AP Lang + comp terminology 1

AP Lang + Comp from a packet given in class

Active voice

The subject of the sentence performs the actions

Allusion

An indirect refrence to something like plays, literary text, songs, and historical events

Alter-ego

A character that is used by the author to speak the authors own thoughts

Anecdote

A brief recounting of a relative episode

Classisim

Art or literature charactarized by a realistic view of people and the world

Comic relief

When a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style

Colloquial

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation

Connotation

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning

Denotation

The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations

Jargon

The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity

Vernacular

1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech

Didactic

A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson

Allegory

A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts

Aphorism

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts

Figurative Language

Writing that is not meant to be taken literally

Analogy

A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables

Hyperbole

An exaggeration

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally

Metaphor

Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words

Metonymy

Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept

Synecdoche

A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa

Simile

Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things

Synesthesia

A description involving a “crossing of the senses”

Personification

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

Foreshadowing

When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Gothic

Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death

Imagery

Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind

Invective

A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen doe

Verbal irony

When you say something and mean the opposite/something different

Dramatic irony

When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out

Situational irony

Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison

Mood

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)

Motif

A recurring idea in a piece of literature

Oxymoron

When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox –

Pacing

The speed or tempo of an author’s writing

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true

Parallelism

Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row

Chiasmus

When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure

Zuegma (Syllepsis)

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies

Parenthetical Idea

Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story

Poetic device

A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

Consonance

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words

Onomatopoeia

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes

Internal rhyme

When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line

Slant rhyme

When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar

End rhyme

When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme