Part II: AP Literature & Composition Vocabulary
In addition to your reading, there is a list of vocabulary words specific to this course. As part of your summer
work, you will need to create vocabulary flash cards (term on front and definition, example and a picture for
each word on backside) for both the multiple choice and the essay section. By next spring you need to be able
not only to state the definition, but to identify examples in a piece of literature, and then explain how the author
has incorporated these techniques to create the meaning in the poem or passage.
Your cards should be put into the same order that is on your list and should be held together with a rubber band.
Your cards are due on the first day of class. I suggest that you start your cards early and begin to study the terms
and definitions as part of your reading analysis, and for a vocabulary test in September. Your terms incorporate
the vocabulary most often seen on the AP test, and students who demonstrate knowledge of the definitions feel
more comfortable at the beginning of the year. Your knowledge will also really help your understanding of text
and an author’s style which we will practice in class.
1. Allegory
2. Ambiguity
3. Anadiplosis
4. Anecdote
5. Antithesis
6. Anthropomorphism
7. Aphorism
8. Apostrophe
9. Assonance
10. Asyndeton
11. Dynamic Character
12. Flat character
13. Round character
14. Cacophony
15. Chiasmus
16. Colloquialism
17. Consonance
18. Conceit
19. Didactic
20. Elegy
Euphemism
21. Epic
22. Epithet
23. Epanalepsis
24. Epistrophe
25. Euphony
26. Exposition
27. Fable
28. Farce
29. Foil
30. Litotes
31. Metonymy
32. Parable
33. Paradox
34. Pedantic
35. Point of view: first, second, third,
omniscient and objective
36. Polysyndeton
37. Stream of consciousness
38. Synecdoche
39. Theme
40. Vernacular
Definition: the use of a word or phrase that is
less direct, but that is also less distasteful or less
offensive than another.
Example: “He is at rest” is a euphemism for “he is
dead.”
If you have any questions about the assignment or the course please do not hesitate to
contact me over the summer at [email protected] or visit my school webpage.