Noble AP MASTER Flashcards

AP Language Terms

6167101810	allusion	a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work. Ex: "flying too close to the sun" is an allusion to Icarus' tragic mistake	0
6167101811	apostrophe	a dramatic speech to a dead, absent, or inanimate character or object	1
6167101812	antagonist	the person, force, or environment that opposes the main character	2
6167101813	dynamic character	a character who undergoes important change over the course of the narrative	3
6167101814	flat character	a character who is limited to a single trait	4
6167101815	hero	main character	5
6167101816	protagonist	main character	6
6167101817	round character	a complex, realistic character, who has varied, sometimes contradictory traits	7
6167101818	static character	a character who undergoes little or no change over the course of the narrative	8
6167101819	cliché	a phrase or idea that is overused to a point near meaninglessness	9
6167101820	conflict	a struggle between opposing forces, usually the protagonist and antagonist	10
6167101821	external conflict	a struggle between the protagonist and outside forces	11
6167101822	internal conflict	a struggle within the protagonist EX: alcoholism, depression, hubris	12
6167101823	dialogue	a conversation between two or more persons.	13
6167101824	drama	narrative told in dialogue or pantomime, usually before an audience	14
6167101825	fable	a tale that uses animal characters to teach a moral lesson	15
6167101826	foil	a minor character who highlights a quality of the main character by contrast. EX: a lazy brother makes the main character appear industrious	16
6167101827	foreshadowing	a literary device by which the writer suggests future narrative events Ex: a character's repeated references to burning or flames may indicate a climactic fire	17
6167101828	genre	a type or subcategory within a field of artistic endeavor. EX: in literature: crime fiction, science fiction, mystery	18
6167101829	Gothic	literary style that combines elements of horror and romance. EX: Shelley's Frankenstein	19
6167101830	hyperbole	obvious and intentional exaggeration for effect	20
6167101831	auditory image	an image perceived via the auditory sense. EX: the roar of the crowd	21
6167101832	gustatory image	an image perceived via one's sense of taste. EX: sweetened coffee	22
6167101833	kinetic image	a visual image that evokes a sense of movement. EX: a speeding car, a falling leaf	23
6167101834	olfactory image	an image perceived via one's sense of smell. EX: rotten eggs	24
6167101835	tactile image	an image perceived via one's sense of touch. EX: "skin like sand paper"	25
6167101836	visual image	the most common of all images, one perceived via one's sense of sight. EX: a blue sky or a shaggy dog	26
6167101837	dramatic irony	a narrative situation which is fully understood by the audience but not by all of the characters	27
6167101838	verbal irony	expressing meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect	28
6167101839	situational irony	when the least likely thing to happen, happens. EX: the firehouse burns down	29
6167101840	figurative language	language whose meanings extend beyond the literal. EX: metaphor, personification, irony	30
6167101841	connotation	the associated or secondary meanings of a word or expression	31
6167101842	denotation	literal meaning; dictionary definition	32
6167101843	diction	word choice in speaking or writing	33
6167101844	syntax	ways in which words are combined to form phrases, sentences, and ideas; word order	34
6167101845	expository writing	writing that is used to explain, describe, or inform; the text is organized around one topic and developed according to a logical pattern	35
6167101846	narrative	the presentation of a series of events; may be real or fictional	36
6167101847	persuasive writing	mode of discourse in which the writer attempts to convince the reader of a given point of view	37
6167101848	myth	a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people, or explaining some natural phenomenon; typically concerns a hero, and supernatural beings or events	38
6167101849	mood	narrative element that evokes an emotional setting in the narrative; mood intends to affect the reader emotionally and psychologically	39
6167101850	oral tradition	a community's cultural and historical traditions, passed by word of mouth from one generation to another	40
6167101851	parable	a short allegorical story designed to illustrate a truth, religious principle, or moral lesson	41
6167101852	paradox	a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true	42
6167101853	parody	an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect	43
6167101854	plot	the events that make up a story	44
6167101855	exposition	the revelation, in a narrative, of background information about events, settings, characters	45
6167101856	setting	the time, place, and weather in which a story takes place	46
6167101857	crisis	the point at which the central conflict in a story becomes clear; "it's on!"	47
6167101858	rising action	a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build tension toward the climax	48
6167101859	climax	the point of highest tension in a narrative	49
6167101860	resolution	the point at which the climactic question is resolved	50
6167101861	flashback	an interruption of the chronological sequence of a film or literary work to depict an earlier event	51
