AP Terms Flashcards
Ad hominem argument
From the latin meaning “to or against the man” this is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason to feeling rather than intellect
Alliteration
Close repetition of consonant sounds at beginning of words
Allusion
Brief reference to familiar person/thing /incident (often Biblical, historical, mythological or literary).
Apostrophe
Directly addressing an absent or imaginary person
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Ballad
Narrative poem originally sung (ballade a french verse form),
caesura
Pause in line, dictated by rhythm (“A little learning ….is a dangerous thing).
Consonance
Close repetition of identical consonant sounds around different vowel. (flip-flop) or at the end of words (Hid-bed).
Couplet
Two lines of verse usually rhymed and of same meter
Denouement
Events following the climax and falling action (resolution)
Deus ex machina
“god of machine “ (saves the day )
Diction
The choice of words and their placement in sentence
Dissonance
Juxtaposition of jarring sounds
Doggerel
rough ,crudely written verse usually comic
Elegy
dignified poem mourning death
End -stopped line
End of phrase or sentence coincides with end of line
Epic
Extended narrative poem , exalted in style and heroic in theme
Epic (homeric) simile
Extended simile
Epigram
Short, witty statement. graceful and ingenious
Epilogue
Final section of speech or written work
Epiphany
Showing forth (Greek) an insight
Epitaph
Death inscription(“ On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia “ W.C.Fields).
Epithet
Term used to characterize a person( Jack the Ripper).
Fable
Narrative illustrating a moral truth
Figurative Language
makes uses of figures of speech (techniques comparing dissimilar objects) specific figures of speech are listed separately
Foot
Group of syllables forming metrical unit: lamb, Trochee, Anapest and Dactyl