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All Ap. Lang. Vocab.
Vocab.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Absolute | A word free from limitations or qualifications |
| Absolute metaphor | a metaphor (or figurative comparison) in which one of the terms (the tenor) can't be readily distinguished from the other (the vehicle).Example: "We are the eyelids of defeated caves." |
| Active metaphor | one which is relatively new and has not become part of everyday linguistic usage. The audience knows that a metaphor has been used. |
| Adage | A familiar proverb or wise saying |
| Ad hominem argument | Argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect |
| Allegory | The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. i.e. Animal Farm characters; The Crucible |
| Alliteration | The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words |
| Allusion | A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work or art purpose: writer does not have to elaborate |
| Ambiguity | The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage |
| Amplification | Repeating something just said but adding more detail to it |
| Anadiplosis | (Form of repetition) Repeating the last word of a phrase or sentence near the beginning of the next |
| Analogy | A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them; using something well known to help explain something not as well known (similar to simile) |
| Anaphora | The use of the same word or phrase at the beginning of each phrase or sentence. |
| anecdote | a short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event |
| Antanagoge | Making negative things seem not as bad so the reader doesn't feel as strongly about them. |
| Antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. |
| Antithesis | A structure that places contrasting ideas next to each other. |
| Aphorism | A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle; a memorable summation of the author's point |
| Aporia | Used to express doubt about an idea. |
| Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love and adds familiarity or emotion intensity. |
| Archaism | A word, expression, spelling, or phrase that is out of date in the common speech of an era, but still deliberately used by a writer, poet, or playwright for artistic purposes. |
| Archetype | A detail, image, or character type that appears frequently in literature and is thought to appeal in a universal way |
| Argumentation | To prove the validity of an idea, point of view, by presenting sound reasoning |
| Asyndeton | Leaving out conjunctions in lists or between phrases, words, or clauses. |
| Atmosphere | The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described. |
| Attitude | A writer's intellectual position or emotion regarding the subject of the writing (related to tone) |
| Authorial intrusion | literary device wherein the author penning the story, poem or prose steps away from the text and speaks out to the reader. |
| Balanced sentence | A sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast |
| Bathos | the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style; insincere or overdone pathos |
| Chiasmus | (Form of parallelism) The structure of two lines are crisscrossed. The beginning of the first is at the end of the second and vice versa |
| Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. |
| Cliche' | An expression that has been overused to the extent that its fresshsness has worn off |
| Climax | Organizing ideas in writing from least to most important |
| Colloquial | The use of slang or in formalities in speech or writing. Gives work a conversational, familiar tone. Often used to express regional or local dialects |
| Colloquialism | A word or phrase (including stang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y'all, ain't). |
| Complex sentence | A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause |
| Compound sentence | Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses. |
| Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects; displays intellectual cleverness due to the unusual comparison. |
| Concrete detail | A non abstract detail asked on essay portion |
| Conduplicatio | (Form of repetition) Take an important word in the previous sentence or phrase and repeats it at the beginning of the next |
| Connotation | The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning |
| Conventional symbols | Those that have been invested with meaning by a group i.e. Star of David |
| Dead metaphor | metaphors that normally go unnoticed or that are cliché |
| Declarative sentence | A sentence that makes a statement or declaration |
| Denotation | The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color |
| Descriptive Detail | Detail appealing to the visual sense of the reader |
| Devices | The figures of speech, syntax, diction, and other syllistic elements that collectively produce a particular artistic effect |
| Dialect | A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. |
| Diction | Related to style, refers to the writer's word choice |
| Didactic | Meaning "teaching", it has the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially of moral or ethical principles |
| Dilemma | a difficult or perplexing situation or problem requiring a person to decide between two equally attractive or unattractive alternatives |
| Dissonance | harsh, inharmonious sounds |
| Distinctio | Giving the definition of a word so that the word isn't taken the wrong way. |
| Dramatic irony | Facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work |
| Elegy | a sorrowful formal poem or speech about death or another solemn theme |
| Ellipsis | Indicated by a series of three periods, the - indicates that some material has been omitted from a given text |
| Enthymeme | An abbreviated, informal structured argument with a major and minor premises, both assumed true, making the audience assume the conclusion is also true. |
| Enumeratio | A list of details about something that is supplied |
| Epic | A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society |
| Epigram | A brief witty poem, often satirical. |
| Epigraph | a saying or statement on a title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work |
| Epiphany | A moment of sudden revelation or insight |
| Epistrophe | (Similar to anaphora) The use of the same word or phrase at the end of each phrase or sentence. |
| Epitaph | a brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone |
| Epithet | Adding a descriptive adjective to a noun to evoke an idea or emotion. |
| Eponym | (Similar to allusion) Linking the attributes of a well known person to another person. |
| Equivocation | A fallacy that uses a word with two meanings but concludes the word to have only one meaning. |
| Ethos | Appeal to ethics; credibility |
| Eulogy | a speech honoring the dead |
| Euphemism | A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. Can be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness, or to add humor or ironic understatement |
| Exclamatory sentence | A sentence expressing strong feeling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark |
| Exemplum | Providing the reader with an example to illustrate what the author means. fictional examples need to be hypothetical. |
