AP English Literary Terms
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hayleystrubbe on September 11, 2011
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47 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ambiguity | The expression of an idea in such a way that more then one meaning is suggested. |
| Anadiplosis | The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause. |
| Ad hominem fallacy | A fallacy of logic in which a person's character is attacked instead of that person's argument. |
| Abstract Diction | Refers to words that describe concepts rather than concrete images. Ex's. Love, hate, feelings, emotion, |
| Interrogative Sentences | A type of sentence structure used chiefly for asking questions. |
| Hyperbole | Deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor emphasis. |
| Foreshadowing | The use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in the work. |
| Ad populum fallacy | Popular appeal, or appeal to the majority. |
| Allegory | An extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the author intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of a story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or static. |
| Anecdote | A short, entertaining account of some happening, frequently personal or biographical used to bring humor or to illustrate a particular characteristic or trait. |
| Apostrophe | A strategy in which an absent person, inanimate object. |
| Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds between different consonants; ex. Early in the day, the neighs began to fade. |
| Cause and Effect | Examination of the causes and/or effects of a situation or phenomenon. This can be an author's main organizational strategy. |
| Figurative Language | How authors use literal meanings to suggest non-literal meanings including metaphors, similes, symbolism, etc. |
| Convoluted Sentences | Long, complicated sentences that are often hard to follow because they are wordy and too many ideas are rolled togetehr in one sentence. |
| Ellipsis | Any omitted part of speech that is easily understood in context. |
| Epanalepsis | The repetiton of the first word of one clause at the end of the clause. |
| Epigram | A brief, clever, and usually memorable statement. |
| Epistrophe | The repetiton of the same word or group of words at the end of phrases, clauses, or sentences. |
| Denotation | The literal or obvious meaning of a word. |
| Irony | Verbal- Method of expression, intended meaning opposite of usual meaning. Situational- When something happens as a result of or in a reaction to something else in a way that is contrary to what would be expected. |
| Imperative Sentences | A type of sentence structure used chiefly for issuing a directive or command. |
| Connotation | Implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader's mind. |
| Alliteration | Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close to one another. |
| Begging the Q | Fallacy of logical argument that assumes the reader will automatically accept an assertion without proper support, |
| Chiasmus | A syntactical Structure by which of the order of the terms in the first two parallel clauses is reversed in the second. |
| Circular logic/thinking/reasoning | A fallacy which involves repeating assertions endlessly without real support. |
| Concrete Diction | Words that describe specific, observable things, people,or places rather the ideas or qualities. |
| Colloquial Diction | Words or phrases used in everyday conversation and informal writing which is usually inappropriate in formal writing. |
| Antithesis | Opposition or contrast emphasized by parallel structure. |
| Anastrophe | Departure from normal word order for the sara of emphasis. Normal syntaxis violated. |
| Anaphora | The repetition of introductory words or phrases for effect. This creates a rythme and established pattern. |
| Bandwagon | Either saying that supporting a specific cause/stance would result in the rejection of peers or using the popular support of a cause/stance topersuade others to support it as well. |
| Asyndeton | Commas used to seperate a series of words. The parts are emphasized equally when the conjunction is ommited; In addition the use of commas with no intervening conjunction speeds up the flow of the sentence, parallelism. |
| Aphorism | A brief saying embodying a moral; a concise statement of a principle or percept given in pointed words. |
| Appeal to authority/Expert Testimony | Citation of info from people recognized for their special knowledge of a subject for the purpose of strengthening an author's argument. |
| Antecedent | The word for which a pronoun stands. |
| Idioms | An expression inthe usageof a language that has a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined, literal meanings of it's elements. |
| Juxtaposition | A type of zeugma- putting together two contrasting elements that are so unlike that the effect is surprising, witty... |
| Allusion | A brief or indirect reference to a person, place, or, event, or passage in a work of literature, or the bible assumed to be sufficiently wellknown to be recognized by the reader. |
| Analogy | A comparison between two things in which the more complex is explained intermsif the more simple. |
| Caricature | Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality. |
| Euphemism | The sueof a word or phrase that is less diect, but that is also less distasteful or less offensive then another. |
| Ethos | Appelaing to ethics; an ethical appeal makes use of what an audience values and believes tobe good or true. |
| False Casualty | A fallacyof concluding that an event is caused by another event simply bacuase it follows it. |
| False Dilemma | A fallacy of logical argument whichis commited when too few of the available alternatives are considered, and all but one are assessed and deemed impossible or unacceptable. |
| Freight Train Sentences | A sentence consisting of 3 or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunctions. |
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