Ap English Vocabulary Mid-Term

Front 1

Anecdote

Back 1

A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

Front 2

Perspective

Back 2

A character's view of the situation or events in the story

Front 3

Aphorism

Back 3

A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. The writings of Benjamin Franklin contain many aphorisms, such as "Early to bed and early to rise/Make a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Front 4

Contradiction

Back 4

A direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency.

Front 5

Oxymoron

Back 5

A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp" or "deafening silence."

Front 6

Allusion

Back 6

A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader or to apply, a symbolic meaning to the character or object which the allusion consists. For example, in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the surname of of the protagonist George Milton, is an allusion to John Milton author of Paradise Lost, since by the end of the novel, George has lost the dream of having a little ranch of his own to share with his friend Lennie.

Front 7

Syllogism

Back 7

A form of deduction. An extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.

Front 8

Satire

Back 8

A literary style used to make fun or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness.

Front 9

Bildungsroman

Back 9

A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character.

Front 10

Foil

Back 10

A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast.

Front 11

Epistolary

Back 11

A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters.

Front 12

Epitaph

Back 12

A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person.

Front 13

Parody

Back 13

A satirical imitation of a work of art fro purpose of ridiculing its style or subject.

Front 14

Delayed Sentence

Back 14

A sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. For example: Just as he bent to tie his shoe, a car hit him.

Front 15

Sarcasm

Back 15

A sharp caustic remark. A form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical. For example, a coach saying to a player who misses the ball, "Nice catch."

Front 16

Expletive

Back 16

A single word or short phrase intended to emphasize surrounding words. Commonly, expletives are set off by commas. Examples: in fact, of course, after all, certainly.

Front 17

Irony

Back 17

A situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. Irony is frequently humorous, and can be sarcastic when using words to imply the opposite of what they normally mean.

Front 18

Eulogy

Back 18

A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an oration in honor of a deceased person.

Front 19

Paradox

Back 19

A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true.

Front 20

Epiphany

Back 20

A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience.

Front 21

Onomatopoeia

Back 21

A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes, such as buzz or hiss.

Front 22

Diction

Back 22

An author's choice of words to convey tone or effect.

Front 23

Utopia

Back 23

An imaginary place of ideal perfection. The opposite of a dystopia (an imaginary place where people live dehumanized, often fearful lives).

Front 24

Hyperbole

Back 24

An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language.

Front 25

Deus ex machina

Back 25

As in Greek theater, use of an artificial device or contrived solution to solve a difficult situation, usually introduced suddenly and unexpectedly.

Front 26

Antagonist

Back 26

Character or force in a literary work that opposes the main character, or protagonist.

Front 27

Analogy

Back 27

Comparison of two things that are alike in some respects. Metaphors and similes are both types of analogy.

Front 28

Inductive

Back 28

Conclusion or type of reasoning whereby observation or information about a part of a class is applied to the class as a whole. Contrast with deductive.

Front 29

Nostalgia

Back 29

Desire to return in thought or fact to a former time.

Front 30

Chiasmus

Back 30

Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second. "Has the Church failed mankind, or has mankind failed the Church?" T.S. Eliot

Front 31

Thesis

Back 31

Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view or discussion in the essay is based.

Front 32

Litote

Back 32

Form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis and intensity. For example, "she is not a bad cook." Or, "No man ever followed his genius until it missed him." Thoreau

Front 33

Doppelganger

Back 33

Ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego.

Front 34

Zeugma

Back 34

Grammatically correct linkage of one subject verb with two or more verbs or a verb with two or more direct objects. The linking shows a relationship between ideas more clearly. Example: "Roy lost his shoe and his temper."

Front 35

Ethos

Back 35

In dramatic literature, the moral element that determines a character's actions, rather than thought or emotion.

Front 36

Propaganda

Back 36

Information or rumor deliberately spread to help or harm a person, group, or institution.

Front 37

Didactic

Back 37

Intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson.

Front 38

Formal Language

Back 38

Language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal.

Front 39

Allegory

Back 39

Narrative form in which characters and actions have meanings outside themselves: characters are usually personifications of abstract qualities.

Front 40

Abstract

Back 40

Not related to the concrete properties of an object; pertaining to ideas, concepts, or qualities, as opposed to physical attributes.

Front 41

Apostrophe

Back 41

A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present; for example, the invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry.

Front 42

In media res

Back 42

Opening a story in the middle of the action, requiring filling in past details by exposition or flashback.