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AP English > AP Test Vocabulary > Flashcards

AP Test Vocabulary Flashcards

(64 cards)

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1
Q

Alliteration

A

Sound device; repetition of beginning consonant sounds

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2
Q

Allusion

A

Figure of speech that makes a brief reference to an historical or literary figure, event, or object

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3
Q

Anachronism

A

Something out of its place in time or history (ex: Julius Caesar riding a motorcycle)

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4
Q

Anapest

A

Meter having two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

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5
Q

Anaphora

A

The repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases for rhetorical or poetic effect

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6
Q

Anticlimax

A

The intentional use of elevated language to describe the trivial or common place

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7
Q

Anti-Hero

A

A protagonist who is the antithesis of the hero

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8
Q

Aphorism

A

Brief statement that expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation

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9
Q

Apostrophe

A

Addressing someone or something, usually not present, as though present (speaking directly to something non-human)

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10
Q

Apotheosis

A

A larger than life presence

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11
Q

Aside

A

A statement delivered by an actor in such a way that the other characters onstage are presumed not to have heard him

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12
Q

Assonance

A

Similarity or repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words, especially in a line or verse

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13
Q

Asyndeton

A

The omission of conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words and phrases

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14
Q

Bathos

A

An unintentional anticlimax through a shift from the sublime to the ridiculous which can result from the use of overly elevated language to describe trivial subject matter

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15
Q

Blank Verse

A

Unrhymed iambic pentameter metrical verse with no ending rhyme (Shakespeare)

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16
Q

Cacophony

A

A combination of harsh, unpleasant sounds which creates an effect of discordance

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17
Q

Caesura

A

A pause for effect in the middle of a line of poetry

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18
Q

Chiasmus

A

Repetition in successive clauses which are usually parallel in syntax (ex: “to stop too fearful, and to faint to go”)

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19
Q

Conceit

A

An extended metaphor, two unlike things that are compared in several different ways

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20
Q

Concrete Poetry

A

Where the actual typeset layout of the poem suggests the topic (ex: a poem about trees with words shaped like a tree)

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21
Q

Consonance

A

The repetition of consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds in words near each other in a line or lines of poetry

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22
Q

Couplet

A

A pair of rhyming lines written in the same meter; may be a separate stanza

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23
Q

Dactyl

A

Three syllable thing consisting of an accent syllable followed by the unaccented syllable

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24
Q

Deus Ex Machina

A

An unexpected, artificial, or improbably character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or dram to resolve a situation or untangle a plot

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25
Diction
An author's choice of words
26
Didactic Verse
A term for a poem that teach, almost preaches
27
Dramatic Irony
Irony in which the character use words which mean one thing to them but another to those who understand the situation better
28
Elegy
Lyrical poem about death
29
End Rhyme
Schematic rhyme that comes at the ends of lines of verse
30
End Stop Line
Line in poetry that ends with a complete pause created by punctuation
31
Enjambment
line of verse that carries over into the next line without a pause of any kind
32
Epigram
a witty saying, usually at the end of a poem
33
Epithet
A nickname or appellation
34
Euphony
a quality of style marked by pleasing, harmonious sounds
35
Eye Rhyme
a form of rhyme wherein the look rather than the sound is important “cough” and “tough”
36
False Dictionary
two extremes in a continuum of intermediate possibilities
37
Free Verse
unrhymed poetry with lines of varying lengths containing no specific metrical pattern
38
Hamartia
A tragic flaw or error in judgment
39
Homily
A long speech denouncing someone or something
40
Hyperbole
Overstatement
41
Gustatory Imagery
Imagery appealing to the sense of taste
42
In Medias Res
The story starts in the middle
43
Internal Rhyme
Rhyming within lines of verse instead of at the ends of lines
44
Inversion
Reversal of the normal order of words and phrases in a sentence (ex: adjective after a noun)
45
Inverted Sentence
Reversing the normal subject-verb compliment order
46
Lampoon
A biting satire that makes its subject appear ludicrous
47
Litotes
A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative contrary
48
Metaphor
A figure of speech wherein a comparison is made between two unlikely quatities without using "like" or "as"
49
Metonymy
Substituting a word naming an object for another word closely associated with it (ex: pay tribute to the crown)
50
Motif (Leitmotiv)
A recurring concept or story element in literature
51
Paralipsis
Withholding to the end some piece of information crucial to the reader's understanding
52
Pathos
Greek term for deep emotion, passion, or suffering
53
Paradox
Statement that is self contradictory but makes sense; irony is often built into a paradox
54
Personification
Figure of speech in which inanimate objects are given qualities of humans
55
Polysyndeton
The repetition of a number of conjunctions in close succession
56
Pun
A play on words wherein a word is used to convey two meanings at the same time
57
Satire
Ridicule the subject of the work
58
Simile
A figure of speech which takes the form of a comparison between two things using "like" or "as"
59
Syllepsis
Expression used to perform two syntactic functions (ex: the soldier emerged in dust and glory)
60
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole or the whole part (ex: wheels for an automobile)
61
Tone
Expresses the author's attitude toward his or her subject
62
Verbal Irony
A kind of irony in which words are used to suggest the opposite of their actual meaning
63
Villanelle
A poem with five triplets and a final quatrain
64
Zeugma
A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different sense (ex: John and his license expired last week) or to two other of which it semantically suits only one (ex: with weeping eyes and hearts)

AP English (1 decks)

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