AP Literature and Composition Vocabulary Flashcards

7365076060	absolute	a word free from limitations or qualifications	0
7365076061	abstract	something that discusses intangible qualities	1
7365076062	accent	refers to the stressed portion of a word	2
7365076063	accentual verse	system of verse in which accents are used to determine the length of lines of poetry	3
7365076064	adage	a familiar proverb or saying	4
7365076065	ad hominem argument	an argument attacking ones character	5
7365076066	aesthetic movement	appealing to the senses of beauty	6
7365076067	allegory	a literary work which its story represents abstractions	7
7365076068	alliteration	repetition of the first initial sound	8
7365076069	allusion	a reference to another time, work, person, place, or event.	9
7365076071	ambiguity	a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.	10
7365076072	anachronism	a purposeful error of a timline	11
7365076073	analogy	a comparison of an idea or something to another thing that's nothing like it	12
7365076074	anaphora	deliberate repetition of a word or phrase for phrase for emphasis	13
7365076075	anecdote	a short and interesting story that is eventually going to support a major point	14
7365076076	antagonist	a character that stands in opposition to the	15
7365076077	antecedent	A phrase or word to which a pronoun refers back to another word.	16
7365076078	anthropomorphism	attribution of human characteristics to animals.	17
7365076079	anticlimax	a dissatisfying conclusion after a buildup of anticipation	18
7365076080	antihero	a main character that lacks the typical hero qualities	19
7365076081	antithesis	is used as a literary device to put two contrasting ideas together	20
7365076082	aphorism	a short saying that expresses a truth in a memorable way	21
7365076083	apostrophe	when a character talks to an object as if it were alive	22
7365076084	archaism	words or phrases that are used for an older stylistic effect	23
7365076086	archetype	a very common example or stereo type	24
7365076087	argument	an expression of opposing beliefs, usually heated	25
7365076088	aside	a passage said by a character usually only to the audience in a play	26
7365076089	asyndeton	lack of a conjunction in a sentence	27
7365076090	assonance	repetition of vowel sounds within a sentence	28
7365076091	balanced sentence	a sentence made up of two segments equal in length, romal, and meaning.	29
7365076092	ballad	a long narrative poem with regular meter and rhyme with a native folksy quality	30
7365076093	bathos	unusual descent from the lofty to the common	31
7365076094	blank verse	a non rhyming verse in iambic pentameter	32
7365076095	bombast	using big language to look more inteligent but has little meaning	33
7365076096	burlesque	a broad parody intended to cause laughter	34
7365076097	cacophony	deliberately using harsh or awkward sounds	35
7365076098	caesura	a pause in a line of poetry due to natural speaking	36
7365076099	caricature	a verbal portrait that's usually exaggerated	37
7365076101	carpe diem	seize the day	38
7365076102	catharsis	cleansing of emotions for both the character and the reader	39
7365076103	chiasmus	when 2 or more clauses are balanced against each other by doing it in reverse	40
7365076104	chorus	a group of people, usually in a play, that perform as a collective voice	41
7365076105	chronological order	something told in the order that it happened	42
7365076106	cliché	predictable actions or an expression that has been over-used	43
7365076107	climax	the highest point of action	44
7365076108	colloquialism	the use of informal words or slang within a piece of writing	45
7365076109	coinage	a new phrase or word that people begin using	46
7365076110	comic relief	the person or phrase that's brought out to relieve tension	47
7365076111	complex sentence	a sentence containing one main independant clause and one subordinate dependent clause	48
7365076112	compound sentence	2 independent clauses joined by a comma, semi colin, or a conjunction	49
7365076113	conceit	a metaphor comparing 2 different things in a surprisingly clever way	50
7365076114	concrete poems	poems where the typography effect is more important than the words	51
7365076116	connotation	the meaning that's implied by the word	52
7365076117	consonance	the repetative sounds of a consonant in a word or phrase	53
7365076118	conundrum	a confusing or difficult situation	54
7365076119	convention	defining features of particular literary genre	55
7365076120	couplet	3 suggestive rhyming lines in a verse with the same meter to complete a thought	56
7365076121	cumulative sentence	an independent clause followed by a series of subordinate clauses	57
7365076122	declarative sentence	a sentence that makes a statement/delaration	58
7365076123	deductive reasoning	a logical process of coming to a conclusion from multiple premises	59
7365076124	denotation	the actual meaning of the word	60
7365076125	denouement	the final ending of a story	61
7365076126	Deus ex machina	god of the machine; the character added to magically resolve a problem	62
7365076127	dialect	the spelling, sounds, etc. that relate to people from certain places	63
7365076128	dialogue	when 2 characters converse with each other	64
7365076129	diction	the style or speaking of the writing	65
7365076131	didactic literature	a type of literature written to inform or instruct a reader on a moral lesson	66
7365076132	dilemma	a rhetorical device in which one must chose between right and wrong	67
7365076133	dionysian	sensual pleasures, pleasure seeking	68
7365076134	diphthong	sound made by combining 2 vowels specifically when it starts as one vowel sound and goes to another ex) foil	69
