AP English Literature and Composition – Literary Terms Practice Test

These questions are part of the practice quiz. Start practicing

• What is the exact/literal meaning of a word found in the dictionary called?
• What is referred to as the thesis in a literary work?
• What is the term for a harmonious succession of sounds used in poetry and prose?
• Which term refers to a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry?
• What term describes excessive pride or arrogance that results in the protagonist's downfall in a tragedy?
• What type of literary work features a protagonist of high status engaged in significant struggle, often ending in disaster?
• What term is defined as repeating the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause?
• What term is used to describe the repetition of the same consonant sounds or beginning several words with the same vowel sound?
• What does the theme of a story typically represent?
• Which literary term describes a brief reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance?
• What do you call a speech given by one character?
• What is a shorter poem that expresses an emotional state in a single, unified impression called?
• Which term describes two lines of verse that form a unit in poetry?
• What is the term for a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"?
• Which term describes the character that opposes the protagonist?
• What type of irony occurs when the opposite of what is expected happens?
• What does the term 'style' imply in a literary context?
• What process involves revealing a character's personality?
• What term describes the struggle between opposing forces in a narrative?
• What term refers to a type or category of literary work, such as poetry, essay, or drama?
• What is the term that indicates the perspective from which a story is told?
• What type of narrative poem is characterized by its epic subject and lyric form?
• Which literary technique involves addressing an absent person or imaginary concept?
• Which term refers to a conversational and informal style of language?
• Which type of poem is characterized as long, lyrical, and usually serious or meditative in nature?
• What is the term for a long speech by one character in a play?
• What term refers to a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, government, and society?
• What is the literary term for the repetition of consonant sounds within words?
• What figure of speech refers to something by using the name of something associated with it?
• What term describes a mild or indirect word used to replace one that is harsh or offensive?
• Which word describes a strong anxiety and unhappiness, often accompanied by a feeling of dread?
• What term refers to the resolution of a story's plot?
• Which term describes the emotional tone that surrounds a scene?
• What term is used for figurative language that involves a direct comparison?
• What term refers to the quality in literature that evokes feelings of pity or sadness?
• In literary analysis, which term best captures a character who serves as a contrast to another character?
• What term refers to background information provided to the audience to understand the plot?
• What term is used to describe a story's underlying message or theme?
• What is the purpose of comic relief in literature?
• What term describes the arrangement of words that expresses the author's individuality and intent?
• What term is used to describe the most exciting moment or turning point in a story?
• Which poetic foot consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable?
• What is the term for the character defect that leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy?
• What is the term for two or more syllables that create the smallest unit of rhythm in poetry?
• What term is used for a narrative that strays from the main point?
• Which of the following best describes an aphorism?
• What term describes a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest?
• What is an eight-line stanza commonly referred to as?
• What term refers to the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar?
• What term describes a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song?
• What is the term for the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning?
• Which term refers to the repetition of a vowel sound within closely placed words?
• What term describes a comparison using "like" or "as"?
• What term describes the time and place in which the story occurs?
• What is the name of a metrical line that consists of five feet?
• What is the definition of a simile?
• What do we call a fanciful expression, typically an extended metaphor between dissimilar objects?
• What term describes a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature?
• Which term describes a poetic effect that produces a pleasant sound?
• What is the term for the omission of conjunctions from a sentence?
• What term is used to describe a clash between opposing forces in literature?
• What type of poetry lacks a regular meter or rhyme scheme?
• What literary device is described as a comparison without using like or as?
• Which term refers to an unrealistic or dreamlike element blended with realistic settings in literature?
• What term is used for a six-line stanza, commonly associated with the second division of an Italian sonnet?
• Which term describes the use of many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect?
• What is the term for two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter?
• Which term describes a character's development or change throughout the story?
• In poetry, what is a couplet?
• What term describes an emotional release that provides relief from anxiety?
