Ap Lit And Comp Vocab

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Allegory

Back 1

narrative with multiple levels of meaning.

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Allusion

Back 2

literary, historical, religious, mythological reference

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Anecdote

Back 3

brief story or tale

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Archetype

Back 4

recurrent patterns of action, themes, images, characters in wide range of literature

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Ballad

Back 5

narrative poem originally meant to be sung

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Blank Verse

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unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter

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Colloquial

Back 7

ordinary language, vernacular

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Conceit

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comparison of two unlikely things drawn out in a piece of literature

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Connotation

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meaning suggested by a word, apart from its denotation or explicit definition

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Couplet

Back 10

two paired lines of poetry (usually rhymed)

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Diction

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Specific word choice to persuade or convey tone

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Elegy

Back 12

poetic lament upon death of a particular person

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Enjambment

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continuation of sentence from one line of poetry to the next

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Epic

Back 14

poem celebrating achievements of heroes/heroines

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Exposition

Back 15

Introduction and identification of characters/situation at start of story/play

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Fable

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legend or short moral story, often using animals as characters

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Falling Action / Denouement

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plot point where complications of rising action are untangled

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Farce

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use of broad humor, wild antics, slapstick, physical humor in telling a story

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Foreshadowing

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hinting at or indicating future

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Free Verse

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poetry with varying line lengths, lack of traditional meter, nonrhyming lines

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Genre

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type or class of literature

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Hyperbole

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overstatement using exaggerated language

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Imagery

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use of figurative language to evoke feeling/idea or describe an object

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In Media Res

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starting story in the middle of the action

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Irony

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contrast between what is stated and what is meant

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Juxtapose

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to place side-by-side, especially for comparison

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Lyric

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short poem with intense personal emotion instead of description of situation

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Message

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central idea or statement/theme

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Metaphor

Back 29

comparison between two unlike things that does NOT use "like" or "as"

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Meter

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Regular pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

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Mood

Back 31

feeling/ambiance resulting from tone and writer/narrator's point of view

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Motif

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recurrent device, formula, or situation serving as a signal for appearance of character/event

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Ode

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lyric poem with elaborate structure praising a person/characteristic/quality/object

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Onomatopoeia

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word that sounds like what it describes

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Oxymoron

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figure of speech containing two apparently contradictory elements, often humorous

Front 36

Parable

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short fiction illustrating explicit moral lesson through analogy

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Paradox

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seemingly contradictory statement that may be true

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Parody

Back 38

work imitating another work for comic effect using exaggeration and adapting content of original

Front 39

Pastoral

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work describing/celebrating simple life of country folk

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Persona

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voice or figure who tells the story; may not share values of actual author

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Personification

Back 41

giving human qualities to abstract idea/inanimate object

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Protagonist

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main character, may or may not be heroic

Front 43

Quatrain

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poetic stanza of four lines

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Realism

Back 44

describing nature/life without idealization

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Refrain

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repeated stanza/line in poem or song

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Rhetorical Question

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Question asked for stylistic effect, answer not expected

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Rhythm

Back 47

modulation of weak and strong elements in speech

Front 48

Rising Action

Back 48

development of action/first part of plot structure, usually at beginning

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Sarcasm

Back 49

verbal irony where "praise" is actually critical

Front 50

Satire

Back 50

literary work that ridicules human/societal failings

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Shakespearean Sonnet

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verse form; three quatrains finished with a couplet

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Simile

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comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"

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Soliloquy

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monologue where character is alone, speaking to him/herself

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Stanza

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section of a poem

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Style

Back 55

distinctive manner of expression

Front 56

Structure

Back 56

organization/arrangement of elements in a work

Front 57

Symbolism

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element of literary work that figuratively stands for something else

Front 58

Synecdoche

Back 58

when a part is used to signify the whole

Front 59

Syntax

Back 59

sentence structure

Front 60

Terza rima

Back 60

verse form; three line stanzas, second line of each rhymes with the first and third of the next

Front 61

Theme

Back 61

central or dominant idea or focus of a work

Front 62

Tone

Back 62

attitude of the literary work/author toward the subject matter of the piece

Front 63

Tragedy

Back 63

drama in which the main character is brought to a disastrous end (often as result of a tragic flaw)

