AP Lit Vocab 2

Aphorism

A short, clever statement that expresses a general truth, lesson, or observation about life. 

Aside

A brief remark made by a character that is intended to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters on stage. 

Colloquial Diction

Informal, everyday language that people commonly use in casual conversation. 

Dialect

A particular form of a language associated with a specific region, group, or social class, including distinctive vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. 

Double Entendre

A word or phrase with two meanings, usually one that is straightforward and another that is humorous, suggestive, or less obvious

Euphemism

A mild or indirect expression used instead of a word or phrase that may be considered harsh, unpleasant, or offensive.

Idiom

A commonly used expression whose meaning cannot be understood literally from the individual words.

Monologue

A long speech delivered by one character, either to other characters or to an audience. 

Soliloquy

A speech in which a character, usually alone on stage, expresses their private thoughts and feelings aloud. 

Anadiplosis

A rhetorical device in which the last word or phrase of one sentence or clause is repeated at the beginning of the next. 

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. 

Asyndeton

The deliberate omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. 

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device in which the grammatical structure or ideas of two phrases are reversed to create a balanced contrast. 

Epigraph

A short quotation, saying, or passage placed at the beginning of a literary work or section that introduces or comments on the work’s theme. 

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences. 

In medias res

A Latin phrase meaning “in the middle of things”; a story that begins in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning. 

Juxtaposition

The placement of two contrasting people, ideas, settings, objects, or situations close together to emphasize their differences. 

Litotes

A form of understatement that expresses an idea by negating its opposite, often using “not.” 

Periodic Sentence

A sentence in which the main idea or independent clause comes at the end, after introductory or dependent clauses. 

Peripeteia

A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially one that changes the direction of a story. 

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of multiple conjunctions, such as “and,” “or,” or “but,” between words or phrases. 

Telegraphic Sentence

A very brief sentence that omits unnecessary words, usually consisting of only the essential parts of the sentence.