Ap English Vocabulary

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Flippant

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frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness.

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Whimsical

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erratic; unpredictable.

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Pretentious

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characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.

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Satire

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the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

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Contemptuous

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showing or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful.

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Reproach

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to find fault with (a person, group, etc.); blame; censure

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Epigram

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a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought.

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Austere

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grave; sober; solemn; serious. severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding.

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Vehement

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characterized by rancor or anger; violent. strongly emotional; intense or passionate.

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Degenerate

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to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate:

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Promulgate

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to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation

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Augment

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To make larger,enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent; increase

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Nascent

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beginning to exist or develop.

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Amorphous

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lacking definite form; having no specific shape.

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Paradox

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a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

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Ambivalence

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uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.

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Anapest

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A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed), as in 'twas the night and to the moon. This is the reverse of the dactyl.

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Accent

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The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word.

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Antithesis

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A figure of speech in which words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other.

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Assonance

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The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, especially vowel sounds, as in the tongue twister "Moses supposes his toeses are roses."

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Ballad

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A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain.

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Ballade

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A type of poem, usually with three stanzas of seven, eight, or ten lines and a shorter final stanza (or envoy) of four or five lines. All stanzas end with the same one-line refrain.

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Blank Verse

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Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.

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Chanson de geste

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An epic poem of the 11th to the 14th century, written in Old French, which details the exploits of a historical or legendary figure, especially Charlemagne.

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Classicism

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The principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature.

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Conceit

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A fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different.

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Consonance

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The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.

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Couplet

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In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought.

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Dactyl

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A metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in happily.

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Elegy

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A poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful

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Enjambment

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The continuation of a complete idea (a sentence or clause) from one line or couplet of a poem to the next line or couplet without a pause.

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Envoy, or Envoi

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The shorter final stanza of a poem, as in a ballade.

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Epic

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A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.

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Epigram

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A very short, witty poem: "Sir, I admit your general rule,/That every poet is a fool,/But you yourself may serve to show it,/That every fool is not a poet." (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

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Epithalamium (or Epithalamion)

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A poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom.

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Feminine Rhyme

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A multi-syllable rhyme that ends with one or more unstressed syllables: paper/vapor, vacation/proclamation

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Foot

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Two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem. For example, an iamb is a foot that has two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed. An anapest has three syllables, two unstressed followed by one stressed.

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Free Verse

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Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.

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Heptameter

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A line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.

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Heroic couplet

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A stanza composed of two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter.

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A work that functions on a symbolic level.

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Allegory

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The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

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Alliteration

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A reference to a more famous literary work (such as the Bible or mythology).

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allusion

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The force or character that opposes the main character, the protagonist.

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antagonist

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Direct address in poetry. Yeats's line "Be with me Beauty, for the fire is dying" is a good example.

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apostrophe

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Words spoken by an actor intended to be heard by the audience by not by other characters on stage.

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aside

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A love poem set at dawn which bids farewell to the beloved.

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aubade

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Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of a literary work.

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cacophony

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A break or pause within a line of poetry indicated by punctuation and used to emphasize meaning.

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caesura

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According to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences.

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catharsis

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One who carries out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types.

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characters

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The turning point of action or character in a literary work, usually the highest moment of tension.

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climax

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The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event.

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comic relief

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A clash between opposing forces in a lierary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self.

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conflict

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The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning.

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connotation

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A traditional aspect of a literary work such as a soliloquy in a Shakepearean play or a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy.

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convention

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The literal or dictionary meaning of a word

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denotation

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The conclusion or tying up of loose ends in a literary work; the resolution of the conflict and plot

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denoument

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A Greek invention, literally "the god from the machine" who appears at the last moment and resolves the loose ends of a play. Today, the term refers to anyone, usually of some stature, who untangles, resolves, or reveals, the key to the plot of a work.

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deus ex machina

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diction

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The author's choice of words.

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enjambment

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A technique in poetry that involves the running on of a line or stanza. It enables the poem to move and to develop coherence as well as directing the reader with regard to form and meaning. Walt Whitman uses this continually.

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epic

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A lengthy, elevated poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero. Beowulf is a prime example

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euphony

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The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work

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exposition

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Background information presented in a literary work.

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fable

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A simple symbolic story usually employing animals as characters. Aesop and LaFontaine are authors who excel at this form.

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figurative language

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The body of devices that enables the writer to operate on levels other than the literal one. It includes metaphor, simile, symbol, motif, hyperbole, and others.

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flashbacks

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A device that enables a writer to refer to past thoughts, events, episodes.

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foreshadowing

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Hints of future events in a literary work.

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form

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The shape or structure of a literary work.

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meter

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A pattern of beats in poetry.

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hyperbole

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Extreme exaggeration. In "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose," Burns speaks of loving "until all the seas run dry."

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iamb

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A metrical foot consisting of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one; the most common poetic foot in the English language

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idyll

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A type of lyric poem which extols the virtues of an ideal place or time.

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image

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A verbal approximation of a sensory impression, concept, or emotion.

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impressionism

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Writing that reflects a personal image of a character, event, or concept. The Secret Sharer is a fine example

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lyric poetry

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A type of poetry characterized by emotion, personal feelings, and brevity; a large and inclusive category of poetry that exhibits rhyme, meter, and reflective thought.

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magical realism

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A type of literature that explores narratives by and about characters who inhabit and experience their reality differently from what we term the objective world.

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metaphysical poetry

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Refers to the work of poets like John Donne who explore highly complex, philosophical ideas through extended petaphors and paradox.

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metonymy

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A figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea.
Ex. "The pen is mightier than the sword."

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monologue

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A speech given by one character.
EX. Hamlet's "To be or not to be..."

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motif

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The repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work which is used to develop theme or characters.

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narrative poem

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A poem that tells a story.

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narrator

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The speaker of a literary work.

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octave

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An eight-line stanza, usually combined with a sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet.

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ode

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A formal, lengthy poem that celebrates a particular subject.

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onomatopoeia

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Words that sound like the sound they represent. (hiss, gurgle, bang)

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oxymoron

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An image of contradictory terms. (bittersweet, pretty ugly, giant economy size)

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parable

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A story that operates on more than one level and usually teaches a moral lesson. (The Pearl by John Steinbeck, See Allegory)

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parallel plot

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A secondary story line that mimics and reiforces the main plot. (Hamlet loses his father as does Ophelia.)

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parody

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A comic imitation of a work that ridicules the original.

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pathos

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The aspects of a literary work that elicit pity from the audience.

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plot

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A sequence of events in a literary work.

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quatrain

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A four-line stanza.

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Romanticism

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A style or movement of literature tha has as its foundation an interest in freedom, adventure, idealism, and escape.

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sestina

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A highly structured poetic form of 39 lines, written in iambic pentameter. It depends upon the repetition of six words from the first stanza in each of six stanzas.

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soliloquy

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A speech in a play which is used to reveal the character's inner thoughts to the audience. (Hamlet's "To be or not to be..." speech is an example.)

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sonnet

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A 14-line poem with a prescribed rhyme scheme in iambic pentameter.

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spondee

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A 14-line poem with a prescribed rhyme scheme in iambic pentameter.