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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. A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things






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






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






4. A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play - usually connected to the main plot






5. 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






6. A pause somewhere in the middle of a verse - often (but not always) marked by punctuation






7. A detailed analysis or interpretation of a work of literature






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






9. The total environment for the action in a novel or play. It includes time - place - historical milieu - and social - political - and even spiritual circumstances






10. A term often used as a synonym for realism - also a view of experience that is generally characterized as bleak and pessimistic.






11. A novel focusing on and describing the social customs and habits of a particular social group






12. A rendering of a quotation in which actual words are not stated but only approximated or paraphrased






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






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






15. The choice of words in oral and written discourse






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






17. A reference to a person - place - or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea






18. A list of works cited or otherwise relevant to a subject or other work.






19. A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation






20. The generic name for a figure of speech such as image - symbol - simile - and metaphor






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






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






23. A work of fiction of roughly 20 -000 to 50 -000 words--longer than a short story - but shorter than a novel






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






25. 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






26. A forceful sermon - lecture - or tirade






27. 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.






28. French for a novel in which hisotrical events and actual people appear under the guise of fiction






29. A figurative comparison using the words like or as






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






31. The high point - or turning point - of a story or play






32. A humorous play on words - using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest different meanings






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






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






35. 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'






36. As distinguished from Apollonian - the word refers to sensual - pleasure-seeking impulses






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






38. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetry






39. A pair of rhyming lines in a poem






40. A literary style used to poke fun at - attack - or ridicule an idea - vice - or foible - often for the purpose of inducing change






41. The implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature






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






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






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






45. A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities - as in 'ring-giver' for king and 'whale-road' for ocean






46. A person - scene - event - or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set






47. A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true






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






49. Grating - inharmonious sounds






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







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