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






2. 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...'






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






4. The emotional tone in a work of literature






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






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






7. The action in a play or story that occurs after the climax and that leads to the conclusion and often to the resolution of the conflict






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






9. The background and events that lead to the presentation of the main idea or purpose of a work of literature






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






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






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






13. A novel focusing on and describing the social customs and habits of a particular social group






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






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






16. A poet; in olden times - a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment






17. Novels written for mass consumption - often emphasizing exciting and titillating plots






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






19. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry






20. A return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances.






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






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






23. A verse with five poetic feet per line






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






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






26. A phrase - idea - or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature






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






28. The pattern of rhymes within a given poem






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






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






31. A cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy






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






33. 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






34. A saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truth






35. 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'






36. A piece of writing that reveals weaknesses - faults - frailties - or other shortcomings






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






38. The structural form of a line of verse as revealed by the number of feet it contains. For example: monometer = 1foot; tetrameter = 4 feet; pentameter = 5 feet - and so forth






39. An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form






40. '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.






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






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






43. Pleasing - harmonious sounds






44. A story containing unreal - imaginary features






45. An eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem






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






47. A short tale often featuring nonhuman characters that act as people whose actions enable the author to make observations or draw useful lessons about human behavior






48. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






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






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