AP English Literature & Composition words

Benjamin Q. (United States of America)
76 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. allegory
    a short moral story
  2. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  3. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  4. ambiguity
    unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning
  5. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
  6. anaphora
    repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
  7. antagonist
    someone who offers opposition
  8. antithesis
    exact opposite
  9. antihero
    a protagonist who does not act brave or morally good
  10. anthropomorphism
    the representation of objects as having human form
  11. personification
    attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
  12. apostrophe
    a mark used to indicate the omission of one or more letters
  13. invocation
    the act of appealing for help
  14. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  15. asyndeton
    omission of conjunctions where they would normally be used
  16. characterization
    the act of describing essential features
  17. conceit
    the trait of being unduly vain
  18. conflict
    an open clash between two opposing groups
  19. connotation
    an idea that is implied or suggested
  20. couplet
    a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
  21. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
  22. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  23. didactic
    instructive, especially excessively
  24. elegy
    a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
  25. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
  26. epic
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  27. epistrophe
    repetition of the ends of successive sentences, verses, etc.
  28. epithet
    descriptive word or phrase
  29. fable
    a short moral story
  30. farce
    a comedy characterized by broad satire
  31. flashback
    a transition in a story to an earlier event or scene
  32. foil
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
  33. foreshadowing
    the act of providing vague advance indications
  34. free verse
    poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter
  35. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  36. image
    a visual representation produced on a surface
  37. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  38. dramatic irony
    when the audience understands something the characters don't
  39. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together
  40. litotes
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  41. loose sentence
    a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows
  42. lyric poem
    a short poem of songlike quality
  43. ballad
    a narrative poem of popular origin
  44. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  45. metonymy
    substituting the name of a feature for the name of the thing
  46. mood
    a characteristic state of feeling
  47. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
  48. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
  49. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  50. parable
    a short moral story
  51. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  52. parody
    a composition that imitates or misrepresents a style
  53. periodic
    happening or recurring at regular intervals
  54. plot
    a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation
  55. exposition
    a collection of things for public display
  56. climax
    the highest point of anything
  57. resolution
    a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner
  58. point of view
    a mental position from which things are perceived
  59. first person
    pronouns and verbs used to refer to the speaker
  60. third person
    pronouns referring to people besides the speaker or listener
  61. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
  62. polysyndeton
    using several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in `he ran and jumped and laughed for joy')
  63. protagonist
    the principal character in a work of fiction
  64. quatrain
    a stanza of four lines
  65. refrain
    resist doing something
  66. rhythm
    an interval during which a recurring sequence occurs
  67. satire
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
  68. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  69. style
    how something is done or how it happens
  70. symbol
    something visible that represents something invisible
  71. synecdoche
    using part of something to refer to the whole thing
  72. theme
    the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  73. tone
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
  74. tragedy
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
  75. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
  76. pathetic fallacy
    the attribution of human feelings to inanimate objects
Created on Tue May 08 19:54:39 EDT 2018

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