AP English Literature — Terms and Devices flashcards
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Character, setting, plot structure, narration and point of view, tone and irony, imagery, figurative language, symbol and theme — the prose-analysis vocabulary, applied to short original passages and public-domain classics.
Learn deck · part of AP English Literature and Composition · written against: College Board AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description (literary terms, devices and forms). Updated 2026-10-10.
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How does a dynamic character differ from a round character?Dynamic describes change: the character's outlook or values shift during the story. Round describes complexity: the character has many, sometimes contradictory, traits. A character can be round yet static.Character
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Why might an author deliberately make a minor character flat?A flat character has one or two defining traits, so the reader grasps them instantly and attention stays on the protagonist. Flat characters often serve a single function, such as comic relief or a test for the hero.Character
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Beyond time and place, what else counts as part of a story's setting?The social, cultural and historical environment — class structures, customs, values, the political moment. A village's rigid expectations can shape characters as forcefully as its weather.Setting
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'All afternoon the fog pressed against the windows, and the house seemed to hold its breath.' What does this setting create, and how?Mood (atmosphere) — a tense, suffocating feeling built through imagery and the personified house. Setting often establishes mood before anything happens.Setting
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In the traditional plot arc, how is the climax different from the rising action?Rising action builds tension through complications; the climax is the turning point of highest tension, where the conflict reaches its decisive moment and the outcome is set.Structure › Plot and Arrangement
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What is the dénouement of a story?The dénouement (resolution) follows the falling action, ties up loose ends and shows the new situation that results from the climax. The word comes from the French for 'untying.'Structure › Plot and Arrangement
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'I never meant to tell anyone about that summer.' What point of view does this establish, and what is its main limitation?First-person narration — the narrator is a character in the story. The reader gets intimacy with one consciousness but sees only what that narrator knows, notices or chooses to admit.Narration › Point of View
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How does third-person limited narration differ from third-person omniscient?Third-person limited stays close to one character's perceptions and thoughts; third-person omniscient can enter many minds and reveal what no character knows. Omniscience allows broad commentary; limitation creates intimacy and suspense.Narration › Point of View
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'The kitchen smelled of burnt sugar and wet wool, and the radiator ticked like a nervous clock.' Which kinds of imagery does this sentence use?Olfactory imagery (burnt sugar, wet wool) and auditory imagery (the ticking radiator), along with a simile. Imagery is language that appeals to the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.Figurative Language › Imagery and Diction
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Why is 'love' not a theme?'Love' is a subject (a topic). A theme is a complete statement the work develops about that subject — for example, that love can turn into a form of possession. Themes are claims, so they can be argued.Literary Argumentation › Theme and Interpretation
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Topic order follows the big ideas of the College Board AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description (effective Fall 2024; character, setting, structure, narration, figurative language, literary argumentation), used as a skills outline only (no text copied).
- Literary terms checked against M. H. Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham, A Glossary of Literary Terms (reference only; no text copied). Example passages are original; works are named, not quoted.
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