AP Lang Vocabulary

allegory

an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric

alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds are the beginning of words that are close to one another; for example, “beautiful blossoms blooming between the bushes”

allusion

a reference to another work or famous figure that is assumed to be well known enough to be recognized by the reader

anachronism

an event, object, custom, person, or things that is out of order in time; some anachronisms are unintentional, such as when an actor performing in Shakespeare forgets to take off his watch; others are deliberately used to achieve a humorous or satiric effect, such as the sustained anachronism of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

analogy

a comparison of two similar but different things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship, such as comparing the work of a heart to that of a pump

anaphora

specific type of repetition; word, phrase, or clause is repeated at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

anecdote

a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point

aphorism

a short often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life; “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” “snitches get stitches”

burlesque

broad parody; whereas a parade will imitate and exaggerate a specific work, such as Romeo and Juliet, a burlesque will take an entire style or form, such as myths, and exaggerate it into ridiculousness

caricature

descriptive wiring that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality

colloquialism

a word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing

connotation

implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader’s mind

denotation

literal meaning of a word as defined

diction

word choice, an element of style

loose sentence

a sentence that is grammatically complete before its end, such as “Thalia played the violin with an intensity never before seen in a high school music class”; the sentence is grammatically correct after the word violin

metaphor

one thing is referred to as another; for example “my love is a fragile flower”

metonymy

uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it’s associated, such as using “the crown” to refer to a monarch

motif

main theme or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; repeated pattern or idea

onomatopoeia

the use of words that sound like what they mean, such as hiss and boom

oxymoron

composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as “wise fool”

parable

a short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but but shorter than an allegory

parody

a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements

periodic sentence

a sentence that is not grammatically correct until its last phrase, such as “Despite Glenn’s hatred of his sister’s laziness and noisy eating habits, he still cared for her.

persona

a fictional voice a writer adopts to tell a story; determined by subject matter and audience e.g. Mark Taiwan

realism

a nineteenth century literally movement in Europe and the United States that stressed accuracy in the portrayal of life, focusing on characters with whom middle class readers could easily identify; it is in direct contrast with romanticism

rhetoric

the art of using language effectively; involves (1) writer’s purpose (2) his or her consideration of the audience, (3) the exploration of the subject, (4) arrangement and organization of the ideas, (5) style and tone of expression, and (6) form.

romanticism

a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement that began in the eighteenth century as a reaction to neocolonialism, the focal points of the movement are imagination, emotion, and freedom, stressing subjectivity, individuality, the love and worship of nature, and fascination with the past

symbolism

the use of symbols or anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as a representative of a higher and more complex significance

synecdoche

a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using “boards” to mean a stage or “wheels” to mean a car

theme

the central idea or “message” of a literary work