complete ap lit vocab

syntax – sequence in which words are put together to form sentences. 

theme - a message that is prevalent in a text.

motif - a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc. in a literary work.

analogy - a comparison of two different things that are alike in some way

anastrophe – inversion of the normal syntactic order of words

anathema – a formal solemn denunciation against an individual or institute

antithesis – opposition or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction.

aphorism – a brief saying embodying a moral

apostrophe – addressing someone or some abstraction that is not usually present

archetype – in poetry, this may be an idea, character, action, object, institution, event, or setting containing essential characteristics, which are primitive, general, and universal

conceit – a term for a particularly fanciful metaphor. 

epithet – a word or phrase that functions as a part of someone’s name

inversion – the changing if the usual order of words, reversing the usual order and shifting the

emphasis to the more important words.

litotes – a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used.

meiosis – Using a negative to diminish or understate

metonymy – substitution of one word for another which it suggests.

paradox – reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory

puns – a pun twists the meaning of words.

synecdoche – a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole

dirge – a funeral song lamenting someone’s death; a brief funeral hymn or song.

elegy – a type of literature defined as a song or poem, written in elegiac couplets, that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died,

epistle – a poem written in the form of a letter.

epitaph – refers literally to an inscription carved on a gravestone

homily – a sermon, or a short, exhortatory work to be read before a group of listeners in order to instruct them spiritually or morally.

lyric - Lyric poetry refers to a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings. 

parody – A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation.

prose – should tell a story, whether fictional or non-fictional, and have a clear beginning and end; prose selections should be creative works worthy of publication in a creative writing anthology; prose themes should deal with those universal qualities which affect all—past and present— humankind.

satire – a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack.

sonnet – a lyric poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to certain definite patterns. It usually expresses a single, complete idea or though

assonance – is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.

alliteration – a pattern of sound that includes the repetition of consonant sounds.

blank verse – Unrhymed lines of ten syllables each with the even-numbered syllables bearing the accents. caesura – is a natural pause or break in a verse.

consonance – the repetition of consonant sounds.

end-stopped rhyme – is a line ending in a full pause, often indicated by appropriate punctuation such as a period or a semicolon. 

enjambment – A line having no pause or end punctuation but having uninterrupted grammatical meaning continuing into the next line.

rhyme – is a pattern of words that contain similar sounds. it is not only a recurrence but a matching of sounds.

Syntax – word order and sentence structure.

onomatopoeia – echoic words or words that create an auditory effective similar to the sound they

represent.

anadiplosis – is the repeating of the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause.

anaphora – is the intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect.

antimetabole – a rhetorical scheme involving repetition in reverse order

asyndeton – the artistic elimination of conjunctions in a sentence to create a particular effect,

chiasmus – taking parallelism and deliberately turning it inside out

ellipsis – a punctuation mark indicated by three periods to indicate material missing from a quotation

epanalepsis – is the repeating of a word from the beginning of a clause at the end of the same

clause.

interrupted sentence – is a sentence in which the subordinate elements come in the middle, often

set off by dashes.

loose sentence – is a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate

clause follows.

parallelism – repeating grammar structure to balance a sentence 

periodic sentence – is a complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by

the subordinate clause.

polysyndeton – using many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect

antecedent – a noun that comes before a pronoun.

colloquial – is characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the

effect of speech.

didactic – preachy/instructive

invective – is a direct verbal assault on someone or something: an insult or denunciation, whether witty or not.

narrative devices – style – tone, diction, detail

narrative technique – same as narrative devices

pedantic/bombastic – using big words for nothing, babble