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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.
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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 dictionary definition of a word






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






3. A character whose name appears in the title of the novel or play; also known as the eponymous character






4. Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect






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






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






7. A sharp - caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony - which is more subtle






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






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






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






11. Inflated - pretentious language used for trivial subjects






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






13. 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...'






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






15. The main character in a work of literature






16. 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






17. The use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning






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






19. The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose






20. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry






21. A verse with five poetic feet per line






22. A novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action






23. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






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






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






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






27. An eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem






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






29. A popular form of verse consisting of fourteen lines and a prescribed rhyme scheme.






30. A story consisting of events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derived






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






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






33. The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase






34. The Anglo-Saxon language spoken in what is now England from approximately 450 to 1150 A.D.






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






36. A style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind






37. An adjective or phrase that expresses a striking quality of a person or thing - ex. sun-bright topaz - sun-lit lake - sun-bright lake






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






39. A term that describes characters' excessive emotional response to experience; also nauseatingly nostalgic and mawkish






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






41. A literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional response






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






43. A work of literature dealing with rural life






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






45. A unit of stressed and unstressed syllables used to determine the meter of a poetic line.






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






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






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






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






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