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APE Vocabulary
Semester 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Shakespearean Sonnet | Three quatrains and a final couplet (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) |
| Petrarchan Sonnet | Octave (ABBAABBA or ABBACDDC) and a sestat (CDECDE or CDCCDC) |
| Free Verse | Poetry without a fixed meter or rhyme, but using formal elements of patterned verse (e.g. assonance, alliteration) became popular in the 20th century |
| Iambic Pentameter | Five feet per line, first unstressed, then stressed. Often used in epics and other works on serious or majestic themes |
| Enjambment | Sentence or clause runs onto the next line without a break. Creates a sense of suspense or excitement and gives added emphasis to the word at the end of the line |
| Apostrophe | A direct address to an absent or dead person or to an object, quality or idea |
| Alliteration | Repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, at the beginning of words |
| Consonance | Repetition of consonants or consonant sounds at the end of the word or phrase |
| Sibilance | Repetition of the "s" sound |
| Couplet | Two successive rhymed lines that are equal in length |
| Blank Verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| Soliloquy | A speech, often in verse, by a lone character. Most common in drama |
| Poetic License | The liberty that authors sometimes take with ordinary rules of syntax and grammar, employing unusual vocabulary, metrical devices, or figures of speech or committing factual errors in order to strengthen a passage of writing |
| Dirge | A short, poetic expression of grief. it differs from an elegy in that it is often embedded within a larger word, is less highly structured, and is meant to be sung |
| Elegy | Formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure or, occasionally, a meditation on death itself |
| Confessional Poetry | An autobiographical poetic genre in which the poet discusses intensely personal subject matter with unusual frankness. popular in the late 1950s to the late 1960s |
| Lyric Poem | Short poetic composition that describes the thoughts of a single speaker. Most poetry is this (as opposed to dramatic or narrative), employing such common forms as the ode and the sonnet |
| Narrative poem | A poem which tells a story. Usually a long poem, sometimes even book length, the narrative may take the form of a plotless dialogue |
| Sestina | Six six-line stanzas followed by a three-line stanza. The same six words are repeated at the end of the lines throughout the poem. Last word in a line of one stanza=last word of the first line in the next. All six ending words are in the final stanza. |
| Terza Rima | A system of interlaced tercets linked by common rhymes (ABA BCB CDC etc.) |
| Villanelle | A complex French form consisting of 19 lines, divided into 6 stanzas. First 5 stanzas are tercets, the last is a quatrain. Two rhymes and 2 refrains. Line 1 is repeated as lines 6, 12, and 18. Line 3 is repeated as lines 9, 15, and 19 |
| Ode | Serious lyric poem, often in significant length, that usually conforms to an elaborate metrical structure |
| Dramatic Monologue | A poem that contains words that a fictional or historical character speaks to a particular audience |
| Invocation | A prayer for inspiration to a god or muse, usually placed t the beginning of an epic |
| Ballad | Traditionally, a folk song telling a story or a legend in simple language, often with refrain. Traditionally alternating tetrameter and trimeter, usually iambic and rhyming. |
| Allegory | A narrative in which literal meaning corresponds clearly and directly with symbolic meaning. |
| Pastiche | A work that imitates the style of a previous author, work or literary genre. Alternatively, the term may refer to a work that contains a hodgepodge of elements or fragments from different sources or influences |
| Metaphor | A comparison between two unlike objects that does not use the terms "like" or "as" |
| Simile | Comparison of two unlike objects using "like" or "as" |
| Allusion | An implicit reference within a literary work to a historical or literary person, place, or event |
| Tone | The narrator's attitude toward the story, characters, or reader |
| Metonymy | The substitution of one term for another that is generally associated with it |
| Synecdoche | A form of metonymy in which a part of an entity is used to refer to the whole |
| Farce | A type of comedy based on a humorous situation such as a bank robber who mistakenly wanders into a police station to hide. It is the situation which provides the humor, not the cleverness of the plot or the lines, nor the absurdities of the character. |
| Parody | A humorous and often satirical imitation of the style or particular work of another author |
| Archetype | A theme, motif, symbol, or stock character that holds a familiar and fixed place in a culture's consciousness |
| Anadiplosis | Repetition in the first part of a clause or sentence of a prominent word from the latter part of the preceding clause or sentence usually with a change or extension of meaning |
