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






2. A rendering of a quotation in which actual words are not stated but only approximated or paraphrased






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






11. A story containing unreal - imaginary features






12. A direct verbal assault; a denunciation






13. A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play - usually connected to the main plot






14. A work of literature dealing with rural life






15. A verse with five poetic feet per line






16. French term for the world of books - criticism - and literature in general






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






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






19. A lyric poem usually marked by serious - respectful - and exalted feeling towards the subject






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






28. A French verse form calculated to appear simple and spontaneous but consisting of nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes






29. 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






30. A pair of rhyming lines in a poem






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






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






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






34. The emotional tone in a work of literature






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






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






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






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






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






40. 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






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






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






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






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






45. 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






46. A witty or ingenious thought; a diverting or highly fanciful idea - often stated in figurative language






47. The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry






48. A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities - as in 'ring-giver' for king and 'whale-road' for ocean






49. A forceful sermon - lecture - or tirade






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