Question 1

Simile

Accepted Answer

A figure of speech comparing one thing to another thing of a different kind with the words “like” or “as”

(“...I will protect you like a hunted dove that I have saved from a hawk's claws.”—the use of a simile emphasizes Torvald patronizing of Nora in A Doll’s House)

Question 2

Metaphor

Accepted Answer

A figure of speech that implies similarity between two (unrelated) concepts

(“her voice is full of money” represents Gatsby’s desire to obtain Daisy’s love in The Great Gatsby)

Question 3

Personification

Accepted Answer

Assigning human characteristics to something nonhuman

(“[The eyes of TJ Eckleburg] look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose”—personifies the billboard eyes of TJ Eckleburg in The Great Gatsby)

Question 4

Allusion

Accepted Answer

A reference to something without directly mentioning it

(the “four horsemen” in Beloved allude to the Apocalypse described in the Book of Revelations)

Question 5

Irony

Accepted Answer

The use of words to express the opposite of the literal meaning of those words

(types: verbal irony, situational irony, dramatic irony)

Question 6

Verbal irony

Accepted Answer

When a speaker says one thing but means another; the intended meaning differing from the literal meaning

(Marc Antony calling Brutus “an honorable man,” just after Brutus helped murder Caesar)

Question 7

Situational irony

Accepted Answer

When some event happens that is very different from what was expected to happen

(Romeo killing himself because he believes Juliet is dead which then causes Juliet to kill herself is the opposite of the expected happily ever after)

Question 8

Dramatic irony

Accepted Answer

When the reader is aware of a truth that the characters are not aware of

(the audience knows that Juliet is asleep, not dead, but Romeo believes her to be dead)

Question 9

Imagery

Accepted Answer

Visually descriptive or figurative language

(“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”—The Great Gatsby)

Question 10

Symbolism

Accepted Answer

Using symbols to represent ideas

A symbol is a person/place/thing that represents more than itself

(in The Great Gatsby, the green light symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes/dreams for the future and the general quest for the American Dream)

Question 11

Motif

Accepted Answer

A repeating image, object, idea, or symbol

Question 12

Allegory

Accepted Answer

A story/poem that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning

(The Lord of the Flies is an allegory for the human impulse toward both civilization and savagery)

Question 13

Juxtaposition

Accepted Answer

Placing two contrasting elements next to each other

Question 14

Alliteration/Assonance

Accepted Answer

A series of words starting with the same letter

(“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”—The Great Gatsby)

Question 15

Diction

Accepted Answer

The wording/linguistic choices the writer makes to convey an idea, point of view, or story

(see: colloquial diction, denotation vs. connotation)

Question 16

Colloquial diction

Accepted Answer

The use of informal expressions

(“Damn!” / “y’all”)

Question 17

Denotation vs. connotation (in diction)

Accepted Answer

Denotation: The literal/primary meaning of a word (the color “blue”)

Connotation: The idea/feeling a word suggests (the girl was “blue”)

Question 18

Hyperbole

Accepted Answer

An exaggeration or overstatement

(“Past cure I am, now reason is past care”—Shakespeare uses hyperbole to describe his love and desire in Sonnet 147)

Question 19

In medias res

Accepted Answer

Beginning a narrative in the middle of a crucial situation

Author connects the dots over time

(Oedipus Rex begins in medias res after Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother)

Question 20

Satire

Accepted Answer

A style of writing that uses humor to mock a person or belief

(Animal Farm is a political satire of the Russian Revolution)

Question 21

Archetype

Accepted Answer

A recurring personality, place, or figure that is found across cultures and time periods

(archetype of “star-crossed lovers” in Romeo and Juliet)

Question 22

Oxymoron

Accepted Answer

A figure of speech pairing two opposite or contradictory words

(“seriously funny”, “unbiased opinion”, “sweet sorrow”)

Question 23

Paradox

Accepted Answer

A statement that seems contradictory, but reveals a truth upon closer analysis

(“Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once”—Julius Caesar)

Question 24

Extended Metaphor / Conceit

Accepted Answer

A metaphor that extends over multiple lines, often using “sub-metaphors” to draw multiple parallels

(Shakespeare comparing his subject to a summer day in Sonnet 18)

Question 25

Anagnorisis

Accepted Answer

The hero becoming aware of a sitaution or true character; discovery

(Oedipus discovering his true identity and learning that he married his mother in Oedipus Rex)

Question 26

Caesura

Accepted Answer

A pause or interruption in a poem

(“To be or not to be, [pause] that is the question”—Hamlet; caesura is a pause, while enjambment removes a pause)

Question 27

Cacophony vs. Euphony

Accepted Answer

Cacaphony: a harsh and discordant mixture of sounds

Euphony: a harmonious and pleasant combination of words

Question 28

Hamartia

Accepted Answer

A hero’s fatal flaw leading to their downfall

(Hamlet’s indecisiveness and inability to act)

