AP Lang HARD Terms (1 & 2)
Ad hoc: Created for a special purpose
Allegory: Narrative demonstrates multiple levels of meaning
Antecedent: The word which came before to which the pronoun refers
Apostrophe: Figure of speech addressing someone or something as though they were there
Aside: Character speaks directly to audience; others do not hear
Chiasmus: Reversal of grammatical structure in successive phrases or clauses
Colloquial: Common language
Conceit: Elaborate and often surprising comparison between two dissimilar things
Consonance: Repetition of final consonance sound following different vowels (made wood)
Deductive reasoning: General to specific
Discourse: Conversation between text and reader
Elegy: Tribute to someone deceased, usually in poetic form
Epistrophe: Repetition of phrase at the ends of successive lines, sentences, phrases, clauses
Epithet: Adjective or phrase applied to a noun to accentuate a certain characteristic
Euphemism: Use of a word or phrase that is less direct but more tasteful
Homily: sermon
Inductive reasoning: Specific to general
Isocolon: Parallel structure similar in structure, length (Many are called, but few are chosen)
Litotes: Understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite
Metonymy: Figure of speech in which one thing is represented by another (“crown” for king)
Oxymoron: Figure of speech juxtaposing opposite or contradictory words to create a paradox
Paradox: Statement seems contradictory but may be true (Fight for peace)
Stream of consciousness: Narrative technique that places the reader in thought processes of narrator
Subjective: Produced by the mind
Syllogism: An argument in which two statements and a logical conclusion is drawn
Synecdoche: Figure of speech where a part signifies the whole
Trope: Figure of speech that turns or twists to change meaning
Alter-ego – A character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character.
Anecdote - a quick story about something of interest, usually with a singular theme or lesson
Classicism - sticks to traditional themes and structures
Comic relief – when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat.
Types of Diction:
Colloquial - Ordinary or familiar
Jargon – The diction used by a group
Vernacular - 1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group.
Didactic - teaches teaches a specific lesson or moral
Adage – A folk saying with a lesson.
Aphorism - a short statement that expresses an important truth about life.
Ellipsis - omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps
Euphemism - A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.
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
Synesthesia - a description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
Foreshadowing – When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story.
Invective – A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
Verbal Irony - Sarcasm
Situational irony - Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie.
Oxymoron – When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox
Pacing – The speed or tempo of an author’s writing; can be affected by syntax,
polysyndeton, anaphora, meter
Paradox - A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.
Chiasmus/Antimetabole – When the same words are used twice, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed. “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
Zeugma/Syllepsis - a figure of speech where a single word, especially a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more words, even though it has a different meaning in each context e.g., “He lost his phone and his temper
Persona - The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story. Do not confuse with alter-ego.
Assonance- The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds. “From the molten-golden notes”
Slant rhyme - When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly
End rhyme - When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.
Meter - A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.
Free verse - Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.
Iambic pentameter - Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Sonnet - A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.
Polysyndeton – When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.
Pun – When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way.
Romanticism – Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, unrealistic view of people
Appositive - A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.
Litotes - a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used. (Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good)
Concession - Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint.
Ad hominem: Personally attacking your opponents instead of their arguments.
Appeal to the bandwagon: The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or used to believe it, or do it.
Cliche thinking: Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no exceptions.
False cause: Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.
Unstated premises - Not every argument is fully expressed.
1. Sentence length
Staccato = one to two words, abrupt
Telegraphic = shorter than five words
Short = approx. 5-10 words
Medium = approx. 15-20 words
Long = 30 or more words