AP Literature and Composition Vocabulary Words Flashcards

7931480710	Allegory	A literary work that portrays abstract ideas concretely. Characters in an allegory are frequently personifications of abstract ideas and are given names that refer to these ideas.	0
7931485788	Alliteration	The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words or syllables.	1
13783973824	Allusion	A reference to another work of literature, person, or event	2
13783979957	Anaphora	the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses	3
13783987341	Antagonist	A character or force in conflict with the main character	4
13783997017	Archaic language	Old-fashioned, out-of-date language and expressions. Example: "thou" "doth" "shalt"	5
13784023158	Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds	6
13784026373	Ballad	A narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style.	7
13784031715	Blank verse	Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter	8
13784046554	Catharsis	the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.	9
13784056976	Colloquilism	informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing	10
13784060421	Connotation	an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.	11
13784066628	Consonance	Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.	12
13784073537	Critical Lens	Different ways to approach interpreting a work of literature, also known as critical perspectives.	13
13784105922	Cultural Lens	theories about the world and reality based on the assumptions and values of one's own culture	14
13784127238	Formalist Lens	Focuses on elements of the text itself (such as symbols, character development, structure, etc)	15
13784132989	Gendered Lens	an interpretation of a text that explores its treatment of gender stereotypes, social mores and values based on gender, and the overall representation of the genders	16
13784142051	Historical Lens	A lens that examines media from a historical point of view, analyzing time period and location as well as current events and struggles	17
13784147820	Psychological Lens	look either at the psychological motivations of the characters or of the authors themselves, although the former is generally considered a more respectable approach	18
13784160160	Denotation	The dictionary definition of a word	19
13784165411	Denouement	the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.	20
13784176689	Dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	21
13784183066	Enjabment	the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.	22
13784231450	Epigram	a witty saying expressing a single thought or observation	23
13784241416	Extended Metaphor	A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.	24
13784244662	Farce	A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose.	25
13784256845	Personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	26
13784261285	Paradox	A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.	27
13784269306	Overstatement	the action of expressing or stating something too strongly; exaggeration.	28
13784273815	Understatement	the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.	29
13784280423	Irony	the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning	30
13784300553	Formal Diction	language that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal	31
13784314380	Free Verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	32
13784317625	Iambic pentameter	a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable	33
13784338588	Informal Diction	represents the plain language of everyday use, and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contractions, and many simple, common words	34
13784408840	Situational Irony	occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected	35
13784430458	Verbal Irony	sarcasm	36
13784436698	Juxtaposition	placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast	37
13784441424	Metaphor	a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.	38
13784447310	Non Sequitur	an idea that does not follow	39
13784457637	Oxymoron	a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction	40
13784460531	Parallel Structure	repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.	41
13784492590	Propaganda	ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.	42
13784516914	Protagonist	main character	43
13784530768	Realism	the attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth	44
13784536499	Satire	the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.	45
13784540744	Simile	comparing two things using like or as	46
13784543565	Soliloquy	a monologue in which a character, alone on the stage, reveals his or her thoughts or emotions	47
13784568351	Syntax	The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.	48
13784575394	Word play	Playing on words or speech sounds; Example: An orange says to a strawberry, "You are Berry special!"	49