| Hubris | The pride that goes before the fall for a tragic hero; usually associated with Greek and Shakespearean tragedy |
| Anagnorisis | A moment of recognition or discovery, primarily used in reference to Greek Tragedy |
| Irony | A wide Ranging technique of detachment that draws awareness to the discrepancy between words and their meanings, expectations and fulfillment, or, most generally, between what is and what seems to be |
| Protagonist | The main character around whom the story revolves |
| Antagonist | The primary character or entity that acts to frustrate the goals of the protagonist |
| Theme | The fundamental and universal idea explored in a literary work |
| Aside | A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play |
| Foil | A character who illuminates the qualities of another, usually the protagonist, by means of contrast |
| Exposition | Beginning portion of a plot in which background information about the characters and situation is set forth |
| Rising Action | The early part of a narrative, which builds momentum and develops the narrative's major conflicts |
| Conflict | Central struggle that moves the plot forward. It can be the protagonist's struggle against fate, nature, society, or another person. In certain circumstances it can be internal |
| Climax | The moment of highest tension, at which the conflict comes to a head |
| Denouement | Falling action of a story |
| Resolution | An ending that satisfactorily answers all the questions raised over the course of the plot |
| Connotation | All of the associations, negative and positive, tied in with the word |
| Denotation | Dictionary definition of a word |
| Ambiguity | A statement that can contain two or meanings |
| Analogue | A comparison between two similar things. In literature, a work which resembles another work either fully or in part |
| Anatanaclasis | Form of speech in which a key word is repeated and used in a different, and sometimes contrary, way for a play on words |
| Aposiopesis | A breaking-off of speech, usually because of rising emotion or excitement |
| Bathos | A sudden and unexpected drop from the lofty to the trivial or excessively sentimental. Sometimes used intentionally to create humor, but just as often is derided as miscalculation or poor judgement on the author's part |
| Pathos | From the Greek word for "feeling" the quality of a work of literature that evokes high emotion, most commonly sorrow, pity, or compassion |
| Deus ex Machina | Latin for "God from a machine." A sudden or improbably plot twist that brings about the plot's resolution |
| Dramatic Irony | A technique in which the author lets the audience or reader in on a character's situation while the character remains in the dark |
| Verbal Irony | The use of a statement that, by its context, implies the opposite |
| Situational Irony | A technique in which one understanding of a situation stands in sharp contrast to another, usually more prevalent, understanding of the same situation |
| Periphrasis | An elaborate and roundabout manner of speech that uses more words than necessary |
| Pun | A play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meaning |
| Satire | A work that uses wit to ridicule in order to bring about social change or make a political point |
| Stock Character | A common character type that recurs throughout literature. Also can be considered an Archetype |
| Theater of the Absurd | A movement that responded to the seemingly illogically and purposelessness of human life in works marked by a lack of clear narrative, understandable psychological motives, or emotional catharsis |
| Trope | A common or overused figure of speech or comparison; cliche |
| Carpe Diem | A Latin phrase which translated means "Seize ( Catch) the day", meaning "Make the most of today" |
| Conceit | An Elaborate parallel between two seemingly dissimilar objects |
| Euphemism | The use of decorous language to express vulgar or unpleasant ideas, events, or actions |
| Asyndenton | The omission of conjunctions as in, "He has provided the poor with jobs, with opportunity, with self-respect" |
| Aphorism | A concise expression of insight or wisdom |
| Didactic Literature | Literature intended to instruct or educate |
| Dystopic Literature | A genre of fiction that presents an imagined future society that purports to be perfect and Utopian but that the author presents to the reader as horrifyingly inhuman |
| Hyperbole | An excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact |
| Interior Monologue | A record of the characters thoughts, unmediated by a narrator. Sometimes takes the form of a stream-of-consciousness narration, but is often more logical and structured |
| Meiosis | Intentional understatement. Opposite of hyperbole and often employs litotes to ironic effect |
| Litotes | A form of understatement in which a statement is affirmed by negating its opposite |
| Internal Conflict | A struggle which takes place in the protagonist's mind and through which the character reaches a new understanding or dynamic change |
| Colloquialism | An informal word or phrase that is more common in conversation than in formal speech or writing |
| Ellipsis | Omission of one or more words from a sentence |
