Elements of Style AP LANG vocab

Aestheticism

reverence for beauty; movement that held beautiful form is to be valued more than instructive content.

Ambiguity

A word, phrase or attitude that has double or even multiple meanings, resulting in multiple interpretations.

Atmosphere

the pervasive *mood or *tone of a literary work

Attitude

the author’s viewpoint regarding his subject matter. Attitude can usually be detected in author’s tone.

Baroque

a grand and exuberantly ornamental style

Classicism

an adherence to the principals of Greek and Roman literature.

Colloquialisms

words or phrases that are used in everyday conversation or informal writing which are usually considered inappropriate for a formal essay.

Connotation

the range of further associations that a word or phrase suggests in addition to its straightforward dictionary meaning.

Convention

a device of style or subject matter so often used that it becomes a recognized means of expression. For example, a conventional lover cannot eat or sleep. An author who mocks the convention might create an overweight lover who sleeps a lot.

Denotation

the precise, literal meaning of a word, without emotional associations or overtones.

Determinism

philosophy that suggests people’s actions and all other events are determined by forces over which human beings have no control.

Dialect

the version of a language spoken by people of a particular region or social group.

Dialogue

The conversation of two or more people as represented in writing.

Diatribe

violently bitter verbal attack.

Diction

the choice of words used in a literary work.

Digression

A portion of a written work that interrupts or pauses the development of the theme or plot.

Epigraph

the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme.

Existentialism

a philosophical movement that focuses on the individual human being’s experience of, recognition of, and triumph over the meaninglessness of existence.

Expressionism

presents life not as it appears on the surface, but as it is passionately felt to be by an author or character.

Feminism

the view that women are inherently equal to men and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

Flashback

a way of presenting scenes or incidents that took place before the opening scene.

Hedonism

the pursuit of pleasure above all else.

Inference

a conclusion the reader can draw based upon details presented by the author.

Invective

direct denunciation or name-calling.

Irony

in its broadest sense, the incongruity, or difference, between reality (what is) and appearance (what seems to be).

Dramatic irony

a situation in which the audience knows more about a character’s situation than the character does, forseeing an outcome contrary to the character’s expectations.

Situational irony

the contrast between what is intended or expected and what actually occurs.

Verbal irony

a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Jargon

the special language of a profession or group

juxtaposition

the “side by side” comparison of two or more objects or ideals for the purpose of highlighting similarities or differences.

Local Color

the use of the physical setting, dialect, customs and attitudes that typify a particular region.

Malapropism

the comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound, but different in meaning. Functions to make characters look ignorant or amusingly uneducated. “I would have her instructed in geometry that she might know of contagious countries.”

Narrative Pace

the speed at which an author tells a story; the movement from one point or section to another.

Naturalism

style of writing that rejects idealized portrayals of life and attempts complete accuracy, disinterested objectivity, and frankness in depicting life as a brutal struggle for survival.

Mood

the prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work, for example, regret, hopefulness, bitterness, etc.

Pantheism

The identification of God with the universe.

Primitivism

the belief that nature provides a truer and more healthful model than culture; the noble savage.

Pseudonym

pen name, nom de plume, alias; a fictitious name assumed by a writer who wished to remain anonymous or who chooses not to use her/his real name professionally.

Realism

an author’s use of accuracy in the portrayal of life or reality.

Regionalism

the tendency in literature to focus on a specific geographical region or locality, re-creating as accurately as possible its unique setting, speech, customs, manners, beliefs and history.

Romanticism

literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form. Characteristics include: individuality, subjectivity, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary life vs. life in society, the belief that imagination is superior to reason, devotion to beauty, worship of nature, fascination with the past, etc.

Sarcasm

harsh, cutting, personal remarks to or about someone, not necessarily ironic.

Satire

any form of literature that blends ironic humor and wit with criticism directed at a particular folly, vice or stupidity. Satire seeks to correct, improve, or reform through ridicule.

Stream-of-consciousness

a technique that allows the reader to see the continuous, chaotic flow of half-formed and discontinuous thoughts, memories, sense impressions, random associations, images, feelings and reflections that constitute a character’s consciousness.

Surrealism

employs illogical, dreamlike images and events to suggest the unconscious.

Tone

the reflection in a work of the author’s attitude toward his or her subject. Tone in writing is comparable to tone of voice in speech, and may be described as brusque, friendly, imperious, insinuating, teasing, etc.

Transcendentalism

the American version of romanticism; held that there was something in human beings that transcended human nature

Unity

the quality of oneness in a literary work, in which all parts are related by some principle or organization so that they form an organic whole, complete and independent in itself.

Voice

the sense a written work conveys to a reader of the writer’s attitude, personality and character.

Wit

ingenuity in connecting amusingly incongruous ideas; intellect, humor.