AP Lit Vocab

Abstract (style) - (in writing) this is typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points.

Accent - in poetry, refers to the stressed portion of a word.

Aesthetic - used as an adjective meaning "appealing to the senses."

Anachronism  - something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred

Analogy - a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Antecedent - the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.

Anticlimax - a disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events

Antihero - a protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero (or her a heroine)

Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds

Atmosphere - the emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene.

Ballad - any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.

Burlesque - a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

Caricature - drawing, imitation, or description that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects

Conceit - a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects

Dirge - a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

Doggerel - badly written or trivial verse, often with a singsong rhythm

Elegy - a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme

Enjambment - the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause

Epic - a long narrative poem written in elevated style which present the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation

Feminine Rhyme - latter two syllables of first word rhyme with latter two syllables of second word (ceiling appealing)

Interior Monologue - a narrative technique that records a character's internal flow of thoughts, memories, and ideas; a longish passage of uninterrupted thought

Inversion - the reversal of the normal order of words

Metaphor - a figure of speech comparing to unlike things without using like or as

Parallelism - the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form

Pastoral - a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds)

Persona - the speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

Simile  - a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as')

Stock Characters - standard or clichéd character types: the drunk, the miser, the foolish girl, etc.

Subjunctive Mood - a grammatical situation involving the words "if" and "were," setting up a hypothetical situation.

Tragic Flaw - the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall

Travesty - a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

Utopia - an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal