Ap Lang Vocab

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

The beginning of the end

Parallelism

Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns.

To cook, to jog, and to read.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row.

I need water. I need food. I need you.

Chiasmus

When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed.

You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.

Tough on stains. Gentle on skin

Zuegma (Syllepsis)

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies.

She lost her keys and her temper

Parenthetical Idea

Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence. Parentheses can also be used to set off dates and numbers.

She comes home after work (around six o’clock).

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. It borrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it.

"The Daily Show" parody newscasts by doing fake newscasts that look like the real thing.

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.

Poetic device

A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.

Lazy lion licked his lips.

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.

My cat sat on the mat.

Consonance

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.

Mammals named Sam are clammy.

Onomatopoeia

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.

Beep, Hiss, click

Internal rhyme

When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line.

The moon never beams without giving me dreams

Slant rhyme

When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly, they are merely similar.

I went up the hill

waiting until full

End rhyme

When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of a poem’s end rhymes.

Twinkle Twinkle little star

How I have wondered who you are

Stressed and unstressed syllables

In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force

A-way (a is stressed)

Meter

A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.

Free verse

Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.

Iambic pentameter

Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.

If mu–sic be the food of love, play on

Sonnet

A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.

Polysyndeton

When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.

The party and show and house and farm.

Pun

When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way.

lets ketchup

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication.

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

The relationships, in any piece of writing,between the writer, the audience, and the subject.

Rhetorical Question

Question not asked for information but for effect.

Would you think so?

Romanticism

Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature. Does not rely on traditional themes and structures.

Sarcasm

A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions.

South Park: A show known for its politically incorrect and biting satire that tackles sensitive and current topics.

Sentence

A group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.

Appositive

A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.

My dog, Buster, loves treats

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Independent: She ran to the store

Balanced sentence

A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.

Compound sentence

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.

Complex sentence

Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Cumulative sentence

When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.

Periodic sentence

When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. The writer begins with subordinate elements and postpones the main clause.

Simple sentence

Contains only one independent clause.

Declarative sentence

States an idea. It does not give a command or request, nor does it ask a question.

Imperative sentence

Issues a command.

Interrogative sentence

Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, who, whom, and whose).

Style

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. Style may be conscious or unconscious.

Symbol

Anything that represents or stands for something else.

Syntax/sentence variety

Grammatical arrangement of words.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work.

Thesis

The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition.

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous.

Litotes

A particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used.