Barron's Terms - List Nine

AP Terms List 9

syntax

the organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular syntax, or pattern of words.

theme

the main idea or meaning, often an abstract idea upon which an essay or other form of discourse is built.

thesis

the main idea of a piece of discourse; the statement or proposition that a speaker or writer wishes to advance, illustrate, prove, or defend.

tone

the author’s attitude toward the subject being written about. the tone is the characteristic emotion that pervades a work or part of a work—the spirit or quality that is the work’s emotional essence.

tragedy

a form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or by a set of forces that cause the hero considerable anguish.

transition

a stylistic device used to create a link between ideas. transitions often endow discourse with continuity and coherence.

trope

the generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, similie, and metaphor.

understatement

a restrained statement that departs from what could be said; a studied avoidance of emphasis or exaggeration, often to create a particular effect.

verbal irony

a discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words.

verisimilitude

similar to the truth; the quality of realism in a work that persuades readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is or could have been.

verse

a synonym for poetry; also a group of lines in a song or poem; also a single line of poetry.

voice

the real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker. in grammar, active voice and passive voice refer to the use of verbs. a verb is in the active voice when it expresses an action performed by its subject. a verb is in the passive voice when it expresses an action performed upon its subject or when the subject is the result of the action.

whimsy

an object, device, or creation that is fanciful or rooted in unreality.

wit

the quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene.