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AP English Terms
Terms for AP Exam
98
English
11th Grade
04/30/2006

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Term
begging the question
Definition
to sidestep or evade the real problem
Term
bildungsroman
Definition
a novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character
Term
canon (canonical)
Definition
the works of an author that have been accepted as authentic
Term
carpe diem
Definition
"sieze the day" - the philosphy that one should enjoy life to the fullest
Term
catharsis
Definition
purification or cleansing of the spirit through the emotions of pity and terror as a witness to tragedy
Term
chiasmus
Definition
fiugre of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clasuses is reversed in the second
Term
claim
Definition
an assertion of something as fact, to demand as a right or as due
Term
closure
Definition
bringing to an end or conclusion
Term
colloquial/colloquialism
Definition
ordinary language; the vernacular. for example, depending on where in the US you live, a sandwich is called a sub, grinder, or hero.
Term
connotation
Definition
what is implied by a word. for example, the words "sweet", "gay" and "awesome" have connotations that are quite different than their actual definitions.
Term
consonance
Definition
the repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels, such as pitter-patter, splish-splash, and click-clack
Term
contradiction
Definition
a direct opposition between things compared; inconsistancy
Term
convention
Definition
an accepted manner, model, or tradition
Term
deductive
Definition
the reasoning process by which a conclustion is drawn from a set of premises and contains no more facts than these premises.
Term
delayed sentence
Definition
a sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. for example: just as he bent to tie his shoe, a car hit him.
Term
denotation
Definition
the dictionary definition of a word; the direct and specific meaning.
Term
deus ex machina
Definition
as in Greek theater, use of an artificial device or contrived solution to solve a difficult situaion, usually introduced suddenly and unexpectedly.
Term
devices
Definition
a particular word pattern or combination of words used in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arous a desired reaction in the reader.
Term
diction
Definition
an author's choice of words to convey a tone or effect
Term
didactic
Definition
intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson.
Term
digression
Definition
movement away from the main story or theme of a piece of writing. an author digresses by temporarily focusing attention on subplot or minor character.
Term
discourse
Definition
a formal discussion of a subject.
Term
doppelganger
Definition
ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego
Term
dystopia
Definition
an imaginary place where people live dehumanized, often fearful lives. the opposite of utopia.
Term
elegy
Definition
poem or prose lamenting the death of a particular person. perhaps the most famous elegy is Thomas Grey's poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
Term
Epigraph
Definition
Quote set at the beginning of a literary work or at its division to se the tone or suggest a theme
Term
Epiphany
Definition
A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience.
Term
Epistrophe
Definition
the reptetition of a word or words as the end of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences.
Term
epistolary
Definition
a piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters.
Term
epitaph
Definition
a piece of writing in praise of a deceased person
Term
ethos
Definition
in dramatic literature, the moral element that determines a character's actions, rather than thought or emotion
Term
euphemism
Definition
substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one that is harsh or blunt
Term
evidence
Definition
an indication or a sign
Term
expletive
Definition
a single word or short phrase intended to emphasize surrounding words. commonly expletives are set off by commas: in fact, of course, after all, certainly
Term
explication
Definition
the interpretation or analysis or a text
Term
exposition
Definition
the explanation or analysis of a subject; presenting the meaning or purpose of an issue
Term
eulogy
Definition
a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an oration in honor of a deceased person
Term
flashback
Definition
retrospection, where an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronolgy of a narrative
Term
foil
Definition
a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast
Term
formal/informal/colloquial
Definition
language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal; informal or colloquial language is similar to everyday speech.
Term
foreshadow
Definition
to hint at or present things to come in a story or play
Term
genre
Definition
term used to describe literary fomrs, such as tradgedy, comedy, novel or essay
Term
Hamartia
Definition
Aristotle's term for the main character's tragic flaw or error in judgement
Term
hyperbole
Definition
an overstatement charaterized by exaggerated language
Term
imagery
Definition
sensory details in a work, the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an object. imagery involves any or all of the five senses.
Term
inductive
Definition
conclusion or type of reasoning whereby observation or information about a part of a class is applied to the class as a whole. contrast with deductive.
