AP Exam Flashcards - Glossary
gerund
word that acts as both a noun and a verb
ex. “swimming across the lake is fun” - swimming
participle
word that acts as both an adjective and a verb
ex. “the girl, swimming across the lake, reminds me of my sister” - swimming
abstract
complex style discussing intangibles (good, evil), usually without examples as support
academic
dry, theoretical writing (analysis)
accent
stressed portion of a word in a poem (sometimes interpretable, sometimes not)
aesthetic(s)
adj: appealing to the senses
noun: coherent sense of taste
aesthetics (pl.): study of beauty
allegory
story where each aspect has a symbolic meaning beyond the text
alliteration
repetition of initial sounds
allusion
reference to another work or famous figure
- classical: Greek, Roman mythology, literature like “The Iliad”
- topical: current event
- popular: pop culture
anachronism
“misplaced in time”
ex. if an actor in “Julius Caesar” forgets to take off his wristwatch, which doesn’t belong in that time
analogy
comparison, usually between two or more symbolic parts
anecdote
short narrative
antagonist
character, group, characteristic, entity in opposition to protagonist
antecedent
a word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun replaces or is in reference to
ex. “the principal asked the children where they were going” - they is the pronoun, children the antecedent
anthropomorphism
when inanimate objects, animals, natural phenomena are given human characteristics or motivations
anticlimax
when an action has a smaller effect than expected; usually comic
aphorism
short and witty saying
apostrophe
address to someone not present, or to a personified object/idea
archaism
deliberate use of old-fashioned language (feelings of antiquity)
archetypes
standard, cliched character types
aside
short comment made by actor to audience, as if stepping aside of the action on stage
ballad
long, narrative poem with regular meter and rhyme; naive, folk-like, distinguished from epic poetry
bathos
straining for grandiosity with no effect
bombast
pretentious, exaggerated language (use of largest and most uncommon words, maybe)
burlesque
broad parody
ex. taking on “Hamlet” and exaggerating it until ridiculous
cacophony
deliberately harsh, awkward sounds
canto
name for a section division in long poetry (think chapters)
catharsis
“cleansing” of emotion of an audience member after having lived vicariously through a performance
chorus
group of people who stand outside and comment on main action
classic vs. classical
classic: typical, or accepted masterpiece
classical: arts of ancient Greece/Rome
coinage (neologism)
word invented on the spot
ex. using someone’s name as a replacement for something bad
colloquialisim
word or phrase used in conventional English that is not “schoolbook” (formal)
conceit, controlling image, extended metaphor
poetry; startling, unusual metaphor, one developed over several lines
controlling image: metaphor that dominates the work
denotation
literal meaning
connotation
everything but a literal meaning; everything suggested/implied
consonance
repetition of consonant sounds within words, not at beginning
ex. flock of sick black ducks
couplet
pair of lines that end in rhyme
decorum
when a character’s speech is modeled around social conformities or expectations
dirge
a song for the dead (slow, heavy, melancholy)
dissonance
incompatible sounds
doggerel
crude, simplistic verse; usually presented as part of sing-song rhyme
dramatic irony
when the audience knows something the character does not
elegy
poem about death or mortality (serious, thoughtful); usually use recent death of famous person or family member as starting point
enjambment
continuation of syntactic unit from one line or couplet to next, with no pause
epitaph
lines commemorating dead at burial place; usually serious or religious, sometimes witty
euphony
harmonious blend of sounds
farce
today: extremely broad humor
earlier: funny play, comedy
feminine rhyme
lines rhymed by final two syllables
foot
basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry (combination of stressed/unstressed syllables)
hubris
excessive pride or ambition leading to downfall
en medias res
“in the midst of things”; action in epic poems usually begins in medias res
inversion
switching conventional order of elements in sentence, phrase
lament
poem of sadness, grief over intense loss
loose and periodic sentence
loose: complete before its end
periodic: not grammatically correct until its punctuation
lyric
poetry focused on feelings about the world; for tone, usually sweet, emotional, and melodious
masculine rhyme
regular rhyme (rhyme based on final syllable)
melodrama
hero is very good; villain is very bad; heroine is very pure (archetypes)
metonym
word used to stand for something that it is associated with
onomatopoeia
words that imitate sounds
opposition
pair of contrasting elements that make each other more vivid, informative because of their contrast
parable
story that instructs (fable, allegory)
paradox
situation that seems to contradict itself but actually does not
parallelism
repeated syntactical similarities
parody
work making fun of another work by exaggerating its qualities
pastoral
poem set in tranquil nature (specifically about shepherds)
personification
giving an inanimate object human qualities or form (physical shape)
plaint
poem epxressing sorrow
refrain
line or set of lines repeated several times throughout a poem
protagonist
main character of a novel or play
requiem
song of prayer for the dead
rhapsody
intensely passionate verse, usually focused on love or praise
satire
humor focused on making fun of society through witty, dark social commentary (raise awareness to ridiculousness)
stanza
group of lines in verse, analogous to paragraph
suspension of disbelief
acceptance of an audience or reader of the incidents of plot in a story
syncope
contracting or shortening a word by removing internal sounds, syllables, or letters, using an apostrophe instead
ex. heav’n, ev’ry, fail’d
synecdoche
figure of speech where part represents whole
tragic flaw (hamartia)
weakness of a character that is otherwise good which ultimately leads to demise
travesty
distortion, corruption, terribly false representation of something
truism
too obvious truth
verisimilitude
appearance of being real or true
zeugma
use of a word to modify two or more words, but for different meanings
ex. “he closed the door and his heart on his lost love”
