A figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using like or as

When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience

The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry

A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone

a work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner

the primary position taken by a writer or speaker

A statement that seems impossible or absurd but expresses a possible truth

An intensely passionate verse, usually of love or praise

The attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects

A long narrative (adventure) poem about the history of a nation or race

An emotional or psychological cleansing that brings relief or renewal

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Final syllable of first word rhymes with final syllable of second word

A word is used with two adjacent words, but only makes sense with one

Refers to the stressed portion of a word

A word that is used to stand for something else that it has attributes of

A contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens

A character speaks alone on stage to show his thoughts to the viewers

a literary work idealizing the rural life

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration for a variety of reasons

A figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms

An impersonal presentation of events and characters

Art of some form that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects

Academic (writing style)

Dry and theoretical writing, focusing only on analysis

A song of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

The use of deliberately old-fashioned language

Unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern

A protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero

A comedy that disregards seriousness, although it may have a deeper purpose

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

A fanciful expression, usually an extended metaphor or strange analogy

Chorus (in Greek drama)

A group of citizens who stand outside the action on stage and comment on it

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life

a poem or speech expressing sorrow

A simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson

a brief statement that presents the main points in a concise form

A series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form

a grammatical situation involving the words "if" and "were"

Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred

Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for an offensive term

Giving human characteristics to abstract ideas, etc.

Cheesy theatre where characters are overemphasized versions of themselves

Conformity to accepted standards of conduct; proper behavior

the speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author

Last two syllables of first word rhyme with last two syllables of next word

a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

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AP Lit Vocabulary Review

100 termsStudBud Administration21 plays

On the AP Lit exam, there will be many abstract terms and intense vocabulary thrown at you. The best way to prepare for this is to memorize these words, and to learn them early.

