Test your basic knowledge |

AP Literary Terms

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






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






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






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






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






6. A simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited






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






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






9. The use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning






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






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






12. The depiction of people - things - and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect.






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






14. A word or phrase representing that which can be seen - touched - tasted - smelled - or felt






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






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






17. A forceful sermon - lecture - or tirade






18. An eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem






19. The choice of words in oral and written discourse






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






21. In contrast to Dionysian - it refers to the most noble - godlike qualities of human nature and behavior






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






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






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






25. A variety of poetry meant to entertain or amuse - but sometimes with a satirical thrust






26. The language of a work and its style; words - often highly emotional - used to convince or sway an audience






27. A lyric poem or passage that describes a kind of ideal life or place






28. A short - pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment






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






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






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






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






33. A tale in which a young protagonist experiences an introduction to adulthood. The character may develop understanding via disillusionment - education - doses of reality - or any other experiences that alter his or her emotional or intellectual maturi






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






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






36. A story containing unreal - imaginary features






37. 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...'






38. Three periods (. . .) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation






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






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






41. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






42. 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






43. A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness - although it may have a serious - scornful purpose.






44. The main idea or meaning - often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built






45. A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words - clauses - or sentences: 'They promised freedom but provided slavery'






46. 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






47. A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things






48. A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter - rhyme - or some other plan






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






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