6167101862	frame story	an outer, initial AND concluding narrative that is sometimes wrapped around the main/inner narrative, thereby "framing" it, providing context, and unifying both narratives thematically. EX: Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Wizard of Oz	52
6167101863	non-linear plot	a plot type that diverges from traditional chronology	53
6167101864	subplot	a secondary, subordinate plot in a story, play, or other narrative	54
6167101865	poetry	a specialized, but varied form of literature that relies on figurative language, emotion, and the aesthetics of sound	55
6167101866	metaphor	A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison (X=Y) between two dissimilar things based on a shared quality. EX: "Love is a rose," where love is both beautiful and thorny	56
6167101867	metonymy	a figure of speech that replaces a thing with something else with which it is closely associated EX: "The pen is mightier than the sword," where the pen is written argument, and the sword is military force.	57
6167101868	personification	a figure of speech in which a non-human being or inanimate object is given human qualities	58
6167101869	prose poem	a poem whose structure rejects traditional poetic forms like stanzas and lines, favoring traditional prose forms, like sentences and paragraphs	59
6167101870	simile	comparison between two dissimilar things using "like" or "as"	60
6167101871	point of view	the perspective from which a story is told; the eyes/ears through which the reader experiences the story	61
6167101872	narrator	the voice of the narrative; the one who tells the story	62
6167101873	1st person	a narrative point of view in which the story is narrated by a character in the story EX: "Call me Ishmael..."	63
6167101874	2nd person	a narrative point of view in which the protagonist is referred to by the pronoun "you," as if the reader were a character	64
6167101875	3rd person	a narrative point of view in which the story is told by an outsider; characters are referred to by the pronouns "they," "he," and "she."	65
6167101876	limited point of view	the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character	66
6167101877	omniscient narrator	the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters	67
6167101878	prose	written language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.	68
6167101879	pun	a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word, or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.	69
6167101880	rite of passage	a tradition that marks an important transition in a person's life, such as birth, puberty, marriage, or death; in a coming of age story, the character experiences a rite of passage	70
6167101881	initiation	a story that puts the protagonist through an experience of maturation, or transition from one stage of life to another	71
6167101882	coming of age	refers to both the life process and literary genre in which an individual/character matures	72
6167101883	romantic	characterized by an idealized view of reality. EX: chivalry, heroism	73
6167101884	satire	a dramatic or narrative technique that employs humor, irony, exaggeration, and/or ridicule to expose foolishness and corruption in an individual, group, or society	74
6167101885	stream of consciousness	narration that tries to recreate the flow of thoughts in a character's mind. Typically characterized by loose structure, run-on sentences, and random thoughts. EX: James Joyce's novels	75
6167101886	style	the sum of all the choices an artist or writer makes	76
6167101887	suspense	the anticipation, excitement, or tension created by uncertainty in a narrative about the outcome of the rising action	77
6167101888	symbol	a literary device in which an object, place, or event contains layers of meaning beyond the obvious, in the context of the narrative. EX: Gatsby's green light, Janie Starks' horizon.	78
6167101889	conventional symbol	a symbol that has an understood or widely accepted interpretation. EX: water symbolizes cleansing, new beginnings, and freedom of movement	79
6167101890	personal symbol	a symbol whose significance is unique to an individual. EX: conventionally, a ring is a symbol of commitment, but to Martha, a widow, it is a symbol of loss	80
6167101891	theme	the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary or artistic work	81
6167101892	tone	the author's attitudes toward the subject or audience, as implied in a literary work	82
6167101893	willing suspension of disbelief	the agreement on the part of the reader or audience to ignore the unbelievable elements of a story for the sake of enjoyment	83
6167101894	imagery	Literary tool used to create a fully realized description of a setting person or thing by appealing to the senses	84
6167101895	synecdoche	a figure of speech by which a part represents a whole, or vice versa. EX: "Set sail!" or "Cleveland won the game."	85
6167101896	analogy	a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification EX: Tom Buchanan is like the guy who soils the pool, then jumps out and says. "Who soiled the pool?"	86
6167101897	audience	the people the writer is intending to communicate with, or convince EX: The audience for Donald Trump's most recent tweet was clearly the news media.	87
6167101898	context	the circumstances that form the setting for an event or statement, including the audience, the historical period, previous remarks by the opposition ... all of which must be known for the statement to be fully understood	88