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Questions 100

Answers

1
Metaphor
A figure of speech comparing two similar things using like or as
A figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using like or as
A figure of speech comparing two similar things without using like or as
A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using like or as
2
Dramatic monologue
When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience
When a single character has something unavoidable happen that changes lives
When a single speaker whispers something to another character
When a single character dies alone
3
Foot (in poetry)
Something on the bottom of our leg
The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry
Another name for a stanza in poetry
A poem that uses archaic language
4
Epitaph
A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone
A short poem outlining a regret of the writer
A poem that has been written by hand
Something that looks better further away than close
5
Parody
a fantastical reality that characters are unaware they are in
a long journey characters go on to find themselves
a work which imitates another in a ridiculous manner
something too good to be true
6
Protagonist
The love interest of the main character
The main character
The rival of the main character
The secondary character
7
Thesis
the primary position taken by a writer or speaker
the last paragraph in an essay
what the entirety of the book is about summarized in concise language
another word for "annotations"
8
Paradox
The answer that seems a lot more simple once it is figured out
A statement that seems impossible or absurd but expresses a possible truth
An empty box that is never empty until it's opened
A false reality
9
Rhapsody
Death and destruction
The melodic sound of words in a poem
A verse that references the Bible
An intensely passionate verse, usually of love or praise
10
Anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects
The genealogical study of humans
When a person turns into an animal
Superheroes in fiction that don't manage to save the world
11
Epic (in literature)
Something completely awesome
A long narrative (adventure) poem about the history of a nation or race
A long poem that has no clear purpose
A bombastic poem about the differences in races
12
Catharsis
A sudden shock
Somewhere the character can go to relieve himself
The realization that a character might have about the plot
An emotional or psychological cleansing that brings relief or renewal
13
Foreshadowing
The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot
A dark moment that overshadows the character
The overused plot of a drama
An instance that doesn't make sense from a plot perspective
14
Masculine Rhyme
A manly poem
Final syllable of first word rhymes with final syllable of second word
When several words within the same line of a poem rhyme
Words that don't rhyme but we accept them as rhyming words
15
Zeugma
A word meant to be shared with another word
A word is used with two adjacent words, but only makes sense with one
The last line of a poem
A skin disease
16
Accent (in poetry)
The way the poem sounds
Refers to poems that need to be spoken instead of read silently
Poems that were originally a different language
Refers to the stressed portion of a word
17
Metonym
A word that is made up by the writer because no other words express it
A word that is used to stand for something else that it has attributes of
Freedom of expression in poetry
The rhythmic cadence of a poem
18
Irony
When you get the wrinkles out of your clothes
Something dramatic, but unknown
A contradiction of ideas
A contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens
19
Soliloquy (in drama)
A character speaks privately to another character
A character speaks alone on stage to show his thoughts to the viewers
A character speaks to his/her love interest
A character does actions on stage without speaking
20
Pastoral
a literary work that strays far from society's expectations
a literary work idealizing the rural life
a literary work about poor children
a literary work that has been lost to time
21
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that is used when no other words fit
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration for a variety of reasons
A figure of speech that is used in place of a lie
Someone with way too much energy
22
Theme
The time period that a story takes place in
The place that a story takes place
The first time the character realizes that they must act.
The main idea of a story
23
Oxymoron
A word that sounds fake but is actually real
A character's foil
The character's inability to figure out the plot
A figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms
24
Objectivity
When a writer gets too attached to their characters
A character's love interest
An impersonal presentation of events and characters
What the character is working towards
25
Caricature
A character that only has one line in a play
Art of some form that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects
A soft sound meant to distract the audience
The character that relieves tension
26
Academic (writing style)
Writing that takes a good hard look at the future
Introspective writing that deals with subjects hard to define
Complex writing, using intangible qualities like good and evil; no support
Dry and theoretical writing, focusing only on analysis
27
Dirge
A long boat used for shipping
A song of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person
People from a village who have not had contact with society
Ascension to another realm of possibility
28
Archaism
The use of deliberately old-fashioned language
An old man at the end of his life
When a book shifts from talking about the present to talking about the past
An old dog: Vincent
29
Free Verse
Unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern
A poem that rhymes
A poem without a title
Lyrical poetry meant to be acquiesced by the reader
30
Antihero
Someone in literature who does bad things
Superman
A protagonist who falls in love
A protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero
31
Farce
A comedy that disregards seriousness, although it may have a deeper purpose
A dramatic moment that goes on for too long
A poem that is really about a wish the author has
A ironic moment that is only so due to the absurdity
32
Alliteration
Repetition of initial vowel sounds
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
A poem that repeats the same words over and over
When something sounds trashy
33
Conceit (in writing)
A historical fact that has been disputed due to literature
Someone who believes they are better than other people