Question 29

Metonymy

Accepted Answer

Referring to a thing/concept/idea by the name of a different thing/concept/idea

(“the pen is mightier than the sword”—the “pen” is a metonym for writing, and the “sword” is a metonym for military strength; similar to synecdoche)

Question 30

Synecdoche

Accepted Answer

A figure of speech where a part is used to represent the whole, or vice-versa

(“It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down”—Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby uses synecdoche with “the ear” to imply that the whole person is listening to Daisy’s voice)

Question 31

Anaphora

Accepted Answer

Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

(“I have a dream...” in MLK’s I Have a Dream speech)

Question 32

Deus Ex Machina

Accepted Answer

a person/thing introduced to a situation unexpectedly that provides a solution to a seemingly insoluble problem

(in Lord of the Flies, a navy ship docks onto the island to save the boys)

Question 33

Chiasmus

Accepted Answer

When words/concepts are repeated in a reverse order

(“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action”—Hamlet)

Question 34

Characterization

Accepted Answer

An author using details to reveal a character’s values, feelings, goals, etc.

(see direct vs. indirect characterization)

Question 35

Direct vs. Indirect characterization

Accepted Answer

Direct: The author directly tells us what the character is like

Indirect: The author reveals attributes about the character by describing their actions, thoughts, etc.

Question 36

Static vs. Dynamic character

Accepted Answer

Static: A character that does not change throughout a story

Dynamic: A character that changes in some important way throughout a story

(see flat vs. round character)

Question 37

Flat vs. Round character

Accepted Answer

Flat: A one-dimensional character with no complex motivations or personality

Round: A multidimensional with competing motivations and a realistic personality

(see static vs. dynamic character)

Question 38

Foil

Accepted Answer

A character that contrasts with another character to emphasize the other character’s traits

(Mrs. Linde is a foil for Nora in A Doll’s House)

Question 39

Antihero

Accepted Answer

A central character that lacks conventional “hero” qualities

(Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby is an antihero because of his egoism, obsessions, and delusions; see hamartia)

Question 40

Point of View

Accepted Answer

The angle or perspective used to tell a story

Question 41

Stream of consciousness

Accepted Answer

A method of narration that uses a character’s internal (often jumbled) thoughts to describe events

(Chapters 20-23 of Beloved, where Sethe, Denver, and Beloved reveal their internal thoughts and desires)

Question 42

Climax

Accepted Answer

The height of conflict and intrigue in a narrative

Question 43

Denouement

Accepted Answer

The final part of a narrative/play where the conflict is solved

Question 44

Epiphany

Accepted Answer

A moment where a character has a sudden insight/realization that changes their understanding of the world

(Nora realizing that her marriage with Torvald is an illusion in A Doll’s House)

Question 45

Soliloquy

Accepted Answer

A speech by a character addressed to themselves while they are alone on the stage

(Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy)

Question 46

Foreshadowing

Accepted Answer

A hint by the writer of future events; creates tension

(Gatsby disappearing into the “unquiet darkness” in Ch. 1 of The Great Gatsby foreshadows his death in Ch. 8)

Question 47

Flashback

Accepted Answer

A scene that is set in a time earlier than the main story

(Toni Morrison reveals many details in Beloved through flashbacks)

Question 48

Apostrophe

(literary device)

Accepted Answer

An exclamatory passage in a speech/poem addressed to a person (typically dead/absent) or a thing (typically personified)

(“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”—Juliet addresses an “absent” Romeo who is, in fact, nearby)

Question 49

Catharsis

Accepted Answer

The emotional release at the end of a tragedy

(Brutus experiences catharsis through suicide to rid himself of the guilt of killing Caesar)

Question 50

Sonnet

Accepted Answer

A 14 line poem with a certain rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter

Question 51

Shakespearean/English Sonnet

Accepted Answer

A sonnet with three quatrains and a concluding couplet

Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Question 52

Petrarchan/Italian Sonnet

Accepted Answer

A sonnet with

an eight-line stanza (octave), rhyming ABBAABBA

a six-line stanza (sestet), rhyming CDCDCD or CDECDE

Question 53

Heroic Couplet

Accepted Answer

A pair of rhyming iambic pentameters

(found at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet)

Question 54

Iambic Pentameter

Accepted Answer

A rhythmic structure that combines unstressed and stressed syllables in groups of five

(“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”—Sonnet 18)

Question 55

Free verse

Accepted Answer

Poetry that doesn’t rhyme or have a regular pattern

Question 56

Enjambment

Accepted Answer

Continuing a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line/stanza

(“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”—Hamlet)

Question 57

Elegy

Accepted Answer

A meditative poem lamenting the death of someone important to the writer

Question 58

Sestina

Accepted Answer

A poem with six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoy

Question 59

Haiku

Accepted Answer

A three-line poem with 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively

AP Literature, AP Literature Flashcards