Vocabulary for AP English Language
Terms : Hide Images
| 8703306984 | Allegory | Fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts(Purpose: Convey difficult idea through an in-depth metaphorical narrative) | 0 | |
| 8703306985 | Alliteration | The repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words |  | 1 |
| 8703306986 | Allusion | A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person(Ex: Aslan in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" represents Christ) | 2 | |
| 8703306987 | Ambiguity | Uncertain or indefinite; subject to more than one interpretation(Ex: I rode a black horse in red pajamas.) | 3 | |
| 8703306989 | Anaphora | repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row(Ex: "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,") from Act 2 Scene 1 of "Richard II" | 4 | |
| 8703306990 | Antecedent | Every pronoun refers back to a previous noun or pronoun(Ex: The weather is great today; let's make the most of it by going to the beach.) | 5 | |
| 8703306992 | Antithesis | An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses(Ex: Man proposes, God disposes.) | 6 | |
| 8703306993 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker(Ex: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") | 7 | |
| 8703412050 | Cacophony | Words combining unpleasant, discordant sounds that produce the effect of harshness (Ex:"I'll look to like, if looking liking move.") | 8 | |
| 8703306998 | Caricature | A grotesque or exaggerated likeness of striking qualities in persons and things(Ex: Purpose: Portray important political or artistic ideas) | 9 | |
| 8703473914 | Catharsis | A purging of pity and/or terror (Ex: "JULIET: Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! [Snatching ROMEO'S dagger. This is thy sheath; [Stabs herself.] there rest, and let me die.") | 10 | |
| 8703306999 | Clause | A structural element of a sentence, consisting of a grammatical subject and a predicate(Ex: Ghost stories are a lot of fun, if you tell them late at night with the lights off.) | 11 | |
| 8703307001 | Colloquial Language | Slang or common language that is informal(Ex: "That totally grossed me out.") | 12 | |
| 8703307003 | Connotative | The interpretive level of a word based on associated images rather than the literal meaning(Ex: "Wall Street" = wealth and power) | 13 | |
| 8703307005 | Diction | An author's choice of words(Purpose: Create & convey a typical mood, tone and atmosphere) | 14 | |
| 8703307006 | Didactic | Writing which has the purpose of teaching or instructing(Ex: Religious texts(teach us about the reality of God)) | 15 | |
| 8703626781 | Digression | Use of material unrelated to the subject of the work (Ex: | 16 | |
| 8703307007 | Euphemism | A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea(Ex: Correctional facility instead of jail) | 17 | |
| 8703671362 | Foil | a character that provides a sharp contrast to another (Ex: Romeo and Mercutio) | 18 | |
| 8703307014 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis(Ex: Your suitcase weighs a ton!) | 19 | |
| 8703307015 | Imagery | A mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations(Purpose: Generate a vibrant presentation of a scene that appeals to as many of the reader's senses as possible) | 20 | |
| 8703307018 | Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language(Ex: Chicken for coward) | 21 | |
| 8703307019 | Irony | When a situation produces and outcome that is the opposite of what is expected(Ex: The name of Britain's biggest dog was "Tiny".) | 22 | |
| 8703307023 | Metaphor | A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly(Ex: My brother was boiling mad.) | 23 | |
| 8703307024 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it(Ex: Let me give you a hand; hand means help) | 24 | |
| 8703307025 | Mood | The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event(Purpose: Evoke various emotional responses in readers and ensure their emotional attachment as they read the book) | 25 | |
| 8703707785 | Motif | An image that occurs throughout a work that is in and of itself | 26 | |
| 8703307026 | Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events(Purpose: Gain a deep insight of culture and develop some sort of understanding towards it) | 27 | |
| 8703307027 | Onomatopoeia | An effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning(Ex: Moo!) | 28 | |
| 8703307028 | Oxymoron | Two contradictory words in one expression(Ex: jumbo shrimp) | 29 | |
| 8703307029 | Paradox | A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth(Ex: "I can resist anything but temptation" - Oscar Wilde) | 30 | |
| 8703729858 | Parable | A story to suggest a principal, illustrate a moral, or answer a question. | 31 | |
| 8703307031 | Parody | An effort to ridicule or make fun of a literary work or an author by writing a comic imitation of the work(Ex: SNL) | 32 | |
| 8703307035 | Personification | A figure of speech in which ideas or objects are described as having human qualities or personalities(Ex: The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.) | 33 | |
| 8703307036 | Point of View | The particular perspective from which a story is told(Ex: 1st person - " I tell myself to focus while I am reading a book.") | 34 | |
| 8703307039 | Rhetoric | The art and logic of a written or spoken argument to persuade, to analyze, or to expose(Ex: Ethos, Logos, Pathos) | 35 | |
| 8703307040 | Ethos | Form, Manner(Purpose: Musician starring in a dog commercial) | 36 | |
| 8703307041 | Pathos | Force, Emotion(Ex: Empathizing with a friend who lost a family member) | 37 | |
| 8703307042 | Logos | Idea, Message(Ex:Facts, Charts, Tables used to support that abortion rates correlates with crime rates) | 38 | |
| 8703307044 | Rhetorical Question | A question that is asked for the sake of argument(Ex: " Why not?") | 39 | |
| 8703307046 | Satire | To ridicule or mock ideas, persons, events, or doctrines(Ex: The Daily Show) | 40 | |
| 8703307048 | Periodic Sentence | Sentence with main clause or predicate at the end(Ex: In opening minds, instilling values, and creating opportunities, education has no equal.) | 41 | |
| 8703307052 | Simile | A commonly used figure of speech that compares one thing with another using the words "like" or "as"(Ex: Jake is as slow as a turtle.) | 42 | |
| 8703827057 | Symbol/Symbolism | Represents itself and stands for something else | 43 | |
| 8703307061 | Theme | The central idea(Ex: love and friendship in "Pride and Prejudice") | 44 | |
| 8703307062 | Thesis | The sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition(Purpose: To inform audience about main idea) | 45 | |
| 8703307064 | Tone | Attitude(Purpose: Decide how readers should read a literary piece and how they should feel while reading it) | 46 |