| Expletive | an interjection to lend emphasis; often a profanity |
| Exposition | To explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant evidence, and appropriate discussion |
| Extended Metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work |
| Fable | A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters |
| Fantasy | A story including elements that are impossible or make-believe. |
| Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid |
| Figure of Speech | A device used to produce figurative language, Many compare dissimilar things |
| First-person Narrator | Tells the story with the first-person pronoun "I" and is a character in the story. |
| Flashback | A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events |
| Flat character | A character who is not well-developed, but rather one-dimensional; he/she has only one or two personality traits |
| Foreshadowing | A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader. |
| Frame device | a story within a story. An example is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the "frame story" of the pilgrimage to Canterbury" |
| Generic Conventions | This term describes traditions for each genre and helps define each genre. For example, they differentiate between an essay and journalistic writing and an autobiography and political writing |
| Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry, and drama |
| Homily | This term literally means "sermon" but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice |
| Hortatory | Speech or writing that urges or commands the audience to do something. |
| Hubris | Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy |
| Hyperbaton | Purposely arranging words in an unexpected order. |
| Hyperbole | A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis |
| Hyperbole | A non-literal exaggeration to emphasize something |
| Hypophora | Asking a question, then answering it too. |
| Hypothetical question | a question that asks how a respondent might react in a given situation |
| Idiom | A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally. |
| Idyll | A scene or event of a simple and tranquil nature |
| Imagery | The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, uses terms related to the five senses |
| Imperative mood | Used for commands "shut the door" |
| Implication | A suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies) without stating it directly. NOTE: the author/sender implies; the reader/audience infers. |
| Implied metaphor | one in which the tenor is not specified but implied. Example: "Shut your trap!" Here, the mouth of the listener is the unspecified tenor. |
| Indicative mood | used only for factual sentences "Joe eats too quickly" |
| Inference | To draw reasonable conclusion from the information presented |
| Invective | An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language |
| Ironic Overstatement | when a person exaggerates the character of something |
| Ironic understatement | when a person undermines the character of something |
| Irony | The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant; the difference between what appears to be and what actually is true |
| Jargon | specialized technical terminology; a characteristic language of a particular group |
| Juxtaposition | Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts |
| Language | how the elements of this combine to form a whole (diction, syntax, figurative language, etc.) |
| Legend | A narrative story about mythical or supernatural beings or events handed down from the past |
| Limerick | A five line poem in which lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme. |
| Literary license | deviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect |
| Literary symbols | They are found in a variety of literature and are generally recognized i.e. whale in Moby Dick |
| Litotes | (Similar to understatement) Emphasizes a point by using a word opposite to the condition |
| Logos | Appeal to logic; facts |
| Loose (cumulative) sentence | A sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases (main clause is at the beginning) |
| Loose sentence | A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. Makes work often seem informal, relaxed, and conversational |
| Malapropism | the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar |
| Maxim | A concise statement, often offering advice; an adage |
| Melodrama | a play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action |
| Metabasis | A summary of a previous body of work that allows the reader to move on to a new point |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other |
| Metaphor (2) | (Similar to simile) Speaking of something as though it were another. |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Example: the White House declared instead of the President Declared |
| Mixed Metaphor | a metaphor that combines different images or ideas in a way that is foolish or illogical |
| Mood | The overall feel of the writing (created by writer; determined by reader) |
| Motiff | A recurring element, such as an image, theme, or type of incident |
| Motivation | A character's incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a character to act |
| Myth | a traditional story where supernatural characters and events are used to explain a natural event |
| Narrative | The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events |
| Narrative devices | The tools of the storyteller such as ordering events so that they build to a climactic moment or withholding information until a crucial time |
| Narrative technique | The style of telling the story, especially the order of events and their detail |
| Natural symbols | Use objects and occurrences from nature to represent ideas commonly associated with them I.e. Dawn and new beginnings |
| Neoclassical drama | Neoclassicism covers the period from the end of the English Renaissance in 1642 to the culmination of the French Revolution and the beheading of Louis the XVI in 1793 in this type of drama, there were either comedies or tragedies-no combination of the two |
| Non sequitur | An argument where claim, reasons and warrants don't connect logically, and one point does not follow another |
| Onomatopoeia | A figure of speech in which natural sounds are limited in the sounds of words |
| Oxymoron | From the Greek for "pointedly foolish" a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. Example: Jumbo Shrimp |
| Paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense, but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity |
| Parallelism | Refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity; structuring in generally same way to link them all |
| Parallelism (2) | Structuring multiple sentences, generally the same way, to link them all. |
| Parataxis | A series of clauses without conjunctions. |
| Parenthetical | a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain |
| Parody | A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. It distorts or exaggerates distinctive features of the original |
| Pathos | Appeal to emotion |
| Pedantic | An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish |
