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. 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






2. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow






3. A form of verse or prose that tells a story






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






5. An eight-line rhyming stanza of a poem






6. Providing hints of things to come in a story or play






7. A mocking - satirical assault on a person or situation






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






9. A concise but ingenious - witty - and thoughtful statement






10. The work of poets - particularly those of the seventeenth century - that uses elaborate conceits - is highly intellectual - and expresses the complexities of love and life






11. The grammar of meter and rhythm in poetry






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






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






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






15. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






16. A detailed analysis or interpretation of a work of literature






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






18. A work of literature dealing with rural life






19. 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.






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






21. A sentence containing a deliberate omission of words. In the sentence 'May was hot and June the same -' the verb 'was' is omitted from the second clause






22. '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.






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






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






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






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






27. 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.






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






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






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






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






32. A figurative comparison using the words like or as






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






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






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






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






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






38. The dictionary definition of a word






39. The pattern of rhymes within a given poem






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






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






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






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






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






45. A humorous play on words - using similar-sounding or identical words to suggest different meanings






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






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






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






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






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