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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. The language spoken in England roughly between 1150 and 1500 A.D.
ellipsis
Old English
tragedy
Middle English
2. A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness - although it may have a serious - scornful purpose.
free verse
mode
simile
farce
3. A poet; in olden times - a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment
first-person narrative
canon
bard
dramatic irony
4. A figurative comparison using the words like or as
ottava rima
omniscient narrator
persona
simile
5. A feeling of association or identification with an object or person
heroic couplet
euphemism
empathy
denotation
6. The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase
ballad
metaphysical poetry
connotation
eponymous
7. A mocking - satirical assault on a person or situation
bombast
Dionysian
periodic sentence
lampoon
8. An eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem
meter
loose sentence
ottava rima
kenning
9. A brief explanation - summary - or evaluation of a text or work of literature
annotation
roman a clef
litotes
diction
10. In literature - the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem
deus ex machina
carpe diem
wit
annotation
11. A term for the title character of a work of literature
dramatic irony
euphemism
eponymous
lampoon
12. 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
farce
alliteration
litotes
annotation
13. The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction
humanism
denouement
abstract
euphemism
14. The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose
figurative language
setting
alliteration
belle-lettres
15. The background and events that lead to the presentation of the main idea or purpose of a work of literature
exposition
bard
romance
light verse
16. An extended narrative poem that tells of the adventures and exploits of a hero that is generally larger than life and is often considered a legendary figure - i.e. Odysseus - Beowulf - Homer's Iliad - Vergil's Aeneid.
pentameter
blank verse
epic
consonance
17. Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect
protagonist
stanza
denotation
hyperbole
18. One of the ancient Greek goddesses presiding over the arts. The imaginary source of inspiration for an artist or writer
muse
narrative
litotes
catharsis
19. A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter - rhyme - or some other plan
stanza
expose
adage
image
20. The dictionary definition of a word
euphemism
denotation
kenning
exegesis
21. '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.
anachronism
pastoral
in medias res
elliptical construction
22. A verse with five poetic feet per line
coming-of-age story
lampoon
pentameter
verbal irony
23. The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem.
point of view
allusion
theme
figurative language
24. The high point - or turning point - of a story or play
climax
simile
onomatopoeia
euphemism
25. 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.
mock epic
elegy
in medias res
Middle English
26. A return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances.
flashback
coming-of-age story
irony
empathy
27. A locution that addresses a person or personified thing not present
Gothic novel
denotation
aphorism
apostrophe
28. A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes
parable
villanelle
empathy
carpe diem
29. A person - scene - event - or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set
euphemism
idyll
anachronism
eponymous
30. A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation
ambiguity
moral
idyll
belle-lettres
31. A story containing unreal - imaginary features
canon
title character
fantasy
heroic couplet
32. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetry
meter
blank verse
adage
aphorism
33. A work of literature dealing with rural life
verse
pastoral
picaresque novel
bombast
34. Inflated - pretentious language used for trivial subjects
bombast
kenning
sonnet
hubris
35. Novels written for mass consumption - often emphasizing exciting and titillating plots
moral
rhythm
pulp fiction
ottava rima
36. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow
satire
pathos
blank verse
rhythm
37. 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'
fantasy
synecdoche
montage
light verse
38. A concise but ingenious - witty - and thoughtful statement
aphorism
harangue
epigram
dramatic irony
39. The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence
tone
eponymous
exegesis
euphemism
40. A forceful sermon - lecture - or tirade
harangue
pathetic fallacy
foreshadowing
indirect quotation
41. Two rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter and used widely in eighteenth-century verse.
Dionysian
heroic couplet
flashback
tone
42. A cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy
catharsis
free verse
montage
first-person narrative
43. The use of insincere or overdone sentimentality
allusion
explication
bathos
conceit
44. The emotional tone in a work of literature
protagonist
mood
voice
sentiment
45. A work of fiction of roughly 20 -000 to 50 -000 words--longer than a short story - but shorter than a novel
naturalism
novella
verse
metonymy
46. A term often used as a synonym for realism - also a view of experience that is generally characterized as bleak and pessimistic.
metaphor
epigram
naturalism
allusion
47. A term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctuation.
end-stopped
lyric poetry
coming-of-age story
assonance
48. A character whose name appears in the title of the novel or play; also known as the eponymous character
rhythm
pathetic fallacy
title character
in medias res
49. A character or force in a work of literature that - by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict
epigram
antagonist
rhetoric
irony
50. A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things
coming-of-age story
end-stopped
plot
analogy