AP Vocab Flashcards
Ad hominem
a response to a person’s argument by attacking the person’s character rather than the logic or content of the argument
Allegory
a work of art, such as a story or painting, in which the characters, images, and/or events act as symbols
Anachronism
something or someone that is not in the correct chronological time period
Anaphora
a word or group of words is repeated at the beginning of two or more successive clauses or sentences
Antithesis
the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentences within parallel grammatical structures
Apostrophe
when a speaker breaks off from addressing one party and instead addresses a third party
Assonance
the repetition of a vowel sound or diphthong in non–rhyming words
Asyndeton
the omission of a conjunction such as “and” or “as” from a series of related clauses
Bathos
A lapse into the ridiculous by the author aiming at elevated expression
Bildungsroman
a coming–of–age story, which focuses on a narrative of a young adult growing morally and psychologically into an adult
Carpe diem
a common moral or theme in classical literature that the reader should make the most out of life and should enjoy it before it ends
Chiasmus
two or more clauses which are related grammatically and conceptually, but in which the grammar and concepts are reversed
Didactic
containing a political or moral message to which aesthetic considerations are subordinated
Elliptical
very condensed or concise, often so as to be obscure or ambiguous
Epigraph
a short quotation that is set at the beginning of a text or section of a text to suggest the theme of what’s to come
