AP Vocab 1-30 Flashcards
Abstraction
A concept or value that cannot be seen (love, honor) and which the writer illustrates by comparing it metaphorically to a known, concrete object.
Allegory
A literary work that portrays abstract ideas concretely. Characters in an allegory are frequently personifications of abstract ideas and are given names that refer to these ideas.
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sentence of words or syllables.
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature or to art, history, or current events.
Ambiguity
Expression of an idea in such a way that suggests more than one meaning.
Analogy
In literature, a comparison between two things that helps explain or illustrate one or both of them.
Anaphora
Repetition of an initial word or words to add emphasis.
Anecdote
A brief story that illustrates a point.
Annotation
The act of noting observations directly on a text, especially anything striking or confusing, in order to record ideas and impressions for later analysis.
Antagonist
Character in a story or play who opposes the protagonist; while not necessarily an enemy, the antagonist creates or intensifies a conflict for the protagonist.
Antithesis
A contrast of ideas expressed in a grammatically balanced statement.
Aphorism
A brief, clever saying that expresses a principle, truth, or observation about life.
Apostrophe
A direct address to an abstraction (such as time), a thing (the wind), an animal, or an imaginary or absent person.
Approximate Rhyme
Using words that have some sound correspondence but imperfect rhyme.
Archaic Language
Words that were once common but that are no longer used.
Archetype
A cultural symbol that has become universally understood and recognized.
Archetypal Settings
Settings that have universal aspects associated by most people with a particular human experience.
Archetypal Characters
Characters who are understood by most people to embody a certain universal human experience.
Aside
Private words spoken by a character on the stage so that the audience hears the words but the other characters do not.
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words.
Asyndeton
Deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses.
Attitude
The author’s way of looking at a subject, implicit in the mode / genre (tragedy, satire, etc.) and essential to meaning.
Ballad
A narrative poem with song-like qualities written in quatrains with the rhyme scheme ‘abcb’, usually in iambic pentameter.
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Bildungsroman
A novel that explores the maturation of the protagonist, with the narrative usually moving the character from childhood to adulthood. Synonymous with ‘Coming of Age’.
Cacophony
A succession of harsh, discordant sounds in prose or verse to achieve a specific effect.
Cadence
Quality of spoken text formed from combining the text’s rhythm with the rise and fall in the inflection of the speaker’s voice.
Caesura
A pause in a line of verse, usually near the middle of the line.
Caricature
A character with features or traits exaggerated so that the character seems ridiculous. The term is usually applied to graphic depictions but can also be applied to written depictions.
Catharsis
Refers to the emotional release felt by the audience at the end of a tragic drama.
