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A.P English Literature Vocabulary
n/a
110
English
11th Grade
12/17/2011

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Term
Paralipsis
Definition
drawing attention to something by claiming not mention it
Term
parallelism
Definition
use of similar grammatical structures or word order to suggest a comparison
Term
pathetic fallacy
Definition
the attribution of human feeling or motivation to a nonhuman object
Term
periphrasis
Definition
using more words than necessary
Term
personification
Definition
use of human characteristics to describe animals,things or ideas
Term
pun
Definition
a play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words
Term
rhetorical question
Definition
a question that is asked not to elicit a response, but to draw attention to something
Term
sarcasm
Definition
simple from of verbal irony in which the speaker means to opposite of what he or she says
Term
simile
Definition
a comparison of two unlike things by using like or as
Term
synesthasia
Definition
the use of one kind of sensory experience to describe another
Term
synecdoche
Definition
a part of an entity is used to refer to the whole
Term
trope
Definition
a category of figures of speech that extend the literal meanings of words by inviting a comparison of other words, things or ideas
Term
zeumega
Definition
the use of one word in a sentence to modify two
Term
allusion
Definition
implicit reference to history,;liteature,religion,or mythology
Term
anagnorisis
Definition
a moment of recognition or discovery, primarily in reference to Greek tragedy
Term
bathos
Definition
drop from the lofty to the trivial or sentimental
Term
caricature
Definition
a description or characterization that exaggerates or distorts a character's prominent features
Term
desus ex machina
Definition
a sudden or improbable plot twist that brings a resolution
Term
epiphany
Definition
a sudden, powerful, and often spiritual or life-changing realization
Term
foreshadowing
Definition
an author's deliberate use of hints to give a preview of events or themes that will happen later
Term
in medias res
Definition
starting a narrative in the middle of action
Term
interior monologue
Definition
a record of a character's thought
Term
invocation
Definition
a prayer for inspiration to a god or muse
Term
irony
Definition
draws awarness between expectation and fufillment, between what is and what seems to be
Term
verbal irony
Definition
when a character or narrator does not mean what he or she says
Term
situational irony
Definition
one understanding of a situation stands in sharp contrast to another
Term
dramatic irony
Definition
a technique in which the audience knows something the characters do not
Term
melodrama
Definition
the use of sentimentality, gushing emption or sensational action or plot twists to get a response
Term
pathos
Definition
the quality in a work of literature tha tevokes high emotion
Term
poetic diction
Definition
the use of specific types of words, phrases, or literary structures that are not common in contemporary speech or prose
Term
poetic license
Definition
the liberty authors sometimes take with ordinary rules of syntax and grammer
Term
wit
Definition
a form of wordplay that displays cleverness and often displays humor
Term
archetype
Definition
a theme, motif or symbol closely associated with a culture's consciousness
Term
emblem
Definition
a concrete object that, universally, represents something abstract
Term
imagery
Definition
language that brings to mind sense-impressions, especially via figures of speech
Term
motif
Definition
a recurring structure, contrast, or other device that develops or informs a work's major themes
Term
elegy
Definition
a formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure
Term
epic
Definition
a lengthy narrative that describes the deeds of a heroic figure, often of national or cultural importance
Term
epigram
Definition
a succinct witty statement often in verse
Term
fable
Definition
a short prose or verse narrative, such as those by aesop, that illustrate a moral
Term
fiction
Definition
an invented narrative. does not present true events
Term
legend
Definition
a story about a heroic figure derived from oral tradition
Term
lyric
Definition
a short poetic composition that describes the thoughts of a single speaker
Term
memoir
Definition
an autobiographical work that focuses on the author's involvement in historical events
Term
myth
Definition
a story about the origins of a culture's beliefs and practices
Term
nonfiction
Definition
a narrative work that reports true events
Term
historical novel
Definition
a novel set in an earlier historical period that features a plot shaped by the historical circumstances of that period
Term
verse novel
Definition
a full-length fictional work that is novelistic in nature but written in a verse rather than prose
Term
novella
Definition
a work of fiction of middle length, often divided into a few short chapters
Term
ode
Definition
a serious lyric poem, often of significant length that usually conforms to an elaborate structure
Term
parody
Definition
a humorous and often satrical imitation of the style or particular work from another author
Term
pastoral
Definition
a celebration of the simple, rustic life of sheperds and sheperdness
Term
comedy
Definition
a lighthearted play characterized by humor and a happy ending
Term
farce
Definition
a form of high-energy comedy that plays on confusions and deceptions between characters and features a convoluted, faced- paced plot
