AP Glossary Flashcards
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action.
Example of Active Voice
“Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house. “
Effect of Active Voice on text
The subject of the sentence comes first and performs the action that the rest of the sentence describes.
Allusion
An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which reader is supposed to be familiar with.
Example of Allusion
“She felt like she had a golden ticket.”
Effect of Allusion on text
Allusion can be used to build trust with their readers, contextualize characters, and help disclose mysterious plots points.
Alter-ego
A character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character.
Example of Alter-ego
In Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, Shakespeare talks to his audience about his own upcoming retirement, through the main character in the play, Prospero.
Effect of Alter-ego on text
It lets authors explore other sides of themselves, or other sides of their characters.
Anecdote
A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
Example of Anecdote
In Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire by J K Rowling, Dumbledore uses an anecdote when talking to another headmaster. “I’d never dream to assume that I know all of the secrets of Hogwarts. Just this morning, for example, I had taken a wrong turn on my way to the bathroom, I then found myself inside a wonderfully proportioned room which I had not seen before, it contained a truly astonishing collection of chamber pots. I then returned to investigate but discovered the room had disappeared.“
Effective of Anecdote on text
They’re often inserted into fictional or nonfiction texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor.
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
Example of Antecedent
“David plays football in the courtyard. All the children have gathered there.”
Effect of Antecedent on text
It can make the sense of a sentence clear to the readers.
Classicism
Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures.
Example of Classicism
Dryden’s poetry, especially “MacFlecknoe” and “Annus Mirabilus are poems example.
Effect of Classicism on text
Classicism focuses more on the realistic aspect of the text and the theme is more realistic as well.
Comic Relief
When a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story.
Example of Comic Relief
The “gatekeeper scene” in Macbeth.
Effect of Comic Relief on text
Comic relief brings a relief to a time of darkness in the text and doesn’t make the story so negative.
Diction
Word choice, particularly as an element of style.
Example of diction
In “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” in an example.
Effect of Diction on text
It’s the thing that sets the tone, mood, and atmosphere of a piece.