Pre-AP English terms
you must know the definitions on day 1 of pre-AP English II
Terms
undefined, object
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- Imperative sentence
- gives a direct command to someone
- Connotation
- feeling word gives you
- Absolute phrase (10)
- are made of nouns or pronouns followed by a participle and any modifiers of the noun or pronoun (ie: his hair blowing). They phrases contain a subject (unlike participial phrases), and no predicate. They serve to modify an entire sentence.
- Idiom
- a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
- Apostrophe (8)
- addressing something as if they were present
- Denotation
- dictionary definition
- Anadiplosis (10)
- repeating the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next
- Rhetorical Fragment (10)
- fragment for a specific purpose
- Hubris
- Excessive pride
- Subplot
- minor plot
- Catharsis
- purging of emotions
- Direct characterization (8)
- something about the character is stated directly
- Motif (10)
- recurring idea
- Assonance (7)
- repetition of vowel sounds
- Anachronism (10)
- out of place in time
- Rhetorical Shift
- shift in attitude
- Compound sentence
- A sentence consisting of two or more coordinate independent clauses
- Motivation
- what drives a character on
- Foreshadowing
- hints to what is to come
- Participial phrase (8)
- includes the participle (verb used as an adjective) and the object
- In medias res
- beginning in the middle of the action (in the middle of things)
- Periodic sentence (7)
- a complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by the subordinate clause
- Situational irony (7)
- when the opposite happens from what you expect
- Paradox (8)
- a contradictory statement that turns out to be true
- Asyndeton (8)
- absence of any conjunctions
- Balanced sentence (10)
- parallel structure on either side of the conjunction, semi-colon, etc.
- Fable
- a short moral story (often with animal characters)
- Gerund phrase (8)
- verbal in which a verb is used as a noun and any of its modifiers. It can be used as a subject, direct object, object of the preposition,, etc.
- Verbal irony
- saying one thing and meaning another
- Inference
- opinion with evidence to support
- Diction
- Word choice
- Novella
- A prose fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel
- Hyperbole (7)
- exaggeration
- Dynamic character
- (changing character)
- Synaesthesia (10)
- describing one sense in terms of another.
- Comedy
- it's funny; duh
- Pun (9)
- play on words
- Static character
- character stays the same
- Antimetabole (10)
- Reversal of the order of repeated words or phrases (a loosely chiastic structure, AB-BA)
- Hamartia
- In tragedy, the event or act that leads to the hero's or heroine's downfall
- Exclamatory sentence
- a more forceful version of a declarative sentence, marked at the end with an exclamation mark
- Synecdoche (10)
- figurative language using the part to represent the whole.
- Aphorism (10)
- a short, witty saying, expressing a truth about life
- Epanalepsis (10)
- word or phrase is repeated after intervening matter
- Comic relief
- comic scene amid a tragedy to ease tensions
- Vernacular (10)
- characteristic language of a particular group
- Prologue
- An introductory section of a literary work
- Epilogue
- A concluding statement or section of a literary work
- Verse
- poetry
- Dialect
- vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
- Antithetical sentence
- (10): just another way of saying parallel but opposing.
- Loose/cumulative sentence (7)
- a complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows
- Chiasmus (10)
- A crossing parallelism, where the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order.
- Epitaph
- an inscription on a gravestone or a commemorative poem written as if it were for that purpose.
- Ellipsis (9)
- leaving words out
- Infinitive phrase
- will begin with an infinitive [to + simple form of the verb] and include objects and/or modifiers
- Genre
- A category of literary work
- Diary
- journal or log
- Personification
- applying human attributes to something not human
- Prose
- not poetry
- Dramatic irony (9)
- when the reader knows things the characters don't
- Euphemism (8)
- A mild word of phrase which substitutes for another which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive
- Inversion (7)
- changing the normal order of syntax
- Epistrophe (9)
- the counterpart of anaphora, because the repetition of the same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences
- Alliteration
- repetition of the initial consonant sound
- Mood
- the feeling invoked in the reader
- Simple
- having no coordinate or subordinate clauses
- Anaphora (9)
- repeating words at the beginning of a sentence
- Declarative sentence
- the kind of sentence that makes a statement or "declares" something
- Essay
- a short work that treats of a topic from an author's personal point of view, often taking into account subjective experiences and personal reflections upon them
- Appositive phrase (7)
- rename noun phrases and are usually placed beside what they rename .
- Satire (10)
- a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change
- Monologue
- an excessive speech by one speaker
- Foil (9)
- character's opposite
- Dues ex machine
- god from a machine
- Prepositional
- includes a preposition and the object of the preposition. It shows relationship, direction, or location.
- Invective (12)
- abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will
- Epiphany (8)
- sudden realization; the light bulb moment
- Archetype
- an original pattern or model from which all other things of the same kind are made
- Exposition
- Writing intended to explain the nature of an idea, thing, or theme. Expository writing is often combined with description, narration, or argument
- Metaphor
- figurative language comparing two unlike things
- Litotes (10)
- A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples include: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy. It is the opposite of hyperbole.
- Rhetorical Question (10)
- question with no answer intended
- Onomatopoeia
- the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents
- Antithesis (9)
- placement of direct opposites
- Theme
- what an author believes to be true on a subject presented in the work.
- Allusion
- reference to another lit. work or historic event
- Tragic Flaw
- the flaw that leads to the hero's downfall
- Symbol
- something representing something else
- Complex sentence
- A sentence with an independent clause and at least one dependent clause
- Tragedy
- something horrible happens at the end; duh
- Interrogative sentence
- asks a direct question
- Dialogue
- when 2 people are speaking to each other
- Metonymy (10)
- type of metaphor in which a word or phrase is substituted for something closely associated with it.
- Dependent/Subordinate clause
- clause contains a subject and a verb, but it is characterized as beginning with a dependent marker word (ie: although, despite, while, because, etc.) and therefore cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.
- Imagery
- words that appeal to the 5 senses
- Indirect characterization (8)
- personality traits about the character are implied through dialogue or actions.
- Detail
- details included for a purpose
- Polysyndeton (8)
- using unnecessary conjunctions
- Colloquial (10)
- informal spoken language or conversation
- Simile
- figurative language comparing two unlike things using like or as
- Slang (10)
- non-standard use of words
- Parable
- A brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson
- Consonance (7)
- repetition of consonant sounds within words
- Compound-complex sentene
- A sentence consisting of at least two coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
- Oxymoron (7)
- a paradox in two side by side words.
- Tone
- speaker's attitude towards his subject
- Anecdote (10)
- short account of an incident
- Repetition
- repeating for effect
- Soliloquy
- character speaking his thoughts while on stage alone
- Independent clause
- clause contains a subject and a verb, AND it can stand alone
- Flat/round character
- (no depth/depth and complexity)