AP LANG Vocab 16-30

bathos

a false or forced emotion that is often humorous, takes emotion to such an extreme that the reader finds it humorous rather than touching

contrast

used to elaborate ideas, help writers expand on their ideas by allowing them to show both what a thing is and what it is not. Ex. light and darkness

diction

the author’s choice of words, that contributes to the tone of a text

elegiac, elegy 

a work (of music, literature, dance, or art) that expresses sorrow, mourns the loss of something, such as the death of a loved one

ethos

refers more generally to ethics, or values, in rhetorical writing, authors often attempt to persuade readers by appealing to their sense of ethos, or ethical principals. The characteristic spirit or ideals that informs a work.

euphemism

a mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea. Often used to soften the impact of what is being discussed.

exposition

refers to writing or speech that is organized to explain. Ex, if the novel you read involves a wedding, your exposition might explain the significance of the wedding to the overall work of literature 

fiction

comes from the Latin word meaning to invent, to form, to imagine. Works of fiction can be based on actual occurrences, but their status as fiction means that something has been imagined or invented in the telling of the occurrence. 

figurative language

an umbrella term for all uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison. similes metaphors, and symbols are all examples of figurative language.

foreshadowing

a purposeful hint placed in a word of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative.

hyperbole

a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis. The emphasis is on exaggeration rather than literal representation, hyperbole is the opposite of understatement. Ex. “my feet are as cold as ice” 

image, imagery

a mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations, but there can be auditory and sensory components as well. Metaphors, similes, symbols, and personification all use imagery. 

irony, ironic

occurs when a situation produces an outcome that is opposite of what is expected or when an author uses words or phrases that are in opposition to each other to describe a person or an idea

juxtaposition

when two contrasting things, ideas, words, or sentence elements are placed next to each other for comparison, sheds ight on both elements in the comparison. Ex, a writer may choose to —- the coldness of one room with the warmth of another 

logos 

refers to the use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument. In rhetorical writing, authors often attempt to persuade readers by appealing to their sense of logos, or reason