7365076135	dissonance	the deliberate use of inharmonious words intended to create harsh sounds	70
7365076136	doggerel	a form of verse that's loosely constructed and irregular	71
7365076137	drama	a fictional representation through dialouge and performance	72
7365076138	dramatic monologue	a speech of a character's own thoughts/emotions to no one in particular	73
7365076139	elegy	a prose selection that laments on the passing or death of someone/something	74
7365076140	ellipsis	used in narrative to omit parts of a sentence	75
7365076141	elusion	the act of successfully hiding/escaping	76
7365076142	emblematic poems	one in the shape of its topic ex) a poem about a rainbow in the shape of a rainbow	77
7365076143	epic	a piece where characters perform extraordinary feats	78
7365076144	epigram	a quotation at the beginning of a book	79
7365076146	epigraph	a quotation at the beginning of a book	80
7365076147	epiphany	the moment in the story where a character achieves a realization	81
7365076148	epitaph	an inscription or tribute in memory of a person in a piece of literature	82
7365076149	epithalamion	a blessing on a wedding	83
7365076150	epithet	an application of a word or phrase that describes a person's attributes	84
7365076151	eulogy	a written tribute to a person that has died	85
7365076152	euphemism	the polite way of saying a harsh or impolite phrase	86
7365076153	exaggeration	a statement that makes something out to be worse or better than it really is	87
7365076154	exclamatory sentence	a type of main clause that expresses strong feelings	88
7365076155	existentialism	a movement that s started in the mid to late 19th century in philosophy, emphasized individualism, freedom, & choices	89
7365076156	expletive	a filler word that doesn't contribute to the overall meaning	90
7365076157	exposition	used to introduce background information	91
7365076158	expressionism	an artistic movement at the start of the 20th century to show emotions through symbolism	92
7365076159	extended metaphor	a comparison between 2 unlike things that continue through a piece	93
7365076161	fable	a short story usually to convey a message/moral	94
7365076162	fantasy	something that couldn't happen in real life	95
7365076163	farce	a literary genre and the type of a comedy that makes the use of highly exaggerated and funny situations	96
7365076164	feminine ending	a line of verse that ends with an unstressed syllable	97
7365076165	fiction	something that didn't happen in real life	98
7365076166	figurative language	language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation	99
7365076167	figure of speech	a word or phrase that has a meaning other than the literal meaning	100
7365076168	flashback	when the story jumps back in time, like a memory	101
7365076169	flat character	one that doesn't change throughout the story	102
7365076170	folk tale	a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people	103
7365076171	foot	the most basic unit of a poem's meter; a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables	104
7365076172	foreshadowing	predicting or hinting at future events in the story	105
7365076173	frame story/device	a story within a story	106
7365076174	free verse	a type of poetry where there's no structure or rhyme	107
7365076176	genre	a category of literary works	108
7365076177	haiku	Japanese poetry of 3 lines w/syllables 5-7-5	109
7365076178	hero/heroine	protagonist/main character	110
7365076179	homily	a sermon or speech by a religious person to a group of people to offer moral corrections	111
7365076180	hubris	excessive pride/arrogance, defiance towards the Gods	112
7365076181	humor	The quality of a literary or informative work that makes the character and/or situations seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous.	113
7365076182	hyperbole	an over exaggeration for humor and provides emphasis	114
7365076183	hypothetical question	a question based on facts asking if something would or might be	115
7365076184	idiom	a word or phrase that isn't taken literally	116
7365076185	idyll	a descriptive work in writing that describes rustic or pastoral scenes	117
7365076186	image	a scene in the story that appeals to the 5 sense	118
7365076187	imagery	a word or phrase appealing to the 3 senses	119
7365076188	imagists/imagism	a literary movement in the early 1900's that advocates free verse, common speech patterns, and concrete images	120
7365076189	implication	something implied/suggested to be understood	121
7365076191	implicit metaphor	A type of metaphor that compares two unlike things, but doesn't mention one of them.	122
7365076192	internal rhyme	Where words rhyme within the same sentence, in the middle of two separate sentences, or one in the middle and one at the end.	123
7365076193	inductive reasoning	Reasoning that takes specific details and generalizes it.	124
7365076194	inference	The process of using background knowledge and observations to come to a reasonable conclusion.	125
7365076195	invective	(n. or adj.) abusive or insulting language.	126
7365076196	invocation	An appeal for aide from a higher power for inspiration.	127
7365076197	irony	When something is said or done, but the opposite is more largely accepted or known to be true.	128
7365076198	jargon	A type of shorthand that is shared and understood by some people and is mostly only understood within that context.	129
7365076199	juxtaposition	Placing two elements or words side by side to let the reader compare them.	130
7365076200	legend	A type of story that is considered truth but for the most part is mythical.	131