| Periodic sentence | A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. This independent clause is preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone |
| Persona | A voice or mask that is used with acting or speaking that the person uses for a particular reason. |
| Personification | Giving human-like traits to something not human. |
| Persuasive devices | The words in the passage that have strong connotations hint at this. Words that intensify the emotional effect |
| Persuasive essay | An essay that leads to appeal to the audiences emotion or ethical standards to make them feel or support the author's position |
| Philippic | A bitter verbal attack |
| Phronesis | Effects Ethos in making it seem the speaker has the wisdom to judge right from wrong. |
| Point of view | The perspective from which a story is told |
| Polemic | An attack during an argument that hits the opposing point of view. |
| Polysyndeton | (The stylistic Opposite of asyndeton) Deliberate use of conjunctions. |
| Predicative adjectives | One type of subject complement- an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clauses that follows a linking verb Example: My boyfriend is tall, dark, and handsome. Tall, dark and handsome is describing boyfriend |
| Predicative nominative | A second type of subject complement- a noun, group of nouns, or noun clauses that renames the subject Example: "Lincoln was a man of integrity" Man of integrity describes Lincoln |
| Procatalepsis | (Form of hypophora) Eliminates an objection without asking any questions. |
| Prose | One of the major divisions of genre, refers to fiction and nonfiction, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech |
| Pun | Play on words; achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings |
| Red Herring | A remark that distracts or sidetracks from the original subject of argument |
| Repition | The duplication, either exact or approximate of any element of language |
| Resolution | Also called the denouement, this is the final stage in the plot of a drama or work of fiction. Here the action comes to an end and remaining loose ends are tied up. |
| Resources of Language | All the devices of composition available to a writer such as diction, syntax, sentence structure, etc |
| Rhetoric | From the Greek "orator" describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively |
| Rhetoric features | Refers to how a passage is constructed. Look at the passages organization and how the writer combines images, details, or arguments |
| Rhetorical modes | Describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing |
| Parenthesis | A device that is used to insert additional information into the main body of the writing. Equivalent to the spoken aside. |
| Rhetorical Question | A question that is asked to create an effect, not really to be answered. |
| Romantic | 19th century artistic movement that appealed to emotion rather than reason |
| Round character | A character who demonstrates some complexity and who develops or changes in the course of a work |
| Sarcasm | Bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something |
| Satire | A work that targets human vices and follies, or social institutions or conventions for reform or ridicule |
| Scapegoat | a person or thing carrying the blame for others |
| Sentence structure | The type of sentences the author uses; the simple, compound, complex types of this |
| Sententia | A quotation or wise saying. Can be a quote from a person. |
| Simile | A figure of speech using "like" or "as" to compare two thing somewhat alike. |
| Simple sentence | A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause |
| Situational irony | Events turn out the opposite of what was expected |
| Socratic irony | someone pretends to be ignorant to expose the ignorance or inconsistency of someone else. |
| Solecism | Nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules |
| Straw Man | A fallacy that attacks the weaker side of the argument and not the issue at hand. |
| Structure | Arrangement of parts |
| Style | An author's sum of choices that he or she makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices |
| Subject complement | The word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by renaming it or describing it |
| Subjunctive mood | Used for a doubtful or conditional attitude "If I were you, I would get another job." |
| Submerged metaphor | one in which the vehicle is implied, or indicated by one aspect Example: "my winged thought". Here, the audience must supply the image of the bird. |
| Subordinate clause | Contains a subject and a verb but can not stand alone |
| Surrealism | An artistic movement that displayed vivid dream worlds and fantastic unreal images |
| Syllepsis | A construction in which one word is used in two different senses ("after he threw the ball, he threw a fit") |
| Syllogism | From the Greek "reckoning together" this term is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises, first major and second minor Major premise: all men are mortal Minor premise: Socrates is a man. Conclusion: Socrates is mortal |
| Symbol | Anything that represents or stands for something else |
| Symploce | (Form of parallelism) A combination of using a word or phrase repeatably at the beginning or end of a phrase or sentence |
| Synecdoche | (Similar to metonymy) Using part of something to refer to another thing as a larger whole |
| Synesthesia | describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound") |
| Syntax | The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences |
| Tautology | needless repetition using different but equivalent words; a redundancy (ex: widow, women, free gift) |
| Theme | The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers to life |
| Thesis | Statement that is a sentence that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or preposition |
| Third person limited omniscient | Presents the feelings and thoughts of only the actions of all remaining characters |
| Third person narrator | Relates the events with the third person pronouns, "he, she it" |
| Third person omniscent | the narrator, with god-like knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters |
| Tone | Describes the author's attitude toward his or her material or the audience |
| Transition | A word or phrase that links different ideas |
| Trilogy | A group of three literary or musical works that have a related theme |
| Trite | commonplace; overused, stale |
| Trope | A figure of speech in which words are used in a way that changes their meanings. |
| Understatement | The ironic minimalizing of fact, presenting something less significant than it actually is. Makes a work humorous and emphatic;A statement that lacks emphasis and is given less force than normal. |
| undertone | an attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece. Under the surface, for example, a work may have threatening undertones |
| Verbal irony | The words literally state the opposite of the writers or speakers true meaning |
| Vernacular | Everyday language used in a country or region. |
| Wit | Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights |
| Zeugma | Linking unexpected items together by a shared word. |
Created by:
Joepapa
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