AP Lang Flashcards
Abstract
dictionreferstowordsthatdescribeconcepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places.words create no “mental picture” or any other imagined sensations for readers. emotion
Allusion
brief or indirect reference to a person, place, event, or passage in a work of literature or the Bible assumed to be sufficiently well known to be recognized by the reader.
Analogy
a comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained in terms of the more simple.
“Last year’s profile of the stock index looks like a roller-coaster ride at your local amusement park.”
Anaphora
he repetition of introductory words or phrases for effect.
Anecdote
a short entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical used to bring humor or to illustrate a particular characteristic or trait.
Antithesis
opposition or contrast emphasized by parallel structure.“A man desires the satisfaction of his desires; a woman desires the condition of desiring.”
Aphorism
a brief saying embodying a moral; a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words.“Imitation is suicide.”
Argumentation
writing that attempts to prove the validity of a proposition or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing
Apostrophe
a strategy in which an absent person, inanimate object (the sun, for example), or abstract being
(Death) is addressed directly.
Assonance
repetition of vowel sounds between different consonants; e.g. Early in the day, the neighs began to fade.
Asyndeton
Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is omitted; in addition, the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence. This is a form of parallelism.“Like Dave, he asked nothing, gave nothing, expected nothing
Cacophony
harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony:
“The powers of prunes are prudent to provide potent pallitive prophylaxis
Caricature
descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality; used for comic effect or criticism
Chiasmus
a syntactical structure by which the order of the terms in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. This may involve a repetition of the same words (“Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure” –Byron) or just a reversed parallel between two corresponding pairs of ideas.
Colloquialism
words or phrases (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing which is usually inappropriate in formal writing, e.g. y’all, ain’t, guys, stuff, kind of, etc..
Connotation
implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader’s mind. These are often classified as negative, neutral, or positive: Strong-willed (positive) Pig-headed (negative)
Concrete Language
words that describe specific, observable things, people, or
places, rather than ideas or qualities.
Consonance
repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best
Conundrum
a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem: Which
came first, the chicken or the egg?
Deduction
a form of reasoning using syllogism where the author begins with a generalization, then applies the generalization to a specific case or cases
- The picture is above the desk.
- The desk is above the floor.
- Therefore, the picture is above the floor.
Denotation
the literal or obvious meaning of a word (dictionary definition)
Didactic
writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach.
Discourse
spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion.
Dissonance
inconsistancy/disagreement btw belief n actions
Ellipsis
any omitted part of speech that is easily understood in context, e.g. in the sentence from Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, “And so he went on, and the people groaning and crying and saying amen:…” there is an omitted/understood “were” between “people” and “groaning.”
Epistrophe
he repetition of the same word or groups of words at the ends of phrases, clauses, or sentences. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child;”
Euphony
a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose
Explication
the art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text.
Exposition
designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand through the use of facts, reasons, or examples; one of the four modes of discourse.
Extended Metaphor
a sustained comparison. The extended metaphor is developed throughout a piece of writing.
Imagery
lively descriptions which impress the images of things upon the mind using one or more of the five senses; figures of speech.
Hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis:
He was so hungry he could have eaten a horse.
“I sat mindless and eternal on the kitchen floor, stony of head, and solemn.”
Induction
a form of reasoning using syllogism, which works from a body of fact to the formulation or a generalization; opposite to deduction; frequently used as the principle form of reasoning in science and history.
- Most of the jellybeans in my hand are red.
- They were taken from this jar, and I mixed them up well before I took them out.
- So most of the jellybeans in this jar are red.
Interior Monologue
character’s iner thought
Inversion
reversing the customary order of elements (SVO) in a sentence or phrase.
Jargon
the special language of a profession or group. The term usually has pejorative associations, with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders.
Juxtaposition
a type of zeugma—putting together two contrasting elements that are so unlike that the effect is surprising, witty, or even startling
“Neither the sun nor death can be regarded steadily.”:
Lending Credence
making it more believable
Litotes/understatement
a statement that says less than what it means.