6167101899	counterargument	the argument AGAINST the stated argument, often included so it can be refuted	89
6167101900	ethos	appeal to the audience's desire for a credible and trustworthy source, by establishing one's expertise, fairness, and good character	90
6167101901	logos	an appeal to the audience's sense of reason/logic through use of facts, analogies and careful argument	91
6167101902	pathos	an emotional appeal; an effort to reach one's audience by appealing to their anger, sadness, fear	92
6167101903	juxtaposition	the side-by-side placement of an unlikely pair for effect EX: In the novel 1984, the main character is named Winston Smith, juxtaposing the most common English last name with the first name of a beloved, heroic British figure (Churchill), suggesting that this "regular guy" might also be a hero	93
6167101904	synthesis	the combination of multiple sources or ideas in a coherent way to make a unified argument	94
6167101905	litotes	a type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite EX: A man wins the lottery and says, "Well, buying that ticket wasn't a waste of time."	95
6167101906	polysyndeton	a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect EX: "They all stood by him: his mother and his brother and his auntie and the neighbor with the daisies and, yes, and even his dog."	96
6167101907	assonance	the repetition of vowel sounds, usually in verse, for effect	97
6167101908	consonance	the repetition of consonant sounds NOT at the beginning of words, usually in verse, for effect	98
6167101909	alliteration	the repetition of consonant sounds in 2 or more successive words, usually at the beginning of the words	99
6167101910	elegy (adj: elegiac)	a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation, especially for someone dead	100
6167101911	periodic sentence	A sentence that saves the main clause or predicate until the end, for emphasis. EX: "Without regard for his mother's broken heart, his lover's tragic longing, or his cat's mournful eyes at the window, he left."	101
6191149600	loose sentence	Roughly the opposite of a periodic sentence, a loose sentence BEGINS with the main clause, which is then followed by multiple qualifying clauses or phrases	102
6167101912	declarative sentence	the most common sentence type, written as a simple statement, typically simple subject followed by a simple predicate. EX. "Her shoes were brown." "We arrived late to school."	103
6167101913	interrogative sentence	a sentence that "interrogates," or asks a question. EX: "Are you coming to dinner?" "What the heck were you thinking?"	104
6167101914	exclamatory sentence	a sentence -- including a subject and a verb, of course -- that expresses a strong opinion or emotion, typically ending in an exclamation point. EX: "This sucks!"	105
6167101915	epigram	a brief, clever, usually satirical saying. EX: "I can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde (syn: maxim, adage, aphorism, witticism)	106
6167101916	platitude	a trite, hollow statement, generally directed at quelling social or emotional unrest. Platitudes usually address a difficult topic with a shallow, unifying wisdom. EX: "Rome wasn't built in a day." "Let cooler heads prevail."	107
6167101917	periphrasis/circumlocution	wordiness; using too many words when just a few would do; beating around the bush	108
6167101918	onomatopoeia	a word that sounds like its meaning EX: hiss, purr, boom	109
6167101919	motif	a recurrent theme in a literary work EX: car accidents, or truth vs. lies, in The Great Gatsby	110
6167101920	euphemism	the substitution of a less offensive expression for one that might be offensive or unpleasant. EX: "sanitary engineer" for "garbage man;" "make love" for "have sex"	111
6167101921	epithet	an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality or characteristic of the person mentioned. EX: "He was so lazy, we added the epithet "Lazy" to Lazy Bob's name."	112
6167101922	epilogue	A final section or chapter of a novel, used to tie up loose ends and, often, to reveal what became of the characters. EX: in a documentary, the final image on which text is displayed: "The body of James Donahue was never found ... States Attorney Schmidt never brought charges against anyone for the crime ..."	113
6167101923	deus ex machina	Latin for "God from a machine." An improbable contrivance in a story. An artificial, or improbable, character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot. EX: the rescue of Frodo and Sam by the eagles in LOTR	114
6167101924	Bildungsroman	German for "education novel," a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (AKA coming of age) EX: Dickens' Great Expectations, Twain's Huckleberry Finn	115
6190974239	rhythm	the strong, regular, repeated sound of stressed or unstressed syllables (in verse) or punctuated phrases/clauses (in rhetorical text)	116
6190984674	antithesis	the use of contrasted meaning within parallel structure for rhetorical emphasis EX: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."	117
6191000168	anecdote	a short, interesting story told or written to draw attention, for humorous effect, or to prove a point	118
6191005741	appositive	a noun or noun phrase that defines or explains another noun, which it follows EX: "... my brother, the only man I ever loved, ..."	119
6191011423	ambiguity	language, the structure or content of which makes its meaning unclear, allowing multiple interpretations. Ambiguity may occur by mistake because of poor communication, or may be purposeful, for effect (AKA "equivocation")	120
