AP English Literary Terms: Prose! Practice Test

21 Questions | By Jakespeed | Last updated: Mar 21, 2022 | Total Attempts: 503

Questions

Settings

Create your own Quiz

A quiz to help students study for the prose portion of the AP English exam.

Questions and Answers

1.

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other. Examples: (1) Give me wine, give me women and give me song. (2) For everything there is a season . . . a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.–Bible, Ecclesiastes. (3) To die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream.–Shakespeare, Hamlet.
- A.
  
  Alliteration
- B.
  
  Asyndeton
- C.
  
  Synecdoche
- D.
  
  Anaphora
- E.
  
  Connotation
2.

Placement of contrasting or opposing words, phrases, clauses, or sentences side by side. Following are examples: - I am tall; you are short. - The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.–Abraham Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address." - To err is human, to forgive divine.–Alexander Pope, "Essay on Criticism."
- A.
  
  Juxtaposition
- B.
  
  Antithesis
- C.
  
  Caesura
- D.
  
  Chiasmus
- E.
  
  Epigram
3.

A symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be recognizable as an element of one's literary experience as a whole. Examples consist of the "innocent babe," the "unheeded prophet," the "enchanted forest" and the "philosopher's stone"
- A.
  
  Archetype
- B.
  
  Metaphor
- C.
  
  Setting
- D.
  
  Motif
- E.
  
  Figurative language
4.

Use of words or phrases in a series without connectives such as and or so. Examples (1) One cause, one country, one heart.–Daniel Webster. (2) Veni, vidi, vici (Latin: I came, I saw, I conquered).–Julius Caesar.
- A.
  
  Run-on sentence
- B.
  
  Syntax
- C.
  
  Asyndeton
- D.
  
  Anaphora
- E.
  
  Fragment sentence
5.

Combining contradictory words to reveal a truth. Examples: (1) Parting is such sweet sorrow.–Shakespeare. (2) Working in a coal mine is living death. (3) The hurricane turned the lush island retreat into a hellish paradise.
- A.
  
  Paradox
- B.
  
  Oxymoron
- C.
  
  Syllogism
- D.
  
  Inversion
- E.
  
  Verisimilitude
6.

Type of comedy that relies on exaggeration, horseplay, and unrealistic or improbable situations to provoke laughter. In a farce, plotting takes precedence over characterization. Example: The Importance of Being Earnest
- A.
  
  Farce
- B.
  
  Hyperbole
- C.
  
  Slapstick comedy
- D.
  
  Parody
- E.
  
  Satire
7.

Recurring theme in a literary work; recurring theme in literature in general. Maltreatment of women is an example that appears in “Hills Like White Elephants,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway; “The Story of an Hour,” a short story by Kate Chopin; and “The Chrysanthemums,” a short story by John Steinbeck. The love of money as the root of evil is an example that occurs in many works of literature.
- A.
  
  Conceit
- B.
  
  Archetype
- C.
  
  Figurative language
- D.
  
  Imagery
- E.
  
  Motif
8.

The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development. Example: In The Great Gatsby, the explosive fight scene between Tom, Daisy and Gatsby at the hotel over their broken marriage is elegantly contrasted with a wedding scene in order to enhance the dysfunctional nature of their relationship.
- A.
  
  Syllogism
- B.
  
  Parallel structure
- C.
  
  Juxtaposition
- D.
  
  Paradox
- E.
  
  Oxymoron
9.

The situation in which the audience attending a dramatic presentation grasps the incongruity of a situation before the actors do. Example: In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo is unaware that Juliet is pretend-dead, so he kills himself even though the audience is aware that Juliet’s alive.
- A.
  
  Dramatic irony
- B.
  
  Situational irony
- C.
  
  Verbal irony
- D.
  
  Poetic justice
- E.
  
  Antithesis
10.

Imitation of a literary work or film–or the style used by a writer or filmmaker–in order to ridicule the work and its writer or producer. The Austin Powers movies use this technique to mock James Bond movies.
- A.
  
  Oxymoron
- B.
  
  Farce
- C.
  
  Parody
- D.
  
  Tragic comedy
- E.
  
  Allusion
11.

Exaggeration; overstatement. Examples: (1) He [Julius Caesar] doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his...huge legs.–Shakespeare. (Caesar has become a giant.) (2) Ten thousand oceans cannot wash away my guilt. (3) Oscar has the appetite of a starving lion.
- A.
  
