AP Lit Q3

still need to add Canute, Edward, William I Henry II + Eleanor of Aquitaine Thomas a Becket Chaucer and his life and times Richard + John (Magna Carta) Link to more prosody/normative meter practice: https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/quiz/prosquiz.htm

abstract

writing style that’s typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, seldom uses examples to support its point

academic

dry and theoretical writing, so much analysis

accent

stressed portion of a word

aesthetic

appealing to the senses, coherent sense of taste, the study of beauty

allegory

story in which every aspect has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself

alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds

allusion

a reference to another work or famous figure

anachronism

misplaced in time

analogy

a comparison involving two or more symbolic parts, employed to clarify an action or relationship

anecdote

a short narrative

antecedent

word, phrase, or clause that determines what a pronoun refers to

anthropomorphism

inanimate objects are given human like characteristics

anticlimax

when an action produces smaller results that expected

antihero

a protagonist that’s markedly unheroic: morally weak, cowardly, dishonest, or a number of unsavory qualities

aphorism

a short and usually witty saying

apostrophe

a figure of speech where the speaker talks to something nonhuman

archaism

the use of deliberately old fashioned language

aside

a speech made by an actor to the audience, as though momentarily stepping out of the action on stage

aspect

A trait or characteristic

assonance

he repeated use of vowel sounds

atmosphere

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

ballad

A long, narrative poem, usually in very regular meter and rhyme; typically has a

naive folksy quality, a characteristic that distinguishes it from epic poetry.

pathos

emotional appeal

bathos

an exaggerated attempt at an emotional appeal, too exagerated and ends up being cringey or rediculous

black humor

use of disturbing themes in comedy

bombast

pretentious, exaggeratedly learned language; trying to be eloquent by using

the largest, most uncommon words

burlesque

broad parody, one that takes a style or a form, such as tragic drama, and

exaggerates it into ridiculousness.

cacophony

using deliberately harsh, awkward sounds (in poetry)

cadence

beat or rhythm of poetry in a general sense.

canto

name for a section division in a long work of poetry

caricature

portrait (verbal or otherwise) that exaggerates a facet of personality.

catharsis

the "cleansing" of emotion an audience member experiences, having lived (vicariously) through the experiences presented on stage.

chorus

the group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it

classic

can mean typical, as in Oh, that was a classic blunder. It can also mean an accepted masterpiece

coinage

a new word, usually one invented on the spot.

colloquialism

a word or phrase used in everyday conversational English that isn't a part of

accepted "school-book" English.

complex/ dense

carry the similar meaning of suggesting that there is more than one possibility in the meaning of words (image, idea, opposition); there are subtleties and variations; there are multiple layers of interpretation; the meaning is both explicit and implicit.

conceit

a startling or unusual metaphor, or to a metaphor developed and expanded upon over several lines.

controlling image

a conceit that dominates and shapes the entire work

connotation

everything a word suggests or implies

dennotation

dictionary definition of a word

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds within words

couplet

pair of lines that end in rhyme

decorum

character's speech must be styled according to her social station, and in accordance with the occasion

diction

the author's choice of words.

syntax

the ordering and structuring of the words.

dirge

This is a song for the dead.

dissonance

grating of incompatible sounds.

doggerel

Crude, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme.

dramatic irony

when the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not

dramatic monologue

When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience.

elegy

type of poem that meditates on death or mortality in a serious, thoughtful manner.

elements

the basic techniques of each genre of literature

elements of short story

characters, irony, theme, symbol, plot, setting

elements of poetry

figurative language, symbol, imagery, rhythm, rhyme

elements of drama

conflict, characters, climax, conclusion, exposition, rising action, falling action, sets, props

elements of nonfiction

argument, evidence, reason, appeals, fallacies, thesis

enjambment

continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with

no pause.

epic

very long narrative poem on a serious theme in a dignified style; typically deal with glorious or profound subject matter:

epitaph

Lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place

euphemism

A word or phrase that takes the place of a harsh, unpleasant, or impolite reality (passed away instead of died)

euphony

hen sounds blend harmoniously

explicit

To say or write something directly and clearly

implicit

to suggest or imply

farce

extremely broad humor, a funny play or comedy

feminine rhyme

Lines rhymed by their final two syllables.

foil

A secondary character whose purpose is to highlight the characteristics of a main character, usually by contrast.

foot

The basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry.

foreshadowing

An event or statement in a narrative that in miniature suggests a larger event that

comes later.

free verse

Poetry written without a regular rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.

genre

sub-category of literature.

gothic

This form first showedup in the middle of the eighteenth century and had a hey-day of popularity for about sixty years. Think mysterious gloomy castles perched high upon sheer cliffs. Paintings with sinister eyeballs that follow you around the room. Weird screams from the attic each night.

hubris

excessive pride or ambition that leads to the main character's downfall

hyperbole

exaggeration or deliberate overstatement.

in medias res

"in the midst of things.", the story begins in the middle of the action

interior monologue

writing that records the mental talking that goes on inside a character's head.

inversion

Switching the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase

irony

when language conveys a meaning opposite to its literal interpretation. It can be humorous, sarcastic, or tragic based on the context.

lament

poem of sadness or grief over the death of a loved one or over some other intense loss

lampoon

a satire

loose sentence

complete before its end

periodic sentence

not grammatically complete until it has reached its final phrase

lyric

type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world (or the part that his poem is about).

masculine rhyme

rhyme ending on the final stressed syllable

means/meaning

discovering what makes sense, what's important. There is literal meaning which is concrete and explicit, and there

melodrama

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

metaphor

a comparison, or analogy that states one thing is another.

simile

like a metaphor but softens the full-out equation of things, often, but not

always by using like or as.

metonym

word that is used to stand for something else that it has attributes of or is associated

with.

metaphysical conceit

an elaborate extended metaphor used in literature and poetry to compare two dissimilar things. It involves using intellectual and abstract ideas to explore complex themes like love, mortality, and spirituality

nemesis

protagonist's arch enemy or supreme and persistent difficulty.

objectivity

impersonal or outside view of events.

subjectivity

an interior or personal view of a single observer and is typically colored with that observer's emotional responses.

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like what they mean

opposition

a pair of elements that contrast sharply; a pairing of images (or settings or appeals, etc.) whereby each becomes more striking and informative because it's placed in contrast to the other one.

oxymoron

A phrase composed of opposites; a contradiction

parable

like a fable or an allegory, a story that instructs.

paradox

A situation or statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection, does not.

parallelism

Repeated syntactical similarities used for effect.

paraphrase

restate phrases and sentences in your own words, to re-phrase