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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. An imaginary story that has become an accepted part of the cultural or religious tradition of a group or society






2. An extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places






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






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






5. 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'






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






7. 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






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






9. A figure of speech that compares unlike objects






10. The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence






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






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






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






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






15. A poem or prose selection that laments or mediates on the passing or death of something or someone of value






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. A term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create a paradoxical effect






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






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






25. The interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events - including exposition - rising action - climax - falling action - and resolution.






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






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






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






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






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






31. A form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw and a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguish






32. 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...'






33. A figurative comparison using the words like or as






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






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






36. A statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before






37. The emotional tone in a work of literature






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






39. A discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words






40. The repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals - used mostly in poetry.






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






42. The dictionary definition of a word






43. Pleasing - harmonious sounds






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






45. Also called figure of speech. In contrast to literal language - it implies meanings. Includes metaphors - similes - and personification - among others.






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






47. '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.






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






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






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