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AP English 11 Vocab
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| allegory | the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning |
| ambiguity | the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, or a word, phrase, sentence, or passage |
| anadiplosis | the repetition of a key word, especially the last one, at the beginning of the next sentence or clause |
| analogy | similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them |
| anaphora | the rhetorical device of repeating a word or phrase at the beginning or successive clauses or sentences for emphasis and rhythm |
| anathema | a thing or person detested |
| antecedent | word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun |
| anticlimax | using a sequence of ideas that abruptly diminish in dignity or importance at the end of a sentence |
| antimetabole | repeating words in reverse order for surprise and emphasis |
| antithesis | a contrast or opposition of thoughts, usually in two phrases, clauses, or sentences; the exact opposite |
| aphorism | a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as love |
| archetype | the original pattern, or model from which all other things of the same kind are made |
| assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words |
| asyndeton | the practice of leaving out the usual conjunctions between the coordinate sentence elements |
| atmosphere | the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work |
| bathos | an abrupt change from the lofty to the ordinary or trivial in writing or speech |
| cacophony | harsh sounding, jarring sound |
| chiasmus | repeating grammatical elements in reverse order for surprise and emphasis |
| cliché | an overused, worn-out, hackneyed expression that used to be fresh but is no more |
| climax | arranging words, clauses, or sentences in the order of their importance, the least forcible coming first and the others rising in poser until the last |
| colloquial | the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing |
| conceit | an elaborate and unusual comparison between two startling different subjects |
| connotation | the nonliteral, associative meaning of a word, the implied, suggested meaning |
| consonance | the repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect |
| denotation | the strict, literal dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color |
| device | something used to gain an artistic effect |
| diction | related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness, diction combined with syntax, figurative language, literary devices, etc, creates an author's style |
| didactic | have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles |
| dirge | a funeral hymn |
| elegy | a poem or song of lament and praise for the dead |
| ellipsis | the omission of a word or words necessary for complete grammatical construction but understood in the context |
| epanalepsis | opening and closing a sentence with the same word or phrase for suprise and emphasis |
| epic | a long narrative poem in a dignified style about the deeds of a tradition or historical hero |
| epigram | a short poem with a witty or satirical point |
| epistles | a literary letter, a formal composition written in the form of a letter addressed to a distant person or group of people |
| epitaph | a short composition in prose or verse, written as a tribute to a dead person |
| euphemism | more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept |
| euphony | the quality of having a pleasing sound |
| extended parallelism | the repetition of words or grammatical elements to achieve cumulative force and rhythm |
| extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work |
| fable | a brief story, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or moral |
| figurative language | for example: apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia |
| genre | kinds or types of literature |
| homily | a solemn, moralizing talk or writing |
| hyperbole | an overstatement or exaggerated way of saying something |
| imagery | anything in a literary work that calls up sensations of sight, taste, smell , touch |
| inference | to conclude or decide from something known or assumed |
| invective | a violent verbal attack |
| irony | an implied contrast |
| juxtaposition | a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit |
| language | the entire body of words used in a text, not simply isolated bits of diction |
| literal/figurative | literal is based on the actual words in their ordinary meaning, figurative gives a more symbolic meaning or representing one concept in terms of another that may be thought of as analogous within sense or reference |
| litotes | understatement employed for the purpose of enhancing the effect of the ideas expressed, contains a negative, ex: you’re not half wrong |
| lyric | a melodic poem that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker |
| metaphor | a comparison without using "like" or "as" |
| metonymy | the use of the name of one thing for that of another associated with or suggested by it, ex: "The White House" of "The President" |
| mock heroic | burlesquing or mocking heroic manner, action, or character |
| mood | the atmosphere of the literary work |
| motif | a main theme or subject |
| myth | a fictioinal tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the causes of natural phenomena |
| narrative | the telling of any story, or the story itself |
| novel | fictional prose narrative, usually long enough to be published in a book by itself |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory ideas or terms are combined in a two word phrase |
| parable | a brief story, usually with human characters, that teaches a moral lesson |
| paradox | a statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd, but may actually be true in fact, a seemingly impossible situation |
| parallelism | refers to a grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence |
| parody | a literary work that imitates and makes fun of another type of work, or specific author |
| pedantic | an unnecessary display of scholarship lacking in judgement or sense of proportion |
| personification | the treatment of an object or an abstract idea as if were a person |
| prose | the ordinary form of written or spoken language, without rhyme or meter |
| pun | play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings |
| repetition | a decive in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and create emphasis |
| rhetoric | the skill of using spoken or written communication effectively |
| rhetorical question | a question that expects no answer |
| sarcasm | a taunting, sneering, cutting, or caustic remark |
| satire | a literary work that ridicules various aspects of human behavior |
| shift | a change of feelings by the speaker from the beginning to the end |
| simile | the comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words "like" or "as" |
| stream of consciousness | a narrative technique that present s thoughts as I they were coming directly from a character’s mind |
| style | a group of different aspects of writing that have to do with the writer's way of saying something, diction, sentence structure, figurative language, and various sound patterns all enter into style |
| syllogism | an argument or form of reasoning in which two statements or premises are made and a logical conclusion drawn from them, ex: whales are mammals, therefore, whales are warm-blooded |
| symbol | a thing or action that is made to mean more than itself |
| synecdoche | when a part of something is used to signify the whole, ex: all hands on deck; also, when the whole represents a part, ex: Canada played the US in the Olympic hockey finals |
| synesthetic imagery | detail that moves from the stimulation of one sense to a response by another sense, as a certain odor induces the visualization of a certain color |
| syntax | at its simplest level, syntax consists of sentence structure and word order |
| theme | what the author is saying about the subjects in his work |
| tone | the writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject and the audience |
| trite | applied to an expression or idea which through repeated use or application has lost its original freshness |
| understatement | a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is |
| vernacular | using the native language of a country or place |
| vignette | a short, delicate literary sketch |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that sound like what they mean, ex: buzz, clang, hiss |
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easilyamusedd
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