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AP Vocab 12 Flashcards

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7005882089Term0
7005882090Definition1
7005882091Cacophony2
7005882092Cacophony is a mixture of harsh and discordant noises. As a literary device, cacophony refers to the usage of several unharmonious or dissonant sounds in a line or passage. These unharmonious and dissonant sounds include the explosive consonants k, t, g, d, p, and b, and the hissing sounds ch, sh, and s.3
7005882093Carpe DiemLatin for "Seize the day." Frequently in the 16th and 17th century court poetry, and in Romantic Philosophy4
7005882094Confessional PoetryAn approach to poetry in which the poet employs his or her own life and feelings as subject matter, often using verse as an outlet for powerful emotions. The attitude was a break from the view that poetry should be impersonal, advocated by T. S. Eliot. The style emerged in America with Robert Lowell's volume Life Studies (1959), other practitioners being John Berryman (1914-1972), Anne Sexton (1928-1974), and Sylvia Plath (1932-1963).5
7005882095DissonanceThe juxtaposition of harsh jarring sounds (a synonym for cacophony) or the juxtaposition of closely related but not identical vowel sounds in one or more lines.6
7005882096EuphonyEuphony refers to the quality of being pleasant to listen to. Euphony generally comes about through a harmonious combination of sounds and words. An author can create euphony in many different ways, such as using pleasant vowel and consonants, or by employing other literary devices, such as rhythm, rhyme, consonance, and assonance to create an overall harmonious sound to a work of literature.7
7005882097Harlem RenaissanceA flourishing of African-American literature which took place in the 1920s and was centered around the Harlem district of New York City. The movement took African-American life and culture as its subject matter Some of its major writers being James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960), Langston Hughes (1902-1967), and Countee Cullen (1903-1946).8
7005882098Imagism / ImagistThe Imagists were a group of poets who were influenced by Ezra Pound, who in turn had been influenced by the French Symbolist poets, Japanese haiku, and the writings of the poet and critic T. E. Hulme (1883-1917). The Imagist movement, which originated in London and was prominent in England and America from around 1912 to 1917, was crucial to the development of Modernist poetry. These poets aimed to free poetry from the conventions of the time by advocating a free choice of rhythm and subject matter, the diction of speech, and the presentation of meaning through the evocation of clear, precise, visual images. Among the poets associated with Ezra Pound in this movement were Hilda Doolittle, Amy Lowell, and William Carlos Williams. Pound later associated himself with Vorticism, and Amy Lowell took over the leadership of the Imagist movement. Many English and American poets were influenced by Imagism, such as D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, Conrad Aiken, Marianne Moore, and Wallace Stevens.9
7005882099InversionAs a literary device, inversion refers to the reversal of the syntactically correct order of subjects, verbs, and objects in a sentence. This type of inversion is also known as anastrophe, from the Greek for "to turn back." In English there is a fairly strict order in which sentences are constructed, generally subject-verb-object (many other languages permit more arrangements of the parts of a sentence). For example, it's syntactically correct to say, "Yesterday I saw a ship." An inversion of this sentence could be "Yesterday saw I a ship," or "Yesterday a ship I saw."10
7005882100Lyric PoetryOriginally a composition meant for musical accompaniment. The term refers to a short poem in which the poet, the poet's persona, or another speaker expresses personal feelings.11
7005882101Negative CapabilityJohn Keats, in a letter of October 27, 1818, suggested that a poet, possessing the power to eliminate his own personality, can take on the qualities of something else and write most effectively about it.12
7005882102Performative / Performativityindicates the special qualities brought out through a 'performance' of something (for example, a play text or poem) or in some cases, an artistic event which has no originating text (such as in performance art). The 'performance' is a time-and-space bound event, which is ephemeral (it never happens exactly the same way twice). A further, related meaning (derived from the philosophy of J. L. Austin) is that of doing or making something happen, rather than stating or representing it. This leads to the idea that the 'performative' is how symbolic systems (language, art, theatre) both represent things from the world, but are also simultaneously making that world.13
7005882103SpeakerThe "voice" which seems to be telling the poem. The speaker is not the same as the poet; the speaker is like a narrator.14
7005882104Sprung RhythmA name given by Gerard Manley Hopkins to his technique of breaking up the regular metre of poetry to achieve versatile and surprising rhythms, which retained regularity but more closely resembled speech than did conventional poetry.15
7005882105StanzaA stanza is a set of lines in a poem grouped together and set apart from other stanzas in the poem either by a double space or by different indentation. Poems may contain any number of stanzas, depending on the author's wishes and the structure in which the poet is writing. However, there are many strict poetic forms that designate the exact number of stanzas.16
7005882106StressWhere the emphasis is placed during the pronunciation of a word.17
7005882107VerseAs a mass noun, poetry in general; as a regular noun, a line of poetry. Typically used to refer to poetry that possesses more formal qualities.18
7005882108VoiceAn author's distinctive literary style, basic vision and general attitude toward the world. This "voice" is revealed through an author's use of SYNTAX (sentence construction); DICTION (distinctive vocabulary); PUNCTUATION; CHARACTERIZATION and DIALOGUE. The voice of an author may cover a wide range of possibilities (e.g. "victim," "judge," "friend," "coach," "spy," "opponent," "cheerleader," "critic," "alien").19
7005882109AppallStrike with disgust or revulsion20
7005882110ArdentCharacterized by intense emotion21
7005882111Blighta state or condition being devastated22
7005882112ContradictionOpposition between two conflicting forces or idea23
7005882113CoyModestly or warily rejecting approaches or overtures24
7005882114EquivocationIntentionally vague or ambiguous25
7005882115HaplessDeserving or inciting pity26
7005882116NostalgicUnhappy about being away and longing for familiar things27
7005882117DireFraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless28
7005882118LugubriousExcessively mournful29
7005882119Altruistsa person unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others(opposed to egoist )30
7005882120IndictmentAn accusation of wrongdoing31
7005882121MunificenceLiberality in bestowing gifts32
7005882122Officiousassertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, especially with regard to petty or trivial matters33
7005882123PerfunctoryHasty and without attention to detail; not thorough34
7005882124TransientLasting a very short time35
7005882125TriflingNot worth considering36
7005882126VivaciousVigorous and animated37

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