Terms

AP Terms Alliteration – the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words that are similar to one another Example: beautiful blossoms blooming between the bushes Allusion - a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication Example: It has rained so long, it seems as though it has rained for 40 days and nights. (This is reference to Noah's Arch which is a well-known event.) Analogy - a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based Example: the analogy between the heart and a pump. Anecdote - a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical Example: The governor told a humorous anecdote about her first day in office. Colloquialism - characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal Example: most of the lectures were formal and boring, but the last one was more engaging and lively because of her colloquial speech. Connotation - to signify or suggest (certain meanings, ideas, etc.) in addition to the explicit or primary meaning Example: The word “fireplace” often connotes hospitality, warm comfort, etc. Conundrum - a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words Example: What is black and white and read all over' A newspaper. Denotation - the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it; the association or set of associations that a word usually elicits for most speakers of a language, as distinguished from those elicited for any individual speaker because of personal experience. Example: Poodle is a denotation for a certain breed of dog. Diction - style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words Example: His diction while giving the speech was flawless. Hyperbole - obvious and intentional exaggeration Example: I am so hungry that I could eat a horse. Irony - the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning Example: The irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend. Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance Example: I have the face of an angel. Motif - A motif is a dominant theme or central idea Example: You could decorate a room using a sports motif if you had pictures of famous athletes, maybe a baseball bat hanging on the wall, paint the floor to look like a football field, use a hockey stick as a curtain rod, etc. Onomatopoeia - the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent Example: He heard the cockerel crying "cock-a-doodle-do", the ducks quacking, the cows mooing, the sheep baaing and a cat meowing. Oxymoron - a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.” Example: There is no such thing as a healthy tan. Paradox - a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth Example: "I know that I know nothing." Knowing "know nothing" is knowing something thus cannot be "know nothing". Personification - the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, esp. as a rhetorical figure Example: if walls had ears. Simile - a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared Example: She runs fast like a cheetah. Syntax - The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences Example: The young man carries the lady. vs. The lady carries the young man. Theme - a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition Example: The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting. Tone - is a literary technique that is a part of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work Example: Quadrilateral queers quickly quell quacking queens!