6191016301	anaphora	a device in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more successive clauses or sentences, for emphasis EX: In the Declaration of Independence, the repetition of "He has..." at the beginning of each of George III's transgressions against the colonies	121
6191021293	oxymoron	a two-word contradiction EX: "plastic glass," "living dead"	122
6191023135	rhetoric	the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially through the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques	123
6191029718	invective	speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution, often with strong language (syn: harangue, polemic)	124
6191054742	homily	literally, a sermon, but more informally, a homily may be any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice	125
6192620623	authorial intrusion	a literary device wherein the author steps through the curtain of text and speaks directly to the reader	126
6192731380	catharsis	Greek for "cleansing." An emotional release through which a character achieves moral or spiritual renewal EX: the cathartic deaths of Romeo & Juliet finally bring peace between the Montagues & Capulets	127
6194521587	hubris	the extreme pride/arrogance that ultimately brings about a character's downfall EX: Odysseus, Oedipus, Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice"	128
6192765490	digression	a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing	129
6192814549	non sequitur	a logical fallacy in which the conclusion of an argument is both false and irrelevant EX: 1. If I am Japanese, then I am Asian. 2. I am not Japanese. 3. Therefore, I am not Asian. (Also, "non sequitur" can refer to a digression in a conversation or statement	130
6192814550	syllogism	a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true EX: all dogs are animals; all animals have four legs; therefore, all dogs have four legs	131
6194428232	archetype	a universally recognized symbol; a typical character, action or image that represents universal patterns of human nature. An archetype, also known as universal symbol, may be a character, a theme, a symbol, or a setting. EX: a stormy night, a wise old man, a road	132
6194462309	allegory	The device of using character or story elements symbolically to represent ideas. A character may personify hope, for example, or freedom, or fear. EX: George Orwell's Animal Farm	133
6194626151	verisimilitude	the quality of believability in a narrative or work of art; the accuracy with which it imitates real life	134
6194639943	red herring	a clue (usually in detective or suspense novels) intended to mislead readers or characters, leading them to false conclusions. In an argument, a red herring is an irrelevant topic introduced to divert the attention of listeners or readers from the original issue.	135
6194687737	idiom	an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its elements EX: "kick the bucket," "blood is thicker than water"	136
9789654750	anadiplosis	a rhetorical device in which a writer or speaker uses a word near the end of the clause and then repeats that word to begin the next clause. EX: ""The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor!"	137
9789726396	antimetabole	a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase, exactly, in reverse order. EX: "You like Alabama; Alabama likes you." or "Fair is foul and foul is fair."	138
9789817076	anastrophe	a form of literary device wherein the order of the noun and the adjective in the sentence is exchanged. EX: "Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. . . . This one a long time have I watched. . . . Never his mind on where he was."	139
9790947557	chiasmus	Like antimetabole, but less restrictive. A device in which a phrase is repeated, in reverse, but only approximately. EX: I'd love to be marry you, but you wouldn't love to be married to me.	140
9802735615	zeugma	a device in which a single word is used to modify two words, usually in different senses. EX: Last week. I lost my dog and my mind OR She broke his window and his heart.	141
9804663492	epistrophe	the repetition of one or more words at the end of a phrase, clause or verse. (opposite of anaphora) Our family was lost, the village was lost, and the nation was lost.	142
9805627896	deductive reasoning	AKA: the scientific method. A theory, or hypothetical conclusion is proposed, then observations are made of data, or evidence, to determine if the theory is correct. Deductive reasoning moves from the general: the theory, to the specific: the observations. Make conclusions, THEN study data.	143
9805763022	inductive reasoning	Specific observations are made of events, trends, or social processes, and then broader generalizations and theories are based on those observed cases. Study data, THEN make conclusions.	144
9805921947	circular reasoning	a logical fallacy that attempts to make an argument by assuming that what you are trying to prove is already true. EX: You should save your money, because money is important. OR, I deserve a later curfew, so you should let me stay until midnight!	145
9806012326	false equivalence	a logical fallacy that claims a similarity between two things that are not equivalent. (Moral equivalence is included. ) EX: comparing a politician who lies to his wife about an infidelity to a politician who lies to his constituents about stealing money from them	146