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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. An adjective or phrase that expresses a striking quality of a person or thing - ex. sun-bright topaz - sun-lit lake - sun-bright lake
romance
annotation
epithet
genre
2. A list of works cited or otherwise relevant to a subject or other work.
epigram
bibliography
foreshadowing
dramatic irony
3. A sentence that departs from the usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main though only at the end. In other words - the particulars in the sentence are presented before the idea they support.
blank verse
periodic sentence
foreshadowing
loose sentence
4. A character or force in a work of literature that - by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict
frame
antagonist
assonance
symbolism
5. A literary style used to poke fun at - attack - or ridicule an idea - vice - or foible - often for the purpose of inducing change
satire
heroic couplet
bombast
hubris
6. A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play - usually connected to the main plot
exegesis
mode
subplot
cacophony
7. Grating - inharmonious sounds
satire
flashback
canon
cacophony
8. 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...'
metonymy
motif
blank verse
carpe diem
9. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry
prosody
moral
muse
denouement
10. A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated - often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected
sentiment
irony
canon
maxim
11. Two rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter and used widely in eighteenth-century verse.
Old English
rhetoric
sonnet
heroic couplet
12. The main idea or meaning - often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built
plot
Bildungsroman
theme
picaresque novel
13. The language of a work and its style; words - often highly emotional - used to convince or sway an audience
flashback
bathos
rhetoric
burlesque
14. Providing hints of things to come in a story or play
diction
epigram
foreshadowing
verbal irony
15. A verse with five poetic feet per line
climax
pentameter
setting
exegesis
16. An imaginary story that has become an accepted part of the cultural or religious tradition of a group or society
myth
ellipsis
hubris
pathetic fallacy
17. A novel focusing on and describing the social customs and habits of a particular social group
moral
novel of manners
paradox
exegesis
18. A poet; in olden times - a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment
analogy
bard
symbolism
plot
19. A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic - metaphorical - or possibly an ethical meaning
adage
sentiment
allegory
protagonist
20. 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
Bildungsroman
litotes
setting
assonance
21. A figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics
ballad
personification
foot
ellipsis
22. French term for the world of books - criticism - and literature in general
belle-lettres
pun
hyperbole
canon
23. 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.
consonance
light verse
sentiment
plot
24. 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
metaphysical poetry
in medias res
synecdoche
non sequitur
25. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow
falling action
pathos
rhyme scheme
versification
26. The excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their death
protagonist
caesura
hubris
end-stopped
27. The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction
denouement
non sequitur
harangue
subtext
28. The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose
simile
verisimilitude
ambiguity
alliteration
29. A story containing unreal - imaginary features
image
subtext
fantasy
simile
30. A narrator with unlimited awareness - understanding - and insight of characters - setting - background - and all other elements of the story
euphemism
trope
dramatic irony
omniscient narrator
31. A quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea
mood
kenning
maxim
montage
32. Literally - 'seize the day'; enjoy life while you can - a common theme in literature
metonymy
carpe diem
paraphrase
oxymoron
33. A discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words
simile
verbal irony
quatrain
flashback
34. A novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action
Gothic novel
myth
bathos
antagonist
35. A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation
Gothic novel
exposition
frame
ambiguity
36. The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem.
point of view
aphorism
classic
carpe diem
37. The Anglo-Saxon language spoken in what is now England from approximately 450 to 1150 A.D.
farce
oxymoron
synecdoche
Old English
38. In poetry - the use of successive lines with no punctuation or pause between them
villanelle
belle-lettres
hubris
enjambment
39. Faulty reasoning that inappropriately ascribes human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects
blank verse
myth
elegy
pathetic fallacy
40. A grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things
metaphor
cacophony
personification
caricature
41. The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object
hyperbole
symbolism
mock epic
epic
42. A cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy
maxim
catharsis
romance
aphorism
43. A work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation
flashback
hyperbole
burlesque
paradox
44. The depiction of people - things - and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect.
idyll
Bildungsroman
Old English
realism
45. The implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature
apostrophe
romance
sentiment
subtext
46. Poetry written in iambic pentameter - the primary meter used in English poetry and the works of Shakespeare and Milton
blank verse
expose
theme
quatrain
47. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetry
meter
flashback
subtext
stanza
48. One of the ancient Greek goddesses presiding over the arts. The imaginary source of inspiration for an artist or writer
muse
epic
euphemism
climax
49. The use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning
onomatopoeia
deus ex machina
litotes
paradox
50. A lyric poem usually marked by serious - respectful - and exalted feeling towards the subject
muse
ode
meter
quatrain