicity - and restraint






9. A work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation






10. The interpretation or analysis of a text.






11. A grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things






12. 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.






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






14. An imaginary story that has become an accepted part of the cultural or religious tradition of a group or society






15. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry






16. A brief explanation - summary - or evaluation of a text or work of literature






17. 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






18. French term for the world of books - criticism - and literature in general






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






20. Literally - 'seize the day'; enjoy life while you can - a common theme in literature






21. A narrator with unlimited awareness - understanding - and insight of characters - setting - background - and all other elements of the story






22. Poetry written in iambic pentameter - the primary meter used in English poetry and the works of Shakespeare and Milton






23. A series of comparisons between two unlike objects






24. Faulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects






25. A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter - rhyme - or some other plan






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






27. The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object






28. A locution that addresses a person or personified thing not present






29. A mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term; i.e. 'pass away' instead of 'die'






30. A lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place






31. A piece of writing that reveals weaknesses - faults - frailties - or other shortcomings






32. The work of poets - particularly those of the seventeenth century - that uses elaborate conceits - is highly intellectual - and expresses the complexities of love and life






33. A feeling of association or identification with an object or person






34. 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'






35. A poet; in olden times - a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment






36. 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






37. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow






38. A concise but ingenious - witty - and thoughtful statement






39. The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction






40. A phrase - idea - or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature






41. 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






42. An extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places






43. 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






44. A figurative comparison using the words like or as






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






46. A statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before






47. Also called 'pen name' or 'nom de plume'; a false name or alias used by writers. Ex: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)






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






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






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