Necessary Terminology- AP Literature Flashcards
Terms : Hide Images [1]
| 5858774713 | imagery | language that describes by appealing to the senses-- providing a sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell | 0 | |
| 5858781917 | figurative language | language not meant to be taken literally | 1 | |
| 5858786729 | simile | direct comparison of dissimilar things, usually using like or as (the snow was dry as cotton) (life is like a road) | 2 | |
| 5858789853 | metaphor | indirect comparison of dissimilar things, without using like or as (when she smiled, he was firmly hooked) (life is a road) | 3 | |
| 5858798415 | personification | type of metaphor or simile giving human qualities to inanimate objects (the wind screamed in anger) (nature spoke to her) | 4 | |
| 5858798416 | hyperbole | obviously saying more than intended (I have a million things to do tonight) | 5 | |
| 5858801035 | understatement | obviously saying less than intended (Hitler was a bit of a problem) | 6 | |
| 5858801036 | metonymy | using a thing to stand for a thing associated with it (the crown has spoken) (the bench has ruled against us) | 7 | |
| 5858803865 | synecdoche | using a part to stand for the whole (all hands were called on deck) | 8 | |
| 5858803866 | synesthesia | describing one sense in terms of another (the music was as cool and blue as the sky) (I tasted blue and desolation) | 9 | |
| 5858809404 | contrast/antithesis | use of marked difference for an effect (he was at the same time a transcendent thinker and a bit of a doofus) | 10 | |
| 5858809405 | diction | word choice (they have to choose some words and sometimes, the particular choice yields particular effects) (the leaves and flowers were clean and virginal . . . the air was drowsy with its weight of perfume) | 11 | |
| 5858809406 | syntax | sentence structure | 12 | |
| 5858812155 | parallel structure | equivalent ideas are linked by equivalent wording (out heats were engaged by his words, and our minds by his ideas) | 13 | |
| 5858812156 | polysyndeton | repeating a connector (usually "and") more than is necessary (harry was cold and tired and depressed and totally unmagical) | 14 | |
| 5858812157 | asyndeton | NOT using a connector where it would be expected (CGS students must be bright, creative, independent, self-motivated) | 15 | |
| 5858814157 | periodic sentence | sentence in which the main thought is not finished till the end (the king, although the court made great efforts to pretend otherwise, was dead) | 16 | |
| 5858816930 | cumulative sentence | sentence that builds force from added subordinate clauses or phrases (for his last then minutes Hamlet was king, a king of his own mind, dying but clear-headed, his last words uttered not in self-pity, but in defense of his friend, his state, his cause) | 17 | |
| 5858816931 | loose sentence | main clause is followed by subordinate elements (the judge smiled because he knew there was an ironic justice in the sentence) | 18 | |
| 5858818866 | simple sentence | contains one clause (CSG is very competitive) | 19 | |
| 5858818867 | compound sentence | contains two or more independent clauses (CGS is competitive, but it is also friendly) NOTE: a compound sentence may contain independent elements that are loose, or cumulative, etc. | 20 | |
| 5858824274 | persuasion/argumentation | seeks to produce agreement | 21 | |
| 5858824275 | exposition | conveys information | 22 | |
| 5858825759 | narration | relates events in story form | 23 | |
| 5858825760 | description | conveys a picture or impression of something (by using sensory details) | 24 | |
| 5858833231 | methods of organization/development | chronological, order of importance (or reverse), elaboration (adds complexity), item/example, cataloguing (listing), contrast/antithesis | 25 | |
| 5858833232 | rhetoric | seeks to influence the reader/listener | 26 | |
| 5858836862 | rhetorical purposes | effects the writer seeks to achieve (to produce a reasoned agreement, to produce LOL hilarity, to produce increased understanding, to produce awe or respect, to produce fear, to arouse emotions) | 27 | |
| 5858850483 | slang | informal conversational usage, not appropriate in formal situations | 28 | |
| 5858852823 | idiom | a commonly used phrase whose sense is not subject to literal translation (he made up the story) | 29 | |