• What term describes the role or facade that a character presents to an audience?
• What term refers to a quotation at the beginning of a literary work that foreshadows its theme?
• In literature, what term refers to the main character of a story?
• What do we call a humorous imitation of a serious work or style?
• Which term describes a speech given by a character alone on stage?
• Which of the following describes a short poem consisting of five unrhymed lines?
• Which word describes something fantastic, comically hideous, or strange and unnatural?
• What is a caesura in poetry?
• What term represents the simultaneous existence of conflicting feelings or thoughts about a person, object, or idea?
• Which term best describes a work intended to provoke laughter through exaggerated styles or ridiculous scenarios?
• A question asked for effect that does not require an answer is known as what?
• What do you call the use of deliberately outdated language in literature?
• Literature that aims to represent life as it truly is described by which term?
• What literary term defines the use of humor or irony to criticize or mock a subject?
• What is the term for a sudden moment of realization or insight experienced by a character?
• Which of the following best defines 'dialect'?
• Which of the following best defines a syllogism?
• Which term is used to describe the omission of a word or phrase that is grammatically necessary but can be inferred from context?
• Which narrative perspective is characterized by an external narrator who only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character?
• What term describes a principal idea, feature, or repeated element in a literary work?
• What is an archetype?
• Which literary device involves attributing human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects?
• What term describes a way of pronouncing words that indicates the place of origin or social background of the speaker?
• What literary term refers to a poem or song expressing lamentation?
• What term is used for a direct comparison between two unrelated subjects without using "like" or "as"?
• What is a critical or explanatory note that accompanies a literary work called?
• What characterizes the tone of a literary piece?
• A character who is complex and develops throughout a work is known as what?
• What is the term for excessive sentimentality that can lead to a laughable effect?
• What term describes a character whose personality contrasts sharply with those of another?
• Which literary device involves using language to convey the opposite of what is meant?
• What does blank verse primarily rely on in its structure?
• Which term describes harsh and dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry?
• Which term refers to what a word suggests beyond its literal definition?
• What does the term "antithesis" specifically involve in literary works?
• Which of the following descriptions best fits the term 'imagery' in literature?
• What term describes a statement that appears self-contradictory but may reveal a truth?
• Which element in a narrative refers to the peak of action or the turning point?
• Which term refers to the arrangement and organization of sentences in writing?
• What literary device gives human-like qualities to non-human things?
• What is defined as the author's attitude towards the audience and characters in a literary work?
• What literary device involves the insertion of a past event in a narrative sequence?
• What term is used to describe poetry that uses elaborate conceits and expresses the complexities of love and life?
• In poetry, what does the term "pentameter" specifically relate to?
• Which of the following is the definition of a metaphor?
• When describing a character's traits and qualities, what is the term that specifically refers to the author's method?
• What is the primary purpose of a prologue in a literary work?
• What literary device is utilized when a speaker says one thing but means another?
• What is the purpose of a foreshadowing device in literature?
• What do you call a stanza or poem consisting of four lines, typically with alternate rhymes?
• What is the term for a recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story?
• Which term refers to an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally?
• Which term refers to the time and place of a story?
• What term describes the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences?
• What is the main purpose of using parallelism in writing?
• What distinguishes an anticlimax from a genuine climax in literature?
• What is a symbol in literature?
• What is a metaphor that is extended throughout an entire work, often elaborated on in detail?
• In a tragedy, what is the term for the event that leads to the hero's or heroine's downfall?
• Which term is used to describe a significant struggle faced by a protagonist?
• What term describes a figure of speech in which incongruity is used to showcase a contrast between expectations and reality?
• What device is used to create a recurring theme or motif throughout a work?
• Which type of poetry is characterized by its emotional expression and often musical quality?
• Which of the following terms refers to a humorous scene or speech in a serious work?
• What genre features ridiculous situations and light comedy, often including slapstick humor?