  Synecdoche
- B.
  
  Figurative language
- C.
  
  Dramatic irony
- D.
  
  Hyperbole
- E.
  
  Paradox
12.

Substitution of one word or phrase to stand for a word or phrase similar in meaning. Examples: (1) In Shakespeare's time, the crown was anti-Catholic. ("Crown" stands for Queen Elizabeth I.) (2) The White House was severely criticized for its opposition to the tax increase. ("White House" stands for the president or the president and his advisers.) (3) Wall Street welcomes the reduction in interest rates. ("Wall Street" represents investors.) (4) Sweat, not wealth, earned her the respect of her peers. ("Sweat" stands for hard work.)
- A.
  
  Metaphor
- B.
  
  Metonymy
- C.
  
  Synecdoche
- D.
  
  Anaphora
- E.
  
  Archetype
13.

Creation of a positive or opposite idea through negation. Examples: (1) I am not unaware of your predicament. (2) This is no small problem.(3) I'm not forgetful that you served me well.
- A.
  
  Inversion
- B.
  
  Negative connotation
- C.
  
  Understatement
- D.
  
  Hyperbole
- E.
  
  Litotes
14.

The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences. Poets often change conventional word order to place certain emphasis on particular words. Emily Dickinson, for instance, writes about being surprised by a snake in her poem "A narrow Fellow in the Grass," and includes this line: "His notice sudden is." In addition to the alliterative hissing s-sounds here, Dickinson also effectively manipulates the line’s syntax so that the verb is appears unexpectedly at the end, making the snake’s hissing presence all the more "sudden."
- A.
  
  Rhyme scheme
- B.
  
  Syntax
- C.
  
  Diction
- D.
  
  Colloquialism
- E.
  
  Parallel structure
15.

An expression not used in formal speech or writing. Language that is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary, familiar, or informal conversation rather than formal speech or writing
- A.
  
  Colloquialism
- B.
  
  Epigram
- C.
  
  Syntax
- D.
  
  Synecdoche
- E.
  
  Asyndeton
16.

The literal meaning of a word, the "dictionary definition."¨ For example, if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover that one of its meanings is "any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptiles having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and found in most tropical and temperate regions."
- A.
  
  Connotation
- B.
  
  Denotation
- C.
  
  Figurative language
- D.
  
  Colloquialism
- E.
  
  Jargon
17.

Contradictory statement that may actually be true. Examples: (1) They called him a lion. But in the boxing ring, the lion was a lamb. (2) For slaves, life was death, and death was life.
- A.
  
  Oxymoron
- B.
  
  Inversion
- C.
  
  Metonymy
- D.
  
  Paradox
- E.
  
  Epigram
18.

Substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part. Examples: (1) The Confederates have eyes in Lincoln's government. (The word "eyes" stands for spies.) (2) Jack bought a new set of wheels. ("Wheels" stands for a car.) (3) The law pursued the bank robbers from Maine to Florida. ("Law" stands for police.)
- A.
  
  Hyperbole
- B.
  
  Metonymy
- C.
  
  Apostrophe
- D.
  
  Synecdoche
- E.
  
  Symbolism
19.

Having the appearance of truth; realism. In a fictional work, a writer creates unreal characters and situations and asks the reader to pretend that they are real. To help the reader in this task, the writer tells his tale in such a way that he makes it seem credible.
- A.
  
  False fiction
- B.
  
  Dramatic irony
- C.
  
  Farce
- D.
  
  Parody
- E.
  
  Verisimilitude
20.

Speech that bitterly denounces, blames, accuses, or insults a person; speech that viciously attacks a person or his ideas. Example: Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
- A.
  
  Phillipic
- B.
  
  Satire
- C.
  
  Farce
- D.
  
  Figurative language
- E.
  
  Colloquialism
21.

Latin phrase for in the middle of things. It means that a story begins in the middle of the plot, usually at an exciting part. The writer of the story later uses flashback to inform the reader of preceding events. The Greek poet Homer originated this technique in his two great epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey.
- A.
  
  In medias res
- B.
  
  Midi
- C.
  
  Midpoint
- D.
  
  In middle commencement
- E.
  
  Midi midi