AP Lit Terms

Flashcards for English 10 Honors Quarter Four

Theme

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, or object used throughout a work.

Motif

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, or object used throughout a work.

Explication

Act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and attention to fig. language

Koan

A paradox used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge

Dead Metaphor

A metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid; “head of the house”

Telegraphic Sentence

A sentence shorter than five words in length, lacking all stylistic detail

Syntactic Permutation

Sentences that are extraordinarily complex; often difficult to follow

Inversion

The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

Epanalepsis

Repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning & end of the line

Archetype

An ideal version of a type; a typical example; an original model or form

Anachronism

A person, item, or event that doesn’t belong in a certain time period

Isocolon

A succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure

Bathos

Insincere or overdone sentimentality (insincere pathos)

Ad Hominem

An attack on a person rather than the issues at hand

Apostrophe

Speaking to someone or something who cannot respond or is not present

Euphemism

Using a safer or nicer word for something others find inappropriate

Malapropism

Word play in which one word is incorrectly substituted for another

Straw man

A fallacy that defines and attacks one’s position in an argument when they’re not there to defend themselves

Anadiplosis

The last word of a phrase is repeated at the beginning of the next phrase

Chiasmus

ABBA structure of a sentence/phrase

Connotation

The feelings associated with a word

Jargon

Speech and vocabulary associated with a specific group of people

Non-Sequitur

Literally means “does not follow”; an argument that has no logical order

Polysyndeton

Using a ton of conjunctions

Synecdoche

One part of something represents the whole

Metonymy

Substituting the name of a thing/place/person with a closely related word

Zeugma

Using one word to link two thoughts

Euphony

Harmonious sounds (often used in poetry)

Cacophony

Harsh sounds (often used in poetry)

Ambiguity

Having multiple obscure meanings

Litotes

Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

Pedantic

Words that are overly scholarly or academic

Syllogism

A form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two statements

Antecedent

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

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal attack using abusive, strong language

Conundrum

A riddle whose answer involves a pun; also a paradox or difficult problem

Epiphora

The repetition of words or phrases at the end of several clauses (also known as epistrophe)

Semantic

The study of the meaning, connotations, and relationships of words

Refutation

The part of an argument where a speaker counters an opposing view

Perfunctory

Carried out with minimum effort; bare-minimum