• Which literary term refers to creating emotional appeal through narration or rhetoric?
• What is the term for a character who is not well-developed and exhibits few distinct traits?
• What type of poem is characterized as an Italian sonnet comprised of an octave and sestet?
• What term describes the formation of a word by imitating a sound associated with its referent?
• What type of poetry consists of unrhymed lines with a regular rhythm, often in iambic pentameter?
• What literary term refers to when a character experiences a sudden realization about themselves or their situation?
• What is a recurring symbol or motif in literature called?
• What is a recurring theme or symbol seen throughout a literary work called?
• Which term best describes the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage?
• What term is used for the resolution of the conflict in a narrative?
• What is a concise statement that conveys a general truth or principle called?
• What is the definition of 'enjambment' in poetry?
• What is a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter called?
• What do you call a line of poetry that contains five iambs?
• What is the term for a writer's or speaker's choice of words?
• What is the literary term for a device that conveys the opposite of what is expected?
• Which literary device refers to extreme exaggeration?
• What does a third person omniscient narrator know?
• Which literary technique presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur?
• Which literary device uses exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally?
• Which technique involves suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work?
• What is an unsatisfying turn of events that serves as a substitute climax called?
• What is the term for the attitude of a writer towards a subject or audience?
• What is a generalized belief about a group of people known as?
• What type of irony occurs when events turn out the opposite of what was expected?
• What is the term for a figure of speech that produces an incongruous effect, such as in the phrase "cruel kindness"?
• Which literary device uses hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot?
• Which of the following refers to the unique way an author uses language?
• Which term refers to a style that is extravagantly ornate and flamboyant?
• What concept refers to the narrative technique that combines multiple perspectives or voices?
• Which term describes the structure of poetry that contains distinct rhythmic patterns?
• What is a short speech delivered to an audience or another character called?
• How is an apostrophe used in literature?
• What is a lesson taught by a literary work commonly referred to as?
• Which literary term describes language or writing that exposes follies or abuses by holding them up to ridicule?
• What does the term 'syntax' refer to in the context of literature?
• Which term refers to the art of presenting ideas clearly, effectively, and persuasively?
• Which choice best defines a 'theme' in literature?
• Which of the following best describes a narrative technique that presents the thoughts of a character directly?
• Which term refers to the central idea or dominant theme in a literary work?
• Which literary term refers to a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor with characters, a setting, and other symbols innately possessing both literal and figurative meanings?
• What is a long narrative poem that presents the adventures of heroic characters and important historical events?
• Which term describes language that is based upon the actual meaning, as it meets the eye?
• Which literary device involves the repetition of similar grammatical structures?
• What is the term for a figure of speech that reverses the order of words in phrases?
• What term describes a word inside a line that rhymes with another word on the same line?
• What is the term for a repeated image or idea that conveys a deeper meaning within a text?
• Which of the following entails descriptions that appeal to the senses?
• Which device involves arrangement of words or phrases to create a recognizable pattern or rhythm?
• What term refers to symbolism that transcends a single story, becoming a part of the broader cultural or literary tradition?
• Which literary device involves an exaggeration used for emphasis or effect?
• Which literary movement emphasizes imagination and emotions?
• What term best describes a character opposing the main character?
• What term refers to something that is out of its proper historical time?
• Which term refers to addressing something nonhuman as if it were human?
• What term is used to describe the atmosphere felt in a particular literary work?
• What is the type of irony where the audience knows something that the characters do not?
• What is the term for a play on words?
• Which literary device involves balancing two opposing ideas or phrases?
• Which word describes a work that is intended to teach excessively?
• A poem that addresses a particular subject or person with deep emotion is typically known as what?
• What is it called when the audience or reader is aware of more than the characters in a story?
• Which term refers to an abrupt transition in style often resulting in humor?
• What is the term for sneering and often ironic language intended to hurt a person's feelings?
• What literary element provides a sense of closure and relief in a narrative?