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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.
  • 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. Pleasing - harmonious sounds






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






3. That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow






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






5. The excessive pride that often leads tragic heroes to their death






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






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






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






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






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






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






12. The interpretation or analysis of a text.






13. The emotional tone in a work of literature






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






15. 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






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






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






18. 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'






19. 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






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






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






22. A work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation






23. A sentence that departs from the usual word order of English sentences by expressing its main though only at the end. In other words - the particulars in the sentence are presented before the idea they support.






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






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






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






27. Inflated - pretentious language used for trivial subjects






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






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






30. The quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that suprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene






31. The dictionary definition of a word






32. Grating - inharmonious sounds






33. 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






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






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






36. A quick succession of images or impressions used to express an idea






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






38. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in poetry






39. 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






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






41. A term used to describe literary forms - such as novel - play - and essay






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






43. A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true






44. One of the ancient Greek goddesses presiding over the arts. The imaginary source of inspiration for an artist or writer






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






46. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






47. The act of determining the meter of a poetic line.






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






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






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