Term
promblem play
Definition
a play that confronts a contemporary social problem with the intent of changing public opinion
Term
tragedy
Definition
a serious play that ends unhappily for the protagonist
Term
tragicomedy
Definition
a play that mixes elements of tragedy and comedy
Term
one-act play
Definition
a play that mixes elements of tragedy and comedy
Term
primitvist literature
Definition
works that express a preference for the natural over the artifical in human culture and a belief that the life of primitve cultures is preferable to modern lifestyles
Term
propaganda
Definition
a work of didactic liteartures that aims to influence the reader on a specific social or political issue
Term
prose
Definition
any composition not written in verse
Term
prose poem
Definition
a poetic work that features strong rhythms but is presented on the page in the form of prose
Term
romance
Definition
a nonrealistic story in vers or prose that features idealized chracters improbable adventures and exotic settings
Term
chivarlic romance
Definition
describes the adventures of meieval knight and celbrates their strict code of honor,, loyality, and respectufl devotion to women
Term
satire
Definition
a work that exposes to ridicule the shortcomings of individuals, institutions or society
Term
science fiction
Definition
fiction that is set in an alternate reality often a tecnologically advanced future and contains fantastical elements
Term
short story
Definition
a work of prose ficction that is much shorter than a novel and is focoused on a single event
Term
short-short story
Definition
a particulary compresses and truncateds short story
Term
soliloquy
Definition
a speech by a lone character not to other characters
Term
alliteration
Definition
teh repetition of isimilar constants a t the beginning of words
Term
aposiopesis
Definition
a breaking off of speech, usually because of rising emotion or enlightment
Term
symbol
Definition
an object, figure, or character that is used to repersent an abstract idea or concept in a work
Term
theme
Definition
a fundamental and universal ides explored ina literay work
Term
thesis
Definition
the central argument that an author makes in a work
Term
tone
Definition
the general atmosphere created in a story, or the narrator's attitude toward the story or reader
Term
allegory
Definition
a narrative in which literal meaning corrdesponds clearly and directly to symbolic meaning
Term
ancedote
Definition
a breif narration
Term
aphorism
Definition
a concise expression of insight or wisdom
Term
autobiography
Definition
a non fiction account of a person's life written by that person
Term
ballad
Definition
a folk song telling a story or legend in simple language
Term
biography
Definition
a nonfiction account of a person's life
Term
black comedy
Definition
disturbign or serious material presented in a comical way
Term
burlesque
Definition
a humorous imitation of a serious work o fliterature
Term
confessional poertry
Definition
an autobiographichal poetic gene in which the poet discusses intensely personal subject matter
Term
didactic liteature
Definition
liteature intedned to instruct or educate
Term
DIRGE
Definition
A SHORT POETIC EXPERSSION OF GRIEF
Term
drama
Definition
a composition that is meant to be performed
Term
dramatic monologue
Definition
when a character speaks to the other characters in a play
Term
dystopic litearture
Definition
agenere of fiction that presents an imagine future society that puports to be perfect, butis horrifically inuman
Term
eclogue
Definition
a short pastoral poem
Term
elegy
Definition
a formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure
Term
apostrophe
Definition
a direct address to an absent or deaad person, or to an object, quality or idea
Term
assonance
Definition
the repetion of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words
Term
cacophony
Definition
the class of discordant or harsh sounds within a sentence or phrase
Term
chiasmus
Definition
two phrases in which the syntax is the same, but the placement of words is reversed
Term
cliche
Definition
an expression that has been used so frequently that it has lost it experessive power
Term
colloquialism
Definition
an informal expression or slang especially in formal writing
Term
conceit
Definition
an elaborate parallel between two seemingly dissimilar object or ideas. An extended metaphor
Term
epithet
Definition
an adjective or phrase that describes a prominent features of a person or thing
Term
euphemism
Definition
the use of ecorous language to expresss vulgar or unpleasent idead
Term
euphony
Definition
apleasing arragement of sound
Term
hyperbole
Definition
an excessive overstatement or conscious exxagerations of fact
Term
idiom
Definition
a common espression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning
Term
litotes
Definition
a form of understatement in which a statement is affirmed by its negative opposite. ex: he is not friendly
Term
meiosis
Definition
intentional understatement
Term
mixed metaphor
Definition
combination of metaphors that produces a confused or contradictory image
Term
metonymy
Definition
the substitution of one term for another that generally is associated with it
Term
onomatopeia
Definition
the use of words that sound like the thing they refer to
Term
oxymoron
Definition
association of two contrary terms
Term
paradox
Definition
statment that seems absurb or even contradictory ion its face , but often express a deeper truth
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