7365076201	light verse	The author's style of writing that conveys their personality or attitude.	132
7365076202	limerick	A humorous poem consisting of five lines. The 1st, 2nd, & 5th lines must have -10 syllables while the 3rd & 4th have 5-7 syllables.	133
7365076203	limited narrator	Also known as third person limited; is when the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character.	134
7365076204	literary license	Also known as artistic license; allows the author of the piece to adjust it for their own artistic purposes.	135
7365076206	literature	literary works are considered lasting pieces of writing	136
7365076207	litotes	an understatement especially that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary ex) you won't be sorry	137
7365076208	main character	the protagonists	138
7365076209	malapropism	using a different word in place of another that is similar (for comedic reasons)	139
7365076210	masculine ending	ending w/a stressed syllable on the last word in a line of a verse	140
7365076211	maxim	a simple and memorable quote for taking action that leads to a good moral life	141
7365076212	memoir	a written factual account of somebody's experiences in life	142
7365076213	metamorphosis	a dramatic change in a person and habits during a time of growth	143
7365076214	metaphor	a figure of speech that makes a comparison w/o like or as	144
7365076215	metaphysical poet	a poet who writes about highly abstract or theatrical ideas	145
7365076216	meter	the unit of rythem in poetry	146
7365076217	metonymy	replacing the name of a thing w/the name of something else w/which it's closely related ex) the pen is mightier than the sword	147
7365076218	minor character	a character that is secondary to the protagonist	148
7365076219	mixed metaphor	a combination of 2 more metaphors that make more sense	149
7365076220	mock epic/mock heroic	plays with the conventions of an epic for satirical reasons	150
7365076221	mood	a stance an author adopts in order to shape a specific emotional feeling	151
7365076222	moral	a message conveyed through the literary piece	152
7365076223	motif	any element that is constantly presented through the entire body of literature	153
7365076224	motivation	a reason behind a chraracter's actions	154
7365076225	myth	a legendary or traditional story that usually concerns an event or person w/o any factual evidence	155
7365076226	narration	in any piece of literature and tell a story	156
7365076227	narrative	a report of related events presented to the listeners in a logical system	157
7365076228	narrative poem	tells stories about society	158
7365076229	narrator	the person whose perspective the story is being told from aka the narrator	159
7365076230	naturalism	extreme realism	160
7365076231	nonfiction	based on real people and events	161
7365076232	non sequitur	statements that don't follow the fundamental principles of logic	162
7365076233	novel	a long piece of narrative including characters, a setting, and events	163
7365076234	octets	a group of 8 people or things	164
7365076235	ode	a lyrical poem in the form of an address to a person or thing	165
7365076236	omniscient narrator	a method of study telling where only the narrator knows the thoughts/feelings of the characters	166
7365076237	onomatopoeia	a word that is associated with out how sounds	167
7365076238	oral tradition	a community's cultural traditions through word of mouth	168
7365076239	oxymoron	a figure of speech which is self contradictory	169
7365076240	parable	a symbol or story to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson	170
7365076241	paradox	a seemingly absurd or self contradictory statement or predicament	171
7365076242	parody	an imitation of something for comedic purposes	172
7365076243	parallelism	when the structure of parts of a sentence grammatically similar	173
7365076244	paraphrase	a shortened version of the original statement	174
7365076245	parenthetical	something related to or within parenthesis	175
7365076246	pastoral	a mode of literature in which an author employs various techniques to place the complex life into a simple one	176
7365076247	pathos	a quality that evokes and plays on emotions	177
7365076248	pathetic fallacy	179.the attribution of human feelings to inanimate things or animals	178
7365076249	pedantic	describes words or phrases that is overly scholarly	179
7365076250	persona	the mask of an actor	180
7365076251	personification	a figure of speech that gives human attributes to non human things	181
7365076252	persuasion	literary technique that writers use to present their ideas through reasons and logic to influence the audience	182
7365076253	philippic	a bitter rant against someone or something	183
7365076254	play	form of literature written with the intention of it being performed on stage	184
7365076255	playwright	someone who writes plays	185
7365076256	plot	term to describe the events that make up the story	186
7365076257	poetry	literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm	187
7365076258	point of view	the type of narration that the story is told in	188
7365076259	polysyndeton	a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in order to achieve an artistic effect	189
7365076363	prelude	an opening or introduction to something	190
7365076364	prose	form of language that has no formal metrical structure	191
7365076366	protagonist	the central main character(s)	192
7365076367	pun	a play on words for humorous effect	193
7365076368	quatrains	a verse with 4 lines with ABAB rhyme scheme	194
7365076369	realism	a literary technique used to described story elements as if they are reality	195
