ap terms quiz 1

Alliteration

The repetition of beginning consonant sound of words. (ex. The chocolate chip cookie was crunchy.)

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. (ex. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…)

Cacophony

Harsh, dissonant sounds in recited poetry. It is deliberately used to bring attention to the content (ex. Dishes crashing on the floor, or horns blaring and people yelling in a traffic accident.)

Cadence

The rhythm of phrases or sentences created through repetitive elements.

Allusion

A reference to well-known person, place, thing, or event that the writer assumes the reader will be familiar with. (ex. She swoops in to help with Herculean strength.)

Apostrophe

\n A digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea. (ex. O Death, where is thy sting?)

Assonance

The repetition of the vowel sounds within words. (ex. I fly high when I dream of my lover.)

Antithesis

A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses (ex. Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open)

Aside

A dramatic convention by which an actor directly addresses the audience but it is not supposed to be heard by the other actors on the stage.

Conceit

An elaborate parallel between two seemingly dissimilar objects or ideas. Somewhat like a metaphor. (ex. A broken heart is like a damaged clock.)

Catharsis

Process by which an unhealthy emotional state produced by an imbalance of feelings is corrected and emotional health is restored.

Chiasmus

Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X. It is often short and summarizes a main idea. (ex. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country)

Caesura

A break in poetic rhythm and structure. It usually ushers in the turn or shift in the work.

Consonance

\n The repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within words, not just at the beginning. (ex. The sailor sings of ropes and things in ships upon the stormy seas.)

Enjambment

A sentence or clause runs into the next line without a break. This creates a sense of suspense or excitement and gives added emphasis to the word at the end of the line.

Epiphany

A realization by a fictional character about the essential mature of being or an event. A sudden perception, an intuitive flash of recognition.

Free Verse

Unrhymed poetry with lines of varying lengths and containing no specific metrical pattern.

Hyperbole

Conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect. (ex. Fired the shot heard around the world)

Meiosis

Intentional understatement, opposite of hyperbole (ex. In Romeo and Juliet, when Mercutio is mortally wounded and says it is only a "scratch")

Malapropism

A humorous misuse of language that results from substituting an incorrect word for one with similar sound. (ex. I reprehend you perfectly -> the correct word should be "comprehend")

Oxymoron

Two words with opposite meanings put together for a special effect; juxtaposed opposites. (ex. Jumbo shrimp)

Synedoche

A form of metonymy in which a part of an entity is used to refer to the whole. (ex. All hands on deck!)

Versimilitude

Depiction of characters and setting, giving them the appearance of truth; realism.

Bildungsroman

A novel narrating the story of a young person's coming of age and development

Blank Verse

A poem written in unrhymed verse; unrhymed iambic pentameter.