AP Lit Vocab Words 1

Abstract

This is typically complex writing that discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points

Academic

Theoretical writing that analyzes objectivly

Accent

The stressed portion of a word

Aesthetic

Used as an adjective meaning “appealing to the senses”

Allegory

A literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas; a symbolic representation

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely spaced words

Allusion

An implied or indirect reference to a work outside of the story

Anachronism

Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occured

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Anecdote

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics or behaviors to an something

Anticlimax

A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events

Antihero

A protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero

Aphorism

Apostrophe

Archaism

The use of deliberately old-fashioned language

Aside

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words

Atmosphere

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

Ballad

Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form

Black Humor

Bombast

Speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning

Burlesque

A theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

Cacophony

Cadence

Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

Canto

Caricature

A drawing, imitation, or description that ridiculously exaggerates ,peculiarites, or defects

Catharsis

Chorus

In Greek drama, the group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it

Colloquialism

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects

Connotation

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within words, not at the beginnings.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Decorum

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word

Diction

Dirge

A song or prayer for the dead

Dissonance

Doggerel

Badly written or trivial verse, often with a singsong rythem

Dramatic Irony

Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play

Dramatic Monolouge

Elegy

Enjambment

The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause

Epic

A long narrative poem written in elevated style which present the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation

Epitaph

Euphemism

Euphony

Any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds

Farce

Feminine Rhyme

When the latter two syllables of a first word rhyme with the latter two syllables of a second word

Foil

Foot

The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry

Foreshadowing

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Free verse

Gothic Novel

A novel in which supernatural horror and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action

Hubris

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor

Interior monolouge

A narratie technique that records a character’s internal flow of thoughts, memories, and ideas; a longish passage of uninterrupted thought

Inversion

The reversal of the normal order of words

Irony

Lampoon

Lyric

Masculine Rhyme

The final syllable of the first word rhymes with the final syllable of the second word

Melodrama

A form of cheesy theater in which the hero is very, very good, the villain mean and rotten, and the heroine oh-so-pure

Metaphor

A comparison between two things without using like or as

Metonym

Nemisis

The protagonist’s arch enemy or supreme and persistent difficulty

Objectivity

Impersonal, outside view of events, without the narrator's personal bias.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate sounds

Oxymoron

Parable

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems selff-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

Parallelism

The use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form

Parody

A work that imitates another by exaggerating qualities to ridicule.

Pastoral

A literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds)

Pathos

Persona

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

Personification

The act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas

Plaint

Protagonist

Pun

A play on words, often achived through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings

Refrain

Requiem

A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

Rhapsody

Rhetorical Question

A statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered

Satire

Simile

A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually forms with ‘like’ or ‘as’)

Soliloquy

Stanza

Stock Characters

Standard or clichéd character types: the drunk, the miser, the foolish girl, etc.

Subjectivity

A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author’s feelings and opinions

Subjunctive Mood

Summary

Symbolism

Theme

The main idea of a story

Thesis

Tragic Flaw

The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall

Travesty

A grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

Truism