Front 64

Turning Point

Back 64

point when action stops rising and begins falling

Front 65

Voice

Back 65

source of the words of the story

Front 66

Aesthetic

Back 66

concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty

Front 67

Anaphora

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the repetition of a word or phrase a the beginning of successive clauses

Front 68

Aphorism

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a pithy observation that contains a general truth or a concise statement of a scientific principle

Front 69

Apophasis

Back 69

denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is the same as the subject named or insinuated - "I won't even mention Mr. Chanese's hygiene"

Front 70

Apposition

Back 70

a relationship between two or more words/phrases in which the two are grammatically parallel and/or have the same refferent

Front 71

Apostrophe

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an exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person or thing

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Asyndeton

Back 72

writing style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses

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Belletristic

Back 73

literature regarded as fine art

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Bombast

Back 74

high-sounding language with little meaning

Front 75

Burlesque

Back 75

an absurd or comically exaggerated imitation of something, esp. a literary or dramatic work

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Caricature

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a picture/description of a person where certain characteristics are exaggerated for comic or grotesque effect

Front 77

Dadaism

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works that deal with absurdity or purposelessness, or cynicism about conventions and traditions

Front 78

Demagogue

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a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudice rather than reason

Front 79

Despots

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ruler who holds absolute power, often cruel and oppressive

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Didactic

Back 80

intended to teach, often a moral lesson

Front 81

Draconian

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excessively harsh or severe

Front 82

Epigram

Back 82

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever or amusing way, or a short poem with a witty/ingenious ending

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Ethos

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the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as understood by its beliefs and aspirations

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Gothic

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a work that rejects graceful simplicity, dignity, and unity. A celebration of the medieval, natural, primitive, and romantic

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Grotesque

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texts that demonstrate an interest in the irrational, distrust in order, and frustration with humanity's place in the universe.

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Idiom

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a group of words with a meaning not deducible from the words themselves (raining cats and dogs)

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Idyll

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a short description in verse or prose of a picturesque scene, esp. in rustic life

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Litote

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an understatement in which the affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite (well, the food's not terrible)

Front 89

Machiavellian

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cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, esp. in politics or in career advancement

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Metonymy

Back 90

substituting one word or phrase for another which is closely associated (they work for The Mouse [Disney])

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Mythos

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a traditional or recurrent narrative theme or plot structure

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Parallelism

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use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc

Front 93

Parody

Back 93

a imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect

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Pathos

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quality that evokes pity or sadness

Front 95

Pedantic

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excessively concerned with minor details or rules or academic learning

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Polemic

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a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something

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Polysyndeton

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a rhetorical term for a sentence style that employs many coordinating conjunctions

Front 98

Pragmatic

Back 98

Dealing with things sensibly and realistically, in a way based on practical rather than theoretical considerations

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Progressive

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advocating or implementing social reform or liberal ideas

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Synesthesia

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poetic description of a sensory impression in terms of a different sense (a loud perfume)

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Utilitarian

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designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive

Front 102

Verisimilitude

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the appearance of being true or real

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Zeugma

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A figure of speech where a word applies to two others in difference senses (the soldiers walked with heavy packs and hearts)

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Antithesis

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opposition; contrast

Front 105

Empathy

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the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

Front 106

Requiem

Back 106

any musical service, hymn, or dirge for the repose of the dead

Front 107

Dystopia

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An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.

Front 108

Utopia

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An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More

Front 109

Pragmatic

Back 109

relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters

Front 110

Monologue

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a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker, especially one dominating or monopolizing a conversation.

Front 111

Soliloquy

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an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present

Front 112

Lampoon

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A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way: "does this sound like a lampoon of student life?"

Front 113

Misanthrope

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a hater of humankind.

Front 114

Caustic

Back 114

severely critical or sarcastic

Front 115

Caesura

Back 115

In modern poetry, a pause near the middle of a line or any interruption or break.

Front 116

Dichotomy

Back 116

A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Front 117

Anthropomorphism

Back 117

the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god or animal.

Front 118

Consonance

Back 118

a poetic device characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession, as in "pitter patter" or in "all mammals named Sam are clammy"

Front 119

Euphemism

Back 119

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.