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






2. 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.






3. The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem.






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






5. A pair of rhyming lines in a poem






6. A sentence that follows the customary word order of English sentences - i.e. subject-verb-object. The main idea of the sentence is presented first and is then followed by one or more subordinate clauses






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






8. A circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character - ex. Oedipus Rex






9. 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...'






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






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






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






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






14. A series of comparisons between two unlike objects






15. An episodic novel about a roguelike wanderer who lives off his wits. Ex: Don Quixote - Moll Flanders






16. Language that conveys a speaker's attitude or opinion with regard to a particular subject






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






18. A narrative told by a character involved in the story - using first-person pronouns such as I and we.






19. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry






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






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






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






23. In poetry - the use of successive lines with no punctuation or pause between them






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






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






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






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






28. The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader - a viewer - or the world at large






29. 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






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






31. A verse with five poetic feet per line






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






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






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






35. The emotional tone in a work of literature






36. A figure of speech that compares unlike objects






37. Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect






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






39. A brief and often simplistic lesson that a reader may infer from a work of literature






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






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






42. A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic - metaphorical - or possibly an ethical meaning






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






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






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






46. A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity






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






48. A term for the title character of a work of literature






49. A term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctuation.






50. The main character in a work of literature