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AP English Language And Composition > Literary Terms > Flashcards

Literary Terms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Ad hominem

A

Attacking an opponent’s motives or character rather than the policy or position they maintain.

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2
Q

Allegory

A

A narrative in which the agents and action, and sometimes the setting as well, are contrived by both to make sense on the literal level and also to signify a second, correlated level of agents, concepts, and events.

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3
Q

Allusion

A

A direct or indirect reference to another commonly known thing

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4
Q

Analogy

A

A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

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5
Q

Anaphora

A

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

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6
Q

Anecdote

A

A short account of an interesting event to illustrate a point.

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7
Q

Antecedent

A

The word, phrase, clause referred to by a pronoun.

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8
Q

Antithesis

A

Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting idea.

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9
Q

Aphorism

A

A short, astute statement of a general truth or moral principle.

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10
Q

Apostrophe

A

Direct address either to an absent person or to an abstract or inanimate entity

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11
Q

Asyndeton

A

A strategy of deliberately leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.

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12
Q

Cacophony

A

Language which seems harsh, rough, and unmusical.

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13
Q

Caricature

A

A representation in which a subject’s distinctive features are exaggerated deliberately to produce a comic or grotesque effect.

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14
Q

Chiasmus

A

A sequence of two phrases or clauses which a re parallel in syntax but with réeras in the order of the corresponding words.

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15
Q

Colloquialism

A

An informal or conversational use of language.

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16
Q

Connotation

A

That with is implied by a word, as opposed to the word’s literal meaning.

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17
Q

Cumulative sentence

A

Like a loose sentence, one in which the main clauses comes first.

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18
Q

Denotaion

A

The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition.

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19
Q

Dialect

A

The language of a particular district, class, or group of persons.

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20
Q

Didactic

A

Refers to words that are designed to promote a moral, religious, or philosophical theme or doctrine.

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21
Q

Double entendre

A

The deliberate use of ambiguity in a phrase or image especially involving sexual or humorous meanings.

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22
Q

Epiphany

A

A sudden realization

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23
Q

Ethos

A

A Greek term referring to the character of a person.

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24
Q

Euphemism

A

The use in place of the blunt term fro something disagreeable, terrifying, or offensive.

25
Q

Exposition

A

Background information presented in a literary work.

26
Q

Extended metaphor

A

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

27
Q

Homily

A

A sermon or speech involving moral or spiritual advice.

28
Q

Hortative sentence

A

A sentence that urges or strongly encourages.

29
Q

Hyperbole

A

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis.

30
Q

Invective

A

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

31
Q

Verbal Irony

A

When a writer or speaker uses words that state the exact opposite of what is meant.

32
Q

Situational irony

A

When events turn out the opposite way from what would be expected.

33
Q

Dramatic irony

A

When the audience knows more about facts or events in a text or play that the characters do.

34
Q

Juxtaposition

A

Placement of two usually dissimilar things side by side for emphasis

35
Q

Litotes

A

Special for of understatement in which something is asserted by denying its opposite.

36
Q

Logical fallacy

A

Common errors in redoing that would undermine the logic of an argument.

37
Q

Logos

A

An attempt to persuade the audience with logic/facts.

38
Q

Metonymy

A

Use of one object to represent the something with which it is closely associated.

39
Q

Motif

A

A type of incident, device, or idea which recurs frequently in a literary work to develop a theme.

40
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

What the pronunciation of a word imitates the thing it describes.

41
Q

Paradox

A

A statement which seems on its face to be self- contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to make some around of sense.

42
Q

Parallelism

A

The repetitions of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

43
Q

Parody

A

A work that imitated and exaggerates the prominent features of another for comedic purposes.

44
Q

Pathos

A

An attempt to persuade an audience with emotion, often the emotion of pity.

45
Q

Pendantic

A

Overly concerned with minute details or formalismes, especially in teaching.

46
Q

Periodic sentence

A

A sentence that builds toward and ends with the main clause.

47
Q

Polysyndeton

A

Deliberate repetition of connectives or conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect.

48
Q

Pun

A

A play on words that often has a comic effect.

49
Q

Reductio ad absurdum

A

“To reduce to the absurd”

50
Q

Rhetoric

A

The use of effective, persuasive language.

51
Q

Sarcasm

A

Uses bitter, caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something

52
Q

Satire

A

An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, bit actually argues against it.

53
Q

Sentence length

A

A. Telegraphic, B. Short, C. Medium, D. Long and involved.

54
Q

Sentence types

A

A. Simple, B. Compound, C. Complex, D. Compound-complex

55
Q

Syllogism

A

A form of deductive resonating in which the two premise and a minor premise lead inevitably to a logia always conclusion.

56
Q

Synecdoche

A

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole.

57
Q

Understatement

A

Lack of emphasis in a statement or point.

58
Q

Wit

A

A kind of verbal expression which is brief, deft, and intentionally contrived to produce a pleasant and comic surprise.

59
Q

Zeugma

A

A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs two or more words in a sentence.

AP English Language And Composition (4 decks)

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