ap lit 30 words quiz for 10/10 quiz

Abstraction

Creating a broad idea rather than describing something in detail (ex. "war destroys innocence").

Adjective

Word that describes a noun or pronoun (ex. dark forest).

Adverb

Word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb — tells how, when, where, or to what extent (ex. ran quickly).

Allegorical Idealization

Showing characters/events as perfect or idealized to teach a moral or bigger idea.

Allegory

Story, poem, or picture where characters/events/settings stand for something else (ex. Animal Farm = Russian Revolution).

Allusion

Brief reference to another work, person, event, or place (often biblical, historical, or literary).

Ambiguity

Something unclear or with multiple possible meanings (ex. "The chicken is ready to eat").

Ambivalence

Mixed or conflicting feelings about something or someone.

Amorphous Sentence

Sentence that lacks clear structure or form — feels wandering or shapeless.

Analogy

Comparison between two different things to explain or clarify an idea (ex. "Life is like a box of chocolates").

Antiquity

The classical ancient past (Greece/Rome) or something very old.

Apostrophic Speech (Apostrophe)

Directly addressing someone absent, dead, or nonhuman as if they could respond (ex. "O Death, where is thy sting?").

Assuaging

Soothing, calming, or making something (pain/fear/tension) less intense.

Ballad Meter

Alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (8 syllables) and iambic trimeter (6 syllables), rhyme scheme ABCB.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line, common in Shakespeare).

Chastise

To scold, criticize, or punish someone to correct them.

Clause

Group of words with a subject and a verb (independent = complete sentence; dependent = incomplete).

Colloquial

Informal, everyday language or slang (ex. "gonna").

Compare and Contrast

Show similarities (compare) and differences (contrast) between two things.

Composure

Calmness, self-control, and emotional stability under stress.

conciliatory

intended to calm, soothe, or make peace

Conocomitant

happening at the same time as something else (stress and tests)

constrain

to limit, restrict, or force someone/something into a certain action

cosmic purpose

the idea that events/characters have a greater or universal meaning thats connected to fate/density

counterargument

an opposing perspective, idea, or theory supported by evidence

dactylic hexameter

a type of poetic meter with 6 beats, each usually a stressed and 2 unstressed

despicable

Deserving contempt or scorn or hatred

desultary

lacking a clear plan/purpose disconnected

devices of sound

the techniques of deploying the sound of words to enhance meaning (alliteration)

diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words