ap lit vocab

mcq vocab practive

apostrophe

(literary device) a speech that is directed to someone not present at the moment (ex: juliet delivers an apostrophe to romeo often when he isn't around).

paradox

(literary device) a contradicting statement, but may have a piece of truth in it (ex: "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" - george orwell)

anaphora

repetition of words or phrases. (ex: be here, be there, be square)

alliteration

repetition of letters at the beginning of the word (ex: sally sold sea shells by the sea shore).

understatement

an underwhelming description of something that is better than described.

obsolete

out of date (ex: throw out that old, obsolete stand mixer)

couplet

a two-lined verse that rhyme (ex: "good night! good night! parting is such sweet sorrow // that i shall say good night till it be morrow." shakespeare)

enjambment

a clause that goes on across the line break, usually in poems (ex: the rain started to fall // and the sunny day chances were small)

austere

strict in looks or manner (ex: she looked very austere, but she was actually very easygoing)

fecund

fertile (ex: the garden was extremely fecund around this time of year, we had many fresh fruits and veggies)

idyllic

perfect; picturesque (ex: as she grew up, her idyllic world broke and she was introduced to the real world)

obdurate

stubborn; inflexible (ex: sometimes little kids can be obdurate, it's hard to get them to do your bidding)

callous

heartless; cold (ex: he was a callous person, never budged even if someone was crying)

juxtapose

contrasting effect created by placing two contrasting things together (ex: in 'Beloved', Morrison uses juxtaposition to create a contrasting and disorienting effect).

pragmatic

practically/realistically dealing with something (ex: thinking pragmatically in tough situations is very beneficial).

incongruous

out of place; doesn't fit with other parts of something (ex: the colors of her outfit looked incongruent so she had to change).

prudent

wise; advisable (ex: his prudent character attracts a lot of people seeking advise).

penitent

showing regret; remorse (ex: he had a penitent expression on his face after he realized his wrongdoing).

secular

stuff without religious relations; nonreligious (ex: the separation of church and state made politics a little ore secular).

lament

grieving; expression of grieving; mourning (ex: they lamented the passing of their dog by remembering the memories).

superfluous

redundant; excessive; unnecessary (ex: a lot of work given in school is superfluous).

fatuous

silly; foolish (he made a fatuous comment, which got him an eyeroll from everyone).

lofty

very tall (ex: lofty trees covered the pool, casting a shadow).

wry

ironic; mocking; sneering; satirical (ex: she gave a wry smile to the people who doubted her answer).

fickle

inconsistent moralities, beliefs, and feelings (ex: they were very fickle, constantly flitting back and forth from their beliefs).

imperious

acting all high and mighty with no justification; overbearing; commanding (ex: he has an imperious attitude, always bossing others around).

reproach

addressing someone in a disapproving manner (ex: her boss reproached her after she messed up a project).

platonic

friendly; non romantic and non sexual affection; intimacy between friends (ex: their relationship was platonic, but people thought they were dating).

fervor

intense feelings; passionate feelings (ex: he felt with such fervor about animal related topics).

assonance

repetition of a vowel (ex: clAp, clAp, clAp your hAnds)

oxymoron

contradicting words in the same sentence (ex: jumbo shrimp)

hyperbole

exaggerated claims that are not literal (ex: this bag weighs a ton)

onmatopoeia

words that spell out the sound something makes (ex: boom, meow)

enumerate

listing something out one by one (ex: it would take forever to enumerate every house in the town by hand).

patronize

condescendingly treating someone "nicely" because of a feeling of superiority" (ex: he treated her patronizingly after he won the scholarship instead of her.)

euphamism

an alternative for a word that seems to straight forward or uncomfortable (ex: feminine products for period products)

parallel structure

the use of same pattern in words and combining clauses using "and/or" (ex: i like swimming and walking)

epithet

a word that describes a major characteristic of something or someone (ex: the epithet often used to describe you is lazy).

synecdoche

when one part represents a whole (ex: look at my new wheels [which means car])

repose

resting; sleeping (ex: some animals look dead when they are in repose)

benefactor

someone who gives money to a person or a cause (ex: lady catherine is a benefactor for mr. collins in 'pride and prejudice')

condescension

acting like one is superior; talking in a patronizing manner (ex: the boss talks to her employees with a tone of condescension)

blank verse

(poetry) lines that don't rhyme but are metered in iambic pentameter (ex: "to be, or not to be, that is the question: // whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer" - shakespeare, hamlet)

heroic couplet

a rhyming couplet in iambic pentameter (ex: "o could i flow like thee, and make thy steam // my great example, as it is my theme!" - sir john denham, 'cooper's hill')

iambic pentameter

a line with 5 groups of (stressed syllable, unstressed syllable)
(ex: "to be, or not to be, that is the question:" - shakespeare, 'hamlet')

tetrameter

line in poetry with six groups of (stressed syllable, unstressed syllable). (ex: i Think /that I /shall Nev-/er See // A Po-/em Love-/ly As /a Tree)

hexameter

line in poetry with six groups of (stressed syllable, unstressed syllable). (ex: sandra m. haight - "the pain of rain" [see photo])

caesura

a metrical break between words; break in a verse at the end of one phrase and the beginning of another verse (ex: "it is for you we speak, || not for ourselves // you are abused by some putter-on")

quatrain

a stanza with four lines that have rhymes in any pattern (ex: sitting at the table / reading a funny fable / giggling over a crazy hare / i fell off my chair)

ode

a type of poetry (meant to be sung) that is about someone or an event, in a glorifying manner (ex: ‘ode to joy’ is a poem dedicated to joy and wishing for peace).

octave

a stanza with eight lines (ex: first 8 lines of a sonnet are called an octave).