A fanciful expression, usually an extended metaphor or strange analogy
A comparison between two things that are very unlikely to ever meet
34
Chorus (in Greek drama)
Words that rhyme
A group of people singing
Another word for opera
A group of citizens who stand outside the action on stage and comment on it
35
Aphorism
Drug use within literary works
A clever character
When you get tricked into believing something is true but it's not
A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life
36
Plaint
a poem or speech expressing sorrow
a poem about lost love
a nonchalant character that falls into good circumstances
A final word said to a character's love interest
37
Requiem
A poem or song about regret
A song or prayer for the dead
A secondary source
A poem about love
38
Parable
A modern day fairy tale
A story that has its roots in ancient literature
Stanley's life
A simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson
39
Summary
a character's driving force
a five paragraph essay
a brief statement that presents the main points in a concise form
another word for annotations
40
Parallelism
Two characters that share identical circumstances but have different lives
Two plots that happen simultaneously
Two characters that have the same personality
A series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form
41
Subjunctive Mood
a scene that is set in order to convey emotions
a grammatical situation involving the words "if" and "were"
a grammatical mistake that made it to print
a sensitive subject in literature
42
Anachronism
Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
A word that sounds a lot like another word but means something different
A fantastical figure that represents the anti-Christ
A figure in literature that represent Christ
43
Cadence
The name of the most famous character in literature
A harsh, jarring sound
Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words
A scene that is full of opulance
44
Euphemism
Words that are far from the truth
a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for an offensive term
Another word for Shakespeare's collection of plays
A skill that is useless now
45
Personification
The struggles that every human knows
A complex thought following a insane idea
Giving human characteristics to abstract ideas, etc.
Giving animal characteristics to a human
46
Melodrama
Theatre where the audience is expected to stay silent the whole time
Cheesy theatre where characters are overemphasized versions of themselves
A free play
A play that is only made to be funny, disregarding consistencies
47
Decorum
A type of poetry where every third line must rhyme
Conformity to accepted standards of conduct; proper behavior
A well-decorated house
A military salute
48
Lampoon
One of Shakespeare's comedies
Ridicule with satire
A character only there to provide comic output
A light in your bedroom
49
Persona
the speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author
a robot that assumes the identity of a human
the last person who speaks in a book with many perspectives
an anime
50
Feminine Rhyme
Words that don't really rhyme, but we accept them as a rhyme
Last two syllables of first word rhyme with last two syllables of next word
A rhyme that happens multiple times within the line of a poem
A rhyme that is used so much, writers don't like using it anymore
51
Travesty
a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation
a travelling group that sells objects
two words that don't go together
when the audience knows something is wrong but the characters don't
52
Hubris
A character meant to die
Excessive pride that results in the downfall of the main chararacter
The main character's inability to see the situational irony
A character that serves as the comedic relief
53
Utopia
A place characters go after they die
A terrible place nobody would ever want to live
Somewhere that isn't here
An imaginary place considered perfect or ideal
54
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
Something symbolizing light
Something that looks like it's there but really isn't
An imaginatory situation within writing
55
Gothic Novel
A novel that has death in it
A novel where everyone wears black clothes
A novel that is set in the Dark Ages
A novel with supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors
56
Pathos
a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)
a quality that arouses interest (especially in the characters)
a quality that a character shares with another
a character's overconfidence
57
Tragic Flaw
a tragedy that the audience knows is coming but the characters don't
the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his/her downfall
the end goal of a character
the worst part about the main character
58
Aesthetic
Sentences where the words are carefully chosen to complement each other
Words that make you sound really smart when you use them
When a poem uses scenes of nature to talk about something else
Used as an adjective meaning "appealing to the senses"
59
Black Humor
Humor that the audience doesn't find funny but characters do
A plague that swept through Europe, killing most of the population
The use of disturbing themes in comedy
Racist jokes
60
Assonance
The repetition of a word several times in one sentence
The repetition of vowel sounds
An odd word
A false assumption
61
Couplet
Two different words that mean the same thing
A couple destined to tragedy, for example "Romeo and Juliet"
When the same thing happens to a character twice in a novel
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
62
Lyric (in poetry)
The words of a song
A category of poetry that expresses emotion (often in a songlike way)
Words in a poem that are meant to be sang
A category of poetry that encompasses different types of comedy
63
Colloquialism
An expression used in the past but no longer used today
A little known fact
Something much further away than it orignally seems to be
Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing
64
Canto
The rhythmic trotting of a horse
The end of a poem
A major division of a long poem
Words that jump around from place to place
65
Anticlimax
The feeling a literary work evokes when you want to read more
A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events
A sexual scene in a novel that has dark undertones
What happens after you sneeze
66
Dramatic Irony (in theatre)
Irony when the audience understands something the characters don't
When something is funny because of the situation the characters are in
Irony when the worst thing happens despite the characters trying to stop it
Irony that is ironic
67
Truism
A saying that is told for so long that it becomes accepted as fact
An unknown truth
A truth that is disguised as a lie
An obvious truth
68
Pun
A poem that references another poem
A play on words, using words with similar sounds but different meanings
A grammatical mistake in a finalized work
Something funny to some but not funny to others
69
Ballad (in poetry)
A poem about love
A poetic device to evoke feeling in a reader
Any popular narrative poem, often an epic subject and usually in lyric form
A guitar solo in a rock song
70
Refrain (in poetry)
Something the author wants to say but doesn't
A poem that does not rhyme
Repetition of lines in different places of a poem
A poem about the loss of someone or something important
71
Apostrophe (in literature)
Address to an absent or imaginary person
The comedic relief in a play
A person who gets in between the love of two other people
A sudden stop in a poem
72
Stock Characters
The last character to speak in a novel
Clichéd character types: the drunk, the miser, the foolish girl, etc.
Characters that only exist in order to die
Characters that only exist to further the plot
73
Consonance
Repetition of constant noise within lyrics
Repetition of a phrase within a poem
A constant irritation to the main character
Repetition of consonant sounds
74
Aside
A sudden uproar by the audience
A line said by an actor to the audience, not to those on stage
Lines that are meant to be whispered
Colloqual language for: "the other side of town"
75
Bombast
Speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning
When you mess up so badly, you have to stop
All of the meaning put together in one place
The most important stanza in a poem
76
Stanza
A group of two lines in a poem that rhyme
Words that don't rhyme in a poem
a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
A group of lines that rhyme in a poem
77
Rhetorical Question
A question?
A question that has no answer because we can't solve it
A question that isn't meant to be answered
A question that is meant to be answered
78
Onomatopoeia
A type of potato
When an animal is given human characteristics
A word that is used when there is no other word that fits
The use of words that imitate sounds
79
Analogy
A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way
A funny feeling you get when something is wrong
A comparison of two similar things that don't make sense together
A work of literature that nobody knows where it came from
80
Connotation
A deep friendship between two characters
A friendship that lasts for only a short time but means a lot in literature
An unlikely friendship between two characters that used to be enemies
The implied or associative meaning of a word
81
Allegory
A poem about someone who has died
A literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas; a symbol
A literary work that is a reference to someone famous
Using animals in place of important historical figures
82
Subjectivity
When the subject and noun do not agree
When a character does something that intereferes with the plot
Presentation of events or characters influenced by the authors feelings
When an author speaks on a character or event with emotional detachment
83
Elegy
A lyrical poem set in the past
Words said to another character privately
The clothes that a writer decides to dress his characters in
A formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme
84
Inversion
What happens outside of what we see in a scene
Entering into the deep thoughts of a character
The reversal of the normal order of words
When a character subverts our expectations
85
Nemesis
The protaganist's love interest
The protagonist's arch enemy
The protaganist's true goal that they must find out
The proganist's best friend
86
Antecedent
The last chapter of a book
A frustrating work of literature
The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers earlier
A character that arrives on stage before another character
87
Denotation
A place far from the setting of the book or play
When something is misheard but taken for fact
What people think a word means when it actually means something different
The dictionary definition of a word
88
Anecdote
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
A comedic line at the end of a poem
Words that don't make logical sense
A short narrative
89
Enjambment (in poetry)
A poem that goes on for too long
The forced movement of one stanza to the next
When you stop each line of a poem with punctuation
The continuation from one line into the next line without punctuation
90
Interior Monologue
A character's relief to find that a situation is better than it seemed
A long passage of a character's internal thoughts, memories, and ideas
A single character speaking to another character privately
A single character's fall into dark and unfortunate circumstances
91
Euphony
Anything you've heard enough to memorize
Any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds
A poem with a good cadence
A harsh, jarring sound
92
Dissonance
Something pleasing on the ears
Harsh or grating sounds that do not go together
The waves of the ocean crashing upon the shore
When two characters have completely different points of view
93
Symbolism
something that looks better from further away
a large sound that is unpleasant
an idea that will never die
a device in literature where an object represents an idea
94
Diction
Nothing, you made this word up
The words that are written and published
What the words in a dictionary mean
A writer's or speaker's choice of words
95
Satire
a poem that is about love
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor
a poem that mourns the loss of individuality
a literary work that is about the break down of society
96
Cacophony
Harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
The word for when a character is very ill and going to die
A pleasant sound
A musical number that goes with a piece of writing
97
Foil (in literature)
A silvery substance used to wrap food
A character whose personality and attitude are opposite another
A character's family
Two similar characters
98
Atmosphere (as a literary device)
The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene.
A moment to take a breath during an intense moment in a novel
The word for when the main character and his love interest meet
What allows us to breathe
99
Abstract (writing style)
Writing that takes a good hard look at the future
Dry and theoretical writing, focusing only on analysis
Complex writing, using intangible qualities like good and evil; no support
Introspective writing that deals with subjects hard to define
100
Doggerel
Badly written or trivial verse, often with a singsong rhythm
A poem that doesn't rhyme
Animals that behave like humans in literature
A piece of writing before it has been revised

AP Lit Vocabulary Review Flashcards | StudBud