“We know that poverty is unpleasant.”
Loose Sentence
a simple sentence with a string of details added to itBells rang, filling the air with their clangor, startling pigeons into flight from every belfry,
bringing people into the streets to hear the news.
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another by being spoken of as thought it
were that thing: e.g. “a sea of troubles.”
“Time is but a stream that I go a’fishing in.”
Metonymy
a figure of speech that replaces the name of an object, person, or idea with something with which it is associated:
The red, white, and blue came to save the day. (The red, white, and blue refers to the United States of America.)
Moral
the lesson drawn from a fictional or nonfictional story. It can also mean something that conforms
to a standard of righteous behavior.
Motif
the main thematic element or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; a repeated pattern or idea.
Objectivity
an impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is an author’s attempt to remove
himself or herself from an subjective, personal involvement in a story. Hard news journalism is frequently prized for its objectivity, although even fictional stories can be told without an author rendering personal judgment.
Onomatopoeia
the use of words that sound like what they mean, such as “hiss,” “buzz,” “slam,” and
“boom.”
“He did not steal for the joy of it, but because of the clamor of his stomach.”
Oversimplification
a fallacy in which the author obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument.
Oxymoron
a figure of speech in which contradictory terms or ideas are combined: e.g. “thunderous silence.” “sensual coldness.”—Helen Keller
Pacing
where a passage speeds up or slows down; this is achieved through sentence structure (syntax),
repetition, and punctuation.
Parable
a short story from which a lesson may be drawn
Paradox
a statement which seems self-contradictory, but which may be true in fact.“I hated him for making me stop hating him.”
Parallelism
ny structure which brings together parallel elements, be these nouns, adjectives, verbs,
adverbs, or larger structures to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. The prince’s strength is also his weakness; his self-reliance is also isolation.”
“However our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears dazzled with sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our
understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason will say it is right.”
Pedantic
a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant.
Polysyndeton
a sentence which uses and or another conjunction to separate the items in a series.
Polysyndeton appear in the form of X and Y and Z,
Rhetoric
THE ART OF USING WORDS EFFECTIVELY IN WRITING OR SPEAKING SO AS TO INFLUENCE OR PERSUADE
Protagonist
main character
Rhetorical modes
exposition, description, narration, argumentation
Rhetorical Question
a question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point, no answer being expected. Sometimes, an author will answer the question himself or herself in order to drive the point home even more forcefully.
Sarcasm
harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony.
Satire
use of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. to expose vices, abuses, etc.
Simile
a figure of speech that uses like, as, or as if to make a direct comparison between two essentially different objects, actions, or qualities.
“The sky looked like an artist’s canvas.”
Speaker
the voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or a fictitious persona.
Spin
propaganda w/deceptive persuaion
Subjectivity
judgement shaped by opinions and feelings instead of outside influences
Syllogism
a form of reasoning in which two premises are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. There is a major premise and a minor premise, from which a conclusion may be drawn using deductive or inductive reasoning.
Synecdoche
a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using “boards” to mean a stage or “wheels” to mean a car: All hands on deck.
Syntax
the grammatical structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence. Syntax includes both the length of the sentence as well as the kind of sentence
Transition
a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to
sentence and paragraph to paragraph.
Voice
refers to the total “sound” of an author’s style. The author’s unique way of expressing himself or
herself. May also refer to the relationship between the sentence’s subject and verb
Zeugma
verb/adj applies to more than one noun
john lost his coat and temper
vrbal irony
a method of expression, often humorous or sarcastic, in which the intended meaning of the
words is the opposite of their usual meaning: e.g. saying that a cold, windy, rainy day is “lovely.”
situational irony
when something happens as a result of or in reaction to something else in a way that is
contrary to what would be expected or acceptable. A great difference in the purpose of an action and its result. It usually includes a cruel twist, emphasizing that human beings are enmeshed in forces beyond their comprehension and control, showing that there is a larger purpose or force at work.