sestet

a stanza with six lines (ec: the last 6 lines of 14 line sonnet is always the sestet. it is the last part of a sonnet)

ballad

a poem that can be sung that has four-lined stanzas, rhyming on the second and fourth lines. it often tells a story of a hero or a journey, and is slow. (ex: ‘annabel lee’ by edgar allen poe is an example of a ballad)

stanza

a paragraph in a poem (ex: the four lines that are grouped together in a poem are a stanza)

epic

a long poem that narrates the journey or life of a character (ex: ‘the odyssey’ is an example of an epic)

elegy

a poem about grief and loss (ex: ‘epitaph’ by katherine philips is an example of an elegy)

enigma

a mystery; something hard to understand (ex: she was an enigma, he could never understand her)

congenial

pleasant

fastidious

attentive to detail; meticulous

feign

to pretend to be affected; act (ex: she feigned sick to stay home from school)

self-depricating

critical jokes of oneself (ex: he copes with his low self-esteem by making self-deprecating jokes.)

satire

ironically criticizing society or other issues (ex: ‘pride and prejudice’ uses a lot of satirical dialogue from elizabeth.)

pretentious

showy; suck up (ex: in ‘pride and prejudice’, mr. collins came off as very stuck up.)

aesthetic

pleasing to the eye (ex: the color pink is very aesthetic to me, i love it.)

stream of consciousness

a writing method that the author uses to help the reader understand the character’s thoughts. it’s a stream of the character’s thoughts (ex: in ‘beloved’ there are three chapters of just sethe, denver, and beloved’s thoughts, helping the reader understand each character’s behaviors.)

austerity

a stern person; plain and simplicity (ex: the room’s austerity is why we rejected the house.)

aloof

detached from reality (ex: she is very aloof, not noticing anything around her.)

invective

insulting words (ex: she got mad and used invective language towards him, hurting his feelings.)

respite

a break from a difficult moment (ex: this character needs respite after this traumatic arc.)

allegory

using a seemingly unrelated piece of media to convey a message (ex: ‘animal farm’ by george orwell is an allegory for politics.)

malevolent

showing hatred or bad intentions (ex: she had a malevolent look in her eyes after he broke her things.)

reticent

emotionally reserved (ex: she was very reticent about her feelings, it made him worry.)

erudite

knowledgeable (ex: he was very erudite in the history of italy.)

overzealous

very energetic; having too much enthusiasm (ex: he was overzealous about this project.)

minutiae

trivial details (ex: he focused too much on the minutiae.)

pastoral

relating to farm land; religious guidance; literature showing the idyllic country life.)

epiphany

revelation; manifesting divinity (ex: i had an epiphany about my life. / this is the epiphany of god.)

parable

a story that conveys a moral/religious message; allegory (ex: the tortoise and the hare is a parable.)

superlative

highest quality; exaggeration of praise (ex: he had superlative skill for this job; i ran out of superlatives for his excellent work.)

verisimilitude

seeming true (ex: the excessive detail in the book lent verisimilitude to the story.)

adage

short statement that is true; proverb (ex: out of sight, out of mind.)

antithesis

statement/person/object the complete opposite of something else; contrasting ideas (ex: war is the antithesis of peace.)

motif

main feature/idea in literature (ex: the main idea is the motif in the novel.)

metonymy

substituting a phrase or word for another that means a similar thing (ex: the crown means king.)

palindrome

a word or phrase that is the same when flipped (ex: madam and race car.)

syllogism

deductive reasoning; drawing a conclusion from two or more statements that may be true (ex: all animals have tails. all dogs are animals. therefore, all dogs must have tails.)

critical race theory

an academic concept that race is a social construct and isn’t just a personal thing, but is part of legal and social systems. (ex: systemic bias is something that lead to the emergence of the coining of the critical race theory.)

structuralist criticism

studying literary structure, such as narrative and patterns, to find the meaning of the text (ex: using structuralist criticism will help you understand why the author used the literary structure they used and what significance it has.)

marxism

marxism is a theory that focuses on the struggle the working class faces in a capitalist society. a marxist approach in literature relates the piece to class and class struggles. (ex: marxist criticism in literature shapes the way people understand the piece.)

postcolonial literature

literature written by people from former colonies. (ex: ‘beloved’ by toni morrison is an example of postcolonial literature.)

harlem renaissance

a period of time during the 1920-30s where African American art and culture flourished. it’s known as a cultural revival. new forms of music and dance formed, while different African and non-African cultures blended together. (ex: the harlem renaissance gave black people a community where they can freely express themselves and share their culture unlike before.)

deconstructionist criticism

a response to structuralist criticism where a text is not unified and whole, rather has to be deconstructed and restructured. it follows the idea of thinking in binary oppositions (ex: why light is opposing dark in a work, is an example of deconstructionist thinking.)

queer theory

a work of literature that explores queer identities. it helps recover the concealed presence of those identities (ex: sappho would be an example of literature that includes queer, namely sapphic, identities.)

prognosticate

predict; prophesy (ex: prognosticating is a common element in literature.)

relegate

downgrading; lower rank or status (ex: poeple of color were usually relegated from higher jobs in earlier years.)

eschew

refrain from; to purposely avoid using (ex: he is promoting to eschew violence because it does no good.)

tantamount

the same as (serious); more or less (ex: losing a pet is tantamount as losing a family member.)

paramount

more important than anything else (ex: when you have a baby, they are paramount to almost anything else.)

fraught

filled with; affected with stress/anxiety (ex: this trick is fraught with risk / there was a fraught tension between them.

barrage

to bombard (ex: she was barraged with statements of concern over her disappearance.)