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Semester 1 Vocab
AP Lang - Vocab Semester 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Allegory | A narrative in which the characters, behavior, and even the setting demonstrates multiple levels of meaning and significance. Often a universal symbol or a personified abstraction. |
| Allusion | A literary, historical, religious, or mythological reference in a literary work |
| Anaphora | The regular repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses |
| Antithesis | The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, grammatical structure, or ideas |
| Aphorism | A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief |
| Asyndeton | A syntactical structure in which conjunctions are omitted in a series, usually producing more rapid prose |
| Chiasmus | A figure of speech and generally a syntactical structure wherein the order of the terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second |
| Colloquial | A term identifying the diction of the common, ordinary folks, especially in a specific region or area |
| Connotation | The implied, suggested, or underlying meaning of a word or phrase |
| Dialect | The language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group |
| Diction | The specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, purpose or effect |
| Didactic | Writing or speech that has an instructive purpose or a lesson; often associated with a dry, pompous presentation |
| Elegy | A poem or prose that laments, or meditates upon the death of a person |
| Epistrophe | In rhetoric, the repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences |
| Epitaph | Writing in praise of a dead person, most often inscribed upon a headstone |
| Eulogy | A speech or written passage in praise of a person; an oration in honor of a deceased person |
| Euphemism | An indirect, kinder, or less harsh or hurtful way of expressing unpleasant information |
| Homily | A sermon, but more contemporary uses include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual life |
| Hyperbole | Overstatement characterized by exaggerated language, usually to make a point or draw attention |
| Jargon | Specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group |
| Juxtaposition | The location of one thing adjacent to another to create an effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose |
| Litote | A figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by conscious understatement |
| Loose Sentence | A long sentence that starts with its main clause, which is followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements |
| Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory but may probably be true |
| Parallel Structure | The use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts. In prose, recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that their ideas are equal in importance. |
| Prose | The ordinary form of written language without metrical structure in contrast to verse and poetry |
| Rhetoric | The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking |
| Satire | A literary work that holds up human failings to ridicule and censure |
| Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a part signifies a whole |
| Syntax | The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. Basically, sentence structure. |
| Zeugma | A grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated |
| Alliteration | The sequential repetition of similar initial sound, usually applied to consonants, usually in close proximate stressed syllables |
| Assonance | The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words |
| Consonance | The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in intervening vowels |
| Hyperbole | Overstatement characterized by exaggerated language, usually to make a point or draw attention |
| Imagery | Any sensory detail or evocation in a work to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object. Involves any or all of the five senses. |
| Metaphor | One thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting a likeness or analogy. An implicit comparison or identification of one thing with another, without the use of like or as. |
| Personification | The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form |
| Simile | A direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, using the words like or as |
| Symbolism | Use of a person, place, thing, event, or pattern that figuratively represents or "stands for" something else |
| Theme | The central or dominant idea or focus of a work. The statement a passage makes about its subject. |
Created by:
Sofia.D
Popular English Vocabulary sets