AP Lang Vocab List 1

allegory

using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. the allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence

• ex: Animal Farm (George Orwell) uses animals with human characteristics, represents a corrupt government

alliteration

repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words. the repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage

• ex: peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers (think tongue twisters!)

allusion

a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known (event, book, myth, place, work of art). they can be historical, literary, religious, tropical, or mythical

• ex: i’m Juliet to your Romeo (alludes to Shakespeare)

ambiguity

the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

anadiplosis

the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause

• fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering - Yoda

analogy

similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them, can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar

• ex: as light as a feather, as busy as a bee

anaphora

one of the devices of repetition, the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

• ex: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness - A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

anecdote

a short narrative detailing articulates of an interesting episode or event, most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person

• ex: back in my day, i remember when, that reminds me of when

antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun

• ex: John was late because traffic held him up

aphorism

a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle, can be a memorable summation of the author’s point

• ex: actions have consequences, better late than never

apostrophe

figure of speech that addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstractions, such as liberty of love. it’s an address to someone or something that cannot answer, may add familiarity or emotional intensity

atmosphere

emotional mood created by the literary work, partly established by the setting and by the author’s choice of objects that are described. atmosphere can foreshadow events or create a mood based on descriptions

clause

contains both a subject and a verb. an independent/main clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. a dependent/subordinate clause canNOT stand alone and must be accompanied by an independent clause. consider what or why the author subordinates one element to the other

colloquial/colloquialism

using slang or informalities in speech or writing. not acceptable in formal writing, since they give a work a conversational, familiar tone. expressions include local or regional dialects