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AP Literature Words Flashcards

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5329584322anaphorarepetition of words at the beginning of each line: "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad Composition!"0
5329599823chiasmussentence of two parallel parts in which the 2nd is structurally reversed: "What trade thou knave, thou knaughty knave, what trade"1
5329613372litotestype of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating the opposite: "You did love him once, not without cause"2
5329623451polysyndetonusing more conjunctions than is necessary: "and a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome"3
5329632506synecdocheusing one part of an object to represent the whole: "Woe to the hand that shed costly blood"4
5329639786asyndetona construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions: "He received applause, prizes, many, fame"5
5329647793aphorisma concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance: "In time we hate that which we often fear"6
5329661746conceita fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate rought winds do shake the darling buds of May And summer's lease hath all too short a date"7
5329673290ellipsisthe omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context: "My dreams had no end that night; my delight had no limit"8
5329682383metonymysubstituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it: "She had a love for the stage"9
5481805203allusiona reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader knows: "Here feel we but the penalty of Adam"10
5481807903apostrophewhen one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or some abstraction: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"11
5481810277euphemisman indirect, less offensive way of saying something unpleasant: "You shall put this night's great business into my dispatch"12
5481812078malapropismthe mistaken use of one word of another word that sounds similar: "Is our whole dissembly appeared?"13
5481813502syllepsisa construction in which one word is used in two different senses: "I left her there with a left at the corner."14
5481814178epigrama brief, pity, and often paradoxical saying: "I can resist everything but temptation."15
5481815743expletivean interject to lend emphasis, sometimes profanity: "By the Virgin Mary! You shan't be let down!"16
5481816921jargonthe specialize language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession: "'Why, sir, a carpenter!' 'Where is thy leather apron and thy rule?"17
5481818844solecismnon-standard grammatical usage; a violation of rules: "I quit school when I were 16."18
5481822091tautologyneedless repetition of the same: "I was given a free gift for purchasing a car."19

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