7365076370	refrain	a group of lines that appear at the end of a stanza or where a poem divides into different sections	196
7365076371	Renaissance period	The time of the great awakening, the transition from medieval to modern times in the 17th century	197
7365076372	repetition	repeating the same thing for an specified intent	198
7365076373	requiem	a song/chant/poem for someone who died	199
7365076374	resolution	the unfolding or solution of a conflict	200
7365076375	rhapsody	a highly emotional literary work	201
7365076376	rhetoric	a technique of language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form	202
7365076377	rhetorical devices	a word that is used in a certain way to convey meaning or to persuade ex) hyperbole, analogy, metaphor, oxymoron	203
7365076378	rhetorical question		204
7365076379	rhyme	a repetition of similar sounding words occurring at the end of lines	205
7365076380	rhyme scheme	the ordered pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines of a poem	206
7365076381	rhythm	the measured flow of words and phrases in verse by the relation of long or short and stressed or unstressed syllables	207
7365076382	riddle	a question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require thought	208
7365076383	romance	fiction dealing with love in an idealized way	209
7365076384	romantic	denoting the artistic and literary movement of romanticism	210
7365076385	Romanticism	a movement in art and literature that originated in the love and idealism of the primacy of the individual, subjectivity, and nature	211
7365076386	round character	characters that are complex and undergo development	212
7365076387	sarcasm	the use of irony to convey contempt or mockery	213
7365076388	satire	the use of irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose people's vices	214
7365076389	scan/scanning	analyzing the meter of a line of verse	215
7365076390	scape goat	a person made to bear the blame for others and suffer in their place	216
7365076391	scene	a sequence of continuous action in a play, movie, opera, or a book	217
7365076392	science fiction	fiction based on futuristic ideas	218
7365076393	sensory language	language evoking the 5 senses	219
7365076394	setting	the place where the events of the story take place	220
7365076395	sextets	the 6 final lines of a sonnet or 6 lines in poetry	221
7365076396	simile	a comparison using like or as	222
7365076397	simple sentence	a sentence consisting of only one clause with a single subject and predicate (verb)	223
7365076398	slash	used to separate elements of text	224
7365076399	Socratic irony	a pose of ignorance assumed in order to entice others into conversation (devil's advocate?)	225
7365076400	Socratic method	a formal cooperative argumentative dialog that stimulates critical thinking	226
7365076401	solecism	a grammatical mistake in speech or writing	227
7365076402	soliloquy	an act of speaking ones thoughts aloud to oneself	228
7365076403	sonnet	a poem of 14 lines using formal rhyme scheme w/10 syllables in each line	229
7365076404	sprung rhythm	a poetic meter where there's one stressed syllable followed by unstressed one	230
7365076405	stage directions	the instructions usually in a play	231
7365076406	stanza	a group of lines forming the basic reoccurring metrical unit in a poem	232
7365076407	structure	the relationship of the component parts of a work of literature	233
7365076408	style	the way an author writes	234
7365076409	surrealism	a 20th century movement' sought to release the creative power of the unconscious mind	235
7365076410	suspense	state of expectation or anxiety	236
7365076411	syllabic verse	poetry where lines match only in the number of syllables they contain	237
7365076412	syllepsis	a figure of speech in which a word is applied to the two others in different senses	238
7365076413	syllogism	a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from 2 propositions	239
7365076414	symbolism	use of a symbol to represent things	240
7365076415	synecdoche	where one part is meant to represent the whole thing ex) get some new wheels = get a new car	241
7365076416	synesthesia	experiencing one sense as a result of the stimulation of another	242
7365076417	syntax	the arrangement of words and phrases	243
7365076418	tautology	245.	244
7365076419	tall tale	a numerously exaggerated story of impossible feats	245
7365076420	theme	the subject of a piece of witing	246
7365076421	thesis	a literary work with a proposition	247
7365076422	tone	the style or manner of expression in writing	248
7365076423	topic	the subject of a piece	249
7365076424	tragedy	a serious drama where the ending is typically disastrous	250
7365076425	trilogy	a series of 3 literary works that are closely related	251
7365076426	trite	boring because of its overuse	252
7365076427	transferred epithet	a figure of speech in which an adjective grammatically qualifies as a noun ex) a sleepless night	253
7365076428	travesty	a debased/distorted/highly inferior imitation of a thing	254
7365076429	true/exact/perfect rhyme	thyme of two words that end the same ex) love, dove	255
7365076430	turning point	a point in a story where an important event takes place	256
7365076431	understatement	a representation of an object or event that is a less than the reality	257
7365076432	usage	the way in which words are said to mean the same thing ex) a torch = a flashlight	258
7365076433	vernacular	using the original dialect/language written	259
7365076434	verse	a line of metrical writing	260
7365076435	Victorian Age	the 19th century of the British empire	261