AP Lit Vocab Terms Page 7

Conflict

a struggle between two opposing forces; can be internal or external

Concession

in argument, to agree to or surrender to an opponent’s point of view

Connotation

the attitudes, emotions, or feelings associated with a word; non-literal, associative meaning of a work; the implied suggested meaning which may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes (as compared to denotation)

Consonance

the repetition of sounds within and at the end of words; usually refers to words in which the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different

Contrast 

the juxtaposition of disparate and opposed images, ideas, or both, to heighten or clarify a scene, theme, or episode

Convention

an understanding between a reader and writer about certain details of a story that does not need to be explained

Couplet

a rhymed pair of lines

Deduction

syllogism, begins with a major premise followed by a minor premise and then a conclusion

Deductive Reasoning

deriving from something known or inferred

Denotation

the dictionary (literal) definition of a word (as compared to connotation)

Denouement

falling action and resolution of conflict

deus ex machina

refers to a character or force that appears at the end of a story or play to help resolve conflicts. In ancient Greek drama, gods were lowered onto the stage by a mechanism to extricate characters from a seemingly hopeless situation. The phrase has come to mean any turn of events that solve the characters’ problems through an unexpected and unlikely intervention or an artificial device or gimmick

Dialect

a particular variety of language spoken in a definite place by a distinct group of people; varied pronunciation, vocabulary, sentence structure, and spelling; adds to characterization and enhances setting; also referred to as vernacular as it usually reveals social or geographic status of a character

Dialogue

written conversation between two or more characters

Diary

a writer’s personal day-to-day account of his or her experiences and impressions

Diction

a writer’s or speaker’s choice of words

Didactic

instructive; designed to impart information, advice, morality, or philosophy

Digression

a temporary departure from one subject to another which may or may not be distantly related before the first subject is resumed (to wander)