AP Test Vocab Flashcards
Adage
A saying or proverb containing a truth based on experience and often couched in a metaphorical language.
Abstract
An abbreviated synopsis of a longer work of scholarship or research
Allegory
A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibility in a meaning.
Alliteration
The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose.
Allusion
A reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea.
Ambiguity
A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation.
Anachronism
A person, scene, event, or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set.
Analogy
A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things.
Annotation
A brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text or work of literature.
Antagonist
A character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist produces tension or conflict.
Antithesis
A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences.
Aphorism
A short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment.
Apollonian
In contrast to Dionysian, it refers to the most noble, godlike qualities of human nature and behavior.
Apostrophe
A rhetorical device in which a speaker addresses a person or personified thing not present.
Archetype
An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form.
Assonance
The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines in poetry and prose.
Ballad
A simple narrative verse that tells a story that is sung or recited.
Bard
A poet; in olden times, a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment.
Bathos
The use of insincere or overdone sentimentality.
Bibliography
A list of works cited or other relevant work.
Bildungsroman
A German word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as a hero travels in a quest of a goal.
Blank verse
Poetry written in iambic pentameter, the primary meter used in English poetry and the works of Shakespeare and Milton.
Bombast
Inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects.
Burlesque
A work of literature meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation.
Cacophony
Grating, inharmonious sounds.
Caesura
A pause somewhere in the middle if a verse, often marked by punctuation.
Canon
The works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studied.
