AP Terms 2 Flashcards
chiasmus
(in poetry) a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed
“Flowers are lovely, lovely is flowerlike.”
chiasmus
cliche
a word or phrase, often a figure of speech that has become lifeless because of overuse - avoid like the plague
colloquialism
a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations
“He’s out of his head of he thinks I’m gonna go for such a stupid idea.”
colloquialism
comedy
a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters
conceit
elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different; often an extended metaphor
confessional poetry
20th century term used to describe poetry that used intimate material from the poet’s life
conflict
the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story
external conflict
conflicts between two people, a person and nature/machine/society
internal conflict
conflict involving opposing forces within a person’s mind
connotation
associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition
couplet
2 consecutive rhyming lines of poetry
dialect
way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area
diction
a speaker or writer’s choice of words
didactic
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior of thinking
elegy
a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died
epanalepsis
device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence
“Common sense is not so common.”
epanalepsis
epic
long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society
epigraph
quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme
epistrophe
device of repetition in which the same expression (single words or phrase) is repeated at the end of 2 or more lines, clauses, or sentences (opposite of anaphora)
epithet
adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality
“Father of our country”, “the great Emancipator”
epithet
essay
short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject
argumentation
form of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way
persuasion
relies more on emotional appeals than on facts
argument
form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way
casual relationship
form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument
description
form of discourse that uses language to create a mood or emotion
exposition
form of discourse in which something is explained or “set forth”
narrative
form of discourse that tells about a series of events
