AP Lit Terms Set 3 (25 Words) Flashcards
informal, not always grammatically correct expressions that find acceptance in certain geographical areas and within certain groups of people - ex: Southerners saying “Ya’ll”
colloquial expressions
repetition of successive clauses which oare usually parallel in syntanx (sentence structure). Example: “It’s hard to make time, but to waste it is easy”
chiasmus
an extended metaphor - two unlike tings are compared n several different ways
conciet
a pair of rhyming lines written in the same meter; maybe a separate stanza
couplet
an author’s choice of words - i.e: simple, sophisticated, colloquial, formal, or informal.
diction
pertaining to the base side of man
dionysian
line of verse that carries over into the next line without a pause of any kind
enjambment
a brief quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter
epigraph
an awakening; a sudden understanding or burst or insight
epiphany
substitute word(s) that sound better than another; the use of inoffensive or neutral words to describe a harsher, more serious concept. Example: pass away instead of die.
euphemism
false dichotomy
two extremes in a continuum of intermediate possiblities (doesn’t consdier all the in betweens)”: “You love your country, or you hate it” “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”.
farce
a totally ridiculous comedy
figurative language
the broad term applied to writing or speech not meant to be taken literally but as a figure of speech; states something that is not literally true in order to create an affect (simile, metaphor, personification are figures of speech based on comparison. Metonymy, synechdoche, synesthesia, apostrope, oxymoron, and hyperbole are others).
foil
a character who provides a contrast to another character, thus emphasizing the other’s traits
foreshadowing
the arrangements and presentation of events and information in such as way that prepares for later events.
gothic
a form of novel in which magic, mystery, horrors, and chivalry aboud.
hamartia
a tragic flaw or error in judgement. In lit - the tragic hero’s error of judgement. This with elements of chance and other external forces brings about a catastrophe. The error or flaw often is the result of traits like probity, pride, and overconfidence.
homily
a long speech denouncing someone or something; a didactic lecture
hubris
pride or overconfidence which often leads to a hero to overlook divine warning or to break a moral law (- hubris is a type of hamartia)
hyperbole
exaggeration for effect or empasis, overstatement (a figure of speech)
imagery
devices which appeal to the senses: visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, kinetic - creates a mental picture.
in media res
the story starts in the middle
irony
surprising, amusing, or interesting contrast between reality and expectation. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the opposite of what was / is expected. In dramatic irony, the audience knows something the characters in the drama do not. In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant.
juxtaposition
the positioning of ideas or images side by side for emphasis or to show contrast (i.e. love and hate in Romeo and Juliet.
litotes
a type of meiosis (understatement) in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary, as in “not unhappy” or “a poet of no small stature”.