| 5858852824 | dialect | ordinary speech of particular region or class (differs from slang in its association with region or class) | 30 | |
| 5858852825 | jargon | highly technical language whose effect is to confuse, rather than enhance, meaning (bureaucratic, military or business jargon "we need to conceptualize the time-lining . . .") | 31 | |
| 5858854744 | boilerplate | formulaic and cliché-ridden language, particularly associated with bureaucratic or political circumstances (as in a mission statement, political speech, press release, memo, etc.), full of bromides and platitudes | 32 | |
| 5858854745 | Latinate | dominated by words with derivation/ construction reminiscent of Latin: lots of -tion and -ate endings (. . . those sedentary structures in which functional illiterates predominantly congregate), usually pretty awkward!!!!! | 33 | |
| 5858856263 | parallel structure | coordinating items suing similar syntax (to follow is as difficult to lead) | 34 | |
| 5858863452 | anaphora | repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a construction (we cannot dedicate... we cannot hollow... we cannot consecrate) | 35 | |
| 5858866572 | ellipsis | words are left out because they are understood (our minds were clear and our hearts willing) | 36 | |
| 5858866573 | chiasmus | an immediate reversal of two terms (typical form is A-B-B-A) (fair is foul and foul is fair) | 37 | |
| 5858866574 | asyndeton | omission of expected connectors (our students are competitive, bright, eager to learn) | 38 | |
| 5858869988 | polysyndeton | more than the expected connectors (our students are competitive, and bright, and eager to learn) | 39 | |
| 5858869989 | coordination | connection with equal weighting (our students are competitive, and they work well as a team) | 40 | |
| 5858869990 | subordination | connection with unequal weighting (although competitive, our students work well as a team) | 41 | |
| 5858873090 | parts of speech | noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. | 42 | |
| 5859328659 | parts of sentence | subject, object, clause, phrase | 43 | |
| 5858873091 | allusion | reference (direct or indirect) to other source material (mythological, historical, Biblical, literary) | 44 | |
| 5858875060 | ellipsis | some word or construction is understood ("our hearts are brave and our minds ready" . . . "are" is elliptical) | 45 | |
| 5858876660 | paradox | a condition or idea that seems contradictory, but is true, in at least some sense (the more I learn, the less I think I know) | 46 | |
| 5858876661 | contrast | use of elements that are different, for effect (the school-mistress that passed on her way to school/ and the old drunkard staggering home from the outhouse) | 47 | |
| 5858878910 | antithesis | (type of contrast) use of elements that are opposites (the terrors of the night and of the day) | 48 | |
| 5858878911 | imagery | appeal to the senses-- visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, touch, kinetic, organic | 49 | |
| 5858878912 | onomatopoeia | use of spelling to suggest sound (quack!, vroom!, boing!) | 50 | |
| 5858881281 | level of discourse (formality) | NOTE: formality and tone are not the same thing-- but either may contribute to the other... examples include ceremonial (will the honorable representative from Arizona yield to a question?), formal (may I ask you a question, ma'am?), informal (so, what do you think about...?), colloquial/vernacular (dude, what you think...?) | 51 | |
| 5858898836 | motif | a pattern (of imagery, events, details, settings) | 52 | |
| 5858898837 | denouement | conclusion-- often occurring after the climax | 53 | |
| 5858898838 | climax | point in a story at which the conflict is resolved | 54 | |
| 5858898839 | symbolism | use of physical things or animals or persona to stand for ideas | 55 | |
| 5858901967 | manipulation of time | presenting events in or out of chronological order | 56 | |
| 5858901968 | frame device | a narrative device through which the principal story is told (by a character in the frame story) | 57 | |
| 5858904971 | examples of structural devices | comparable or contrasting characters, comparable or contrasting settings, parallel events, recurring events | 58 |