Term
inference
Definition
the process of arriving at a conclusion from a hint, implication, or suggestion
Term
invective
Definition
the use of angry and insulting language in satirical writing
Term
in media res
Definition
refers to opening a story in the middle of the action, requiring filling in past details by exposition or flashback
Term
irony: verbal, dramatic, and situational
Definition
a situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. irony is frequently humorous, and can be sarcastic when using words to imply the opposite of what they normally mean.
Term
isocolon
Definition
parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure, but also in length. For example, "en envious heart makes a treacherous ear"
Term
juxtaposition
Definition
placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose
Term
literal
Definition
the strict meaning of a word or words
Term
litote
Definition
form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis and intensity. For example "she is not a bad cook"
Term
metaphor
Definition
the implicit comparison or identification of one thing with another unlike itself without the use of a verbal signal such as like or as. one thing is pictured as if it were something else, suggesting likeness or analogy between them
Term
metonymy
Definition
a figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to name or designate something else, like 'the white house announced..."
Term
mood
Definition
the feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator's attitude and point of view. the effect is created through descriptions of feelings or objects that establish a particular feeling such as gloom, fear, or hope
Term
motif
Definition
recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of a character or event.
Term
narrative
Definition
a form of writing that tells a story
Term
narrative device
Definition
use of techniques such as flashbacks and/or digression in the telling of a story
Term
narrator
Definition
the "character" who tells the story
Term
nostalgia
Definition
desire to return in thought or fact to a former time
Term
onomatopoeia
Definition
a word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes, like buzz or boom
Term
opening
Definition
the first part or beginning of a piece of writing
Term
overstatement
Definition
exaggerated language; see hyperbole
Term
oxymoron
Definition
a figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp"
Term
paradox
Definition
a statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true
Term
parody
Definition
a satirical imitation of a work of art for purpose of ridiculing its style or subject
Term
persona
Definition
the voice or figure of the author who tells and structures the story and who may or may not share of the values of the actual author
Term
personification
Definition
treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by giving it human qualities
Term
perspective
Definition
a character's point of view of the situation or events in the story
Term
point of view
Definition
the view the reader gets of the action and characters in the story
Term
propaganda
Definition
information or rumor deliberately spread to help or harm a person, group, or institution
Term
prose
Definition
the ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse
Term
protagonist
Definition
the chief character in a work of literature
Term
realism
Definition
the literary practice of attempting to describe life and nature without idealization and with attetention to detail
Term
retrospection
Definition
looking back on things past
Term
rhetoric
Definition
the language of a work and its style
Term
rhetorical device
Definition
particular use of word patterns and styles used to clarify, make associations, and focus the writing in a piece of literature. included: expletives, parallelism, metaphor, analogy, assonance
Term
sarcasm
Definition
a sharp caustic remark. a form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical.
Term
satire
Definition
a literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness.
Term
setting
Definition
the time and place of the action in a story, poem, or play
Term
simile
Definition
a direct comparison of one thing to another, usually using the words like or as to draw the connection
Term
speaker
Definition
the person - not necessarily the author - who is the voice of the poem or story
Term
syllogism
Definition
a form of deduction. an extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument
Term
symbolism
Definition
a person, place, thing, event, or pattern in a literary work that designates itself and at the same time figuratively represents something else. the use of one object to suggest another hidden object or idea
Term
synecdoche
Definition
a figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole, such as "head of cattle' or 'hands on deck'
Term
syntax
Definition
the way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. it is sentence structure and how it influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing
Term
theme
Definition
the central or dominant idea or concern of a work
Term
thesis statement
Definition
focus tatement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view of discussion in the essay is based
Term
tone
Definition
the attitude a literary work takes toward it subject and theme. reflects narrator's attitude
Term
transition words
Definition
words and devices that bring unity and coherence to a piece of writing. examples: however, in addition, on the other hand
Term
trope
Definition
the use of a word in a figurative sense with a decided change or extension in its literal meaning
Term
understatement
Definition
deliberate expression of an idea or event as less important than it actually is or was
Term
utopia
Definition
an imaginary place of idea perfection. the opposite of dystopia
Term
voice
Definition
the acknowledged or unacknowledged source of words or the story; the speaker, a 'person' telling the story or poem
Term
wit
Definition
quickness of intellect and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness
Term
zeugma
Definition
grammatically correct linkage of one subject with two or more verbs or a verb with two or more direct objects. the liking shows a relationship between ideas more clearly. for example: bob exceeded at sports, jim at academics, mark at eating
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