AP Lang Vocab List 3

homily

literal meaning: sermon / informally: can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice

hyperbole

figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, often has a comic effect, but a serious effect is also possible, producing irony

• ex: i’m so hungry, i could eat a horse / i love you to the moon and back

imagery

sensory details or figurative language to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. physically, it uses terms to relate to the five senses, but can represent more than one thing on a broader and deeper level. a complex form of this can be used while employing other figures of speech (especially simile)

• ex: the air smelled salty, the blanket was soft, the donut tasted sweet with hints of vanilla, the sun shined, the pots and pans clanged

inference/infer

to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented

• ex: seeing someone eat a new food and they make a face, you can conclude they do not like it

irony/ironic

contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant

verbal: words state the opposite of the writer’s true meaning

• ex: sarcasm, “great weather!” (it’s raining)

situation: events turn out the opposite of what was expected

• ex: a police station being robbed, a goalie accidentally kicking the ball into their own goal while trying to block a shot

dramatic: facts or events are unknown to the character, but known to the reader, audience, or other characters

• the audience knows Juliet is asleep (not dead) but Romeo does not, and kills himself

invective

an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

• ex: a character verbally attacking someone using harsh words

loose sentence

a sentence where the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses, and if a period were at the end of the independent clause, it would be a complete sentence. a work with this type of sentence seems informal, relaxed, and conversation.

• ex: the car zoomed down the highway, bypassing slower vehicles, making good time, and offering a sense of freedom

metaphor

figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. it makes writing more vivid, imaginative, thought-provoking, and meaningful.

• ex: he is a shining star, heart of gold, life is a highway

metonymy

term from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name”, a figure of speech where one object's name is substituted for another closely associated with it.

• ex: dish instead of food, the White House instead of the President, hand instead of help, tongue instead of language

mood

first meaning: grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speaker’s attitude. INDICATIVE is used for factual sentences, SUBJUNCTIVE is used to express conditions contrary to fact. IMPERATIVE used for commands

second meaning: literary - the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work

similar to tone and atmosphere, and can be affected by setting, tone, events

• ex: indicative - it is sunny today / Joe eats too quickly (fact), subjunctive - if i were you, i wouldn’t do that / i wish i were an astronaut, imperative - shut the door! / do it right now!

narrative

the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events

• ex: novels, short stories, comics, plays, muscials

onomatopoeia

a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words

• ex: buzz, hiss, hum, crack, murmur