| Idiom | A common expression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning |
| In Media Res | Latin for "in the middle of things." The technique of starting a narrative in the middle of the action |
| Myth | A story about the origins of a culture's beliefs and practices, or of supernatural phenomena, usually derived from oral tradition and set in an imagined supernatural past |
| Legend | A story about a heroic figure, derived from oral tradition and based partly on fact and partly on fiction |
| Parable | A short narrative that illustrates a moral by means of allegory |
| Paralipsis | Also known as praeterito. The technique of drawing attention to something by claiming not to mention it |
| Zeugma | The use of one word in a sentence to modify two other words in the sentence, typically in two different ways |
| Abject | Hopeless, miserable, wretched, dismal |
| Abstract | Not concrete, theoretical, conceptual |
| Absurd | Ridiculous, silly, meaningless |
| Acrimonious | Bitter, spiteful, rancorous, discordant, hostile, unfriendly, harsh |
| Acumen | Sharpness of mind |
| Admonish | To rebuke someone |
| Aesthetic | Artistic, pleasing to the senses, beautiful |
| Affinity | Feeling of identification; kinship by marriage; connection |
| Affluence | Wealthy, privileged circumstances |
| Akimbo | With hands on hips; arched |
| Alacrity | Eager readiness |
| Allocation | The assignment or earmarking of something |
| Analogous | Similar, equivalent, parallel, corresponding, akin |
| Apathy | Lack of enthusiasm; emotional emptiness |
| Arbitrary | Based on a whim; random; authoritarian |
| Ardor | Great warmth of feeling; fervor; zeal |
| Ascetic | Austere, abstinent, frugal, abstemious, severe |
| Autonomy | Self-rule |
| Avocation | A calling or occupation; a hobby |
| Begrudge | Resent, envy |
| Beguile | To charm someone; to mislead or deceive someone |
| Cajole | To persuade by flattery or promises; wheedle; coax |
| Candid | Frank, open, honest, outspoken, blunt, straightforward |
| Capricious | Erratic; fanciful or witty |
| Chicanery | Deception or trickery, especially by the clever manipulation of words |
| Cognizant | Aware; knowing about something |
| Complacent | Satisfied, smug, content |
| Compulsory | Necessary; forced |
| Conjecture | The formation of judgments or opinions on the basis of incomplete or inconclusive information |
| Conspicuous | Easily visible; attracting attention |
| Crass | Sp thoughtless, vulgar and insensitive as to lack all refinement or delicacy |
| Defray | To provide money to pay for part or all of the cost of something |
| Deleterious | Having a harmful or damaging effect |
| Denigrating | Defame, disparage or belittle |
| Despondent | Hopeless, low, dejected, unhappy |
| Destitute | Lacking all money, resources, and possessions necessary for subsistence |
| Deviate | To be different; to turn from a course or path |
| Devious | Deceitful, tricky, wily, conniving, Machiavellian, cunning |
| Diminutive | Very small |
| Dint | To drive something in forcefully |
| Discernible | Visible, apparent, perceptible, noticeable |
| Disseminate | To spread something, especially information |
| Dissipate | To scatter in various directions; disperse; to spend or use wastefully |
| Dogmatic | Expressing rigid opinions |
| Duplicitous | Double-dealing, two-faced, tricky, deceitful, treacherous |
| Eccentric | Unconventional, especially in a whimsical way |
| Emulate | Imitate, follow, try to be like |
| Enigma | Mystery; someone or something not explained or understood |
| Enjoin | To command somebody to do something or behave in a particular way; to impose a condition or course of action on others |
| Ennui | Weariness and dissatisfaction with life that results from a loss of interest or sense of excitement |
| Entreaty | A strong, serious request about something that is of great concern |
| Envoy | Diplomat on behalf of a national government or a person sent as an official messenger |
| Epiphany | A sudden realization; sudden intuitive leap of understanding |
| Erudite | Learned, scholarly, knowledgeable, well-educated, cultured, bookish |
| Existential | Concerned with or relating to human existence; philosophy involved in the shaping of a person's self-chosen mode of existence |
| Exonerate | Clear, absolve, acquit, vindicate |
| Extricate | To release somebody or something with difficulty from a physical constraint or an unpleasant or complicate situation |
| Facetious | Intended to be funny or humorous, but often silly or inapporopriate |
| Fickle | Indecisive, changeable, capricious |
| Gait | Manner of walking; pattern of horse's steps |
| Gratutious | Unnecessary and unjustifiable; received or given without payment |
| Hackneyed | Trite, cliched, worn-out, tired, stale |
| Impeccable | So perfect or flawless as to beyond criticism |
| Imperious | Arrogant; haughty and domineering |
| Impervious | Remaining unmoved and unaffected by other people's opinions , arguments, or suggestions; not allowing passage into or through something |
| Impetuous | Acting on the spur of the moment, without considering consequences |
| Inconsequential | Unimportant, minor, trivial, negligible |
| Incorrigible | Impossible or very difficult to correct or reform; impossible or very difficult to control or keep in order |
| Indolent | Lethargic and not showing any interest or making any effort |
| Inept | Without skill or aptitude for a particular task or assignment; generally awkward or clumsy |
| Infusion | Introduction of something needed |
| Innocuous | Safe, inoffensive, harmless, bland, mild |
| Intangible | Nonmaterial, not to be seen or touched; hard to describe |
| Interloper | An intruder into a place, gathering, or situation |
| Judicious | Showing wisdom, good sense,or discretion, often with the underlying objective of avoiding trouble or waste |
| Kindle | To set something alight or begin burning; to begin to glow; to become aroused |
| Languorous | Listless; sluggish; moving slowly |
| Licentious | Pursuing desires aggressively and selfishly, unchecked by morality, especially in sexual matters |
| Loquatious | Verbose, effusive, garrulous, rambling |
| Lugubrious | Sad, mournful, depressing, gloomy, doleful |
| Meticulous | Precise and painstaking |
| Mitigate | To make an offense or crime less serious or more excusable |
| Muse | Inspires and presides over the creative arts. To think about something |
| Naivete | Innocence, inexperience, artlessness |
| Nihilism | The total rejection of established social conventions and beliefs, especially of morality and religion |
| Obsequious | Excessively easy to please or obey |
| Ostensible | Apparent, professed, supposed, perceived, alleged |
| Pandemonium | Hell, or any place of chaos or torment; noisy and chaotic |
| Pastoral | A celebration of the simple, rustic life of shepherds and shepherdesses, usually written by a sophisticated, urban writer |
| Patois | A regional form of language that differs from the traditional language |
| Pecuniary | Relating to or involving money |
| Penitent | Expressing or feeling regret or sorrow for having committed sins or misdeeds |
| Perambulation | To walk about a place |
| Plaintive | Sad sounding |
| Plaited | Braided |
| Plight | A difficult or dangerous situation, especially a sad or desperate predicament |
| Precocious | Intelligent, gifted, talented, bright |
| Preposterous | Outrageous or absurd; going against what is thought to be reasonable or sensible |
| Prevaricate | To avoid giving a direct and honest answer or opinion, especially by quibbling or being deliberately ambiguous or misleading |
| Procure | Acquire something; provide prostitues |
| Propensity | A tendency to demonstrate a particular behavior |
| Prudery | Easily shocked by sex |
| Quadroon | An offensive term for somebody with one black and three white grandparents |
| Querulous | Inclined to complain or find fault; whining or complaining in tone |
| Quiescent | Inactive or at rest |
| Rapacious | Grasping and greedy, especially for money, and sometimes willing to use unscrupulous means to obtain what is desired |
| Recalcitrant | Unruly, intractable, wayward, headstrong, obstinate |
| Recant | To deny believing in something or withdraw something previously said |
| Reclusive | Solitary and withdrawn from the rest of the world |
| Redolent | Scented, aromatic, fragrant, malodorous, stinking |
| Reminiscent | Resembling something or somebody else; suggesting memories of past; recalling past |
| Replenish | Replace used items; nourish somebody or something |
| Remonstrate | Argue, protest, object, oppose, complain, bicker |
| Repose | Rest; tranquility; composure |
| Ruefully | Remorsefully, contritely, apologetically, humbly |
| Sanguine | Confident; ruddy; blood red |
| Sardonically | Disdainfully or cynically mocking |
| Scrupulously | Doing something with moral integrity or very precisely |
| Scrutinize | Observe something or somebody closely |
| Secular | Not pertaining to religion |
| Subversive | Intended or likely to undermine or overthrow a government or another institution |
| Sumptuous | Magnificent or grand in appearance; entailing great expense |
| Supercilious | Arrogant, condescending, haughty, patronizing, contemptuously indifferent, full of contempt or arrogance |
| Surreptitious | Furtive, sneaky, sly, covert, clandestine |
| Theoretical | Hypothetical, academic, conjectural, speculative |
| Trite | Corny, pedestrian, stock |
| Trunicate | Shorten, condense, trim, cut, prune |
| Ubiquitous | Existing everywhere |
| Vacuous | Inane, lacking ideas or intelligence; idle; lacking content |
| Vicarious | Experiencing through someone else rather than by first hand |
| Volition | The ability to make conscious choices or decisions; the act of exercising the will |
| Voluptuous | Sensual in appearance or providing sensual pleasure; inclined to devote life to sensual pleasure |
| Xenophile | Somebody who likes people, customs and culture of other countries |
| Presumptuous | Inconsiderate, disrespectful, or overconfident, especially in doing something when not entitled or qualified to do it |
| Susceptible | Easily affected or influenced; likely to be affected by something |
| Concilitory | Appeasing; pacifying assuaging; mollifying |
Created by:
Emily.Nemeth
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