AP Lit Final Vocab List

Repetition of the same letter/sound at the beginning of words (ex: Peter Piper picked a peck…. a bug bit a big beetle).

Early verse of Germanic languages in which alliteration is a basic structure (Beowulf: He will carry me away as he goes to ground, gorged and bloodied).

A reference to something in literature.

A break between words (usually ||).

A rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses (The ladies men admire, I've heard, / Would shudder at a wicked word.).

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza (Shakespeare uses it a lot).

A descriptive phrase expressing a characteristic of someone/thing (Beowulf: Son of Ecgtheow).

A pair of rhyming iambic pentameters (used in Canterbury Tales).

A metrical foot consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable (used by Shakespeare, each line contains five iambs, aka iambic pentameter).

An expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meaning (face-licker = dog).

Fame (is created when an epithet is used).

A literary genre comprised of fictional works of chivalry and adventures from the Middle Ages.

Something happening that is very different to what was expected.

Speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers (Shakespeare uses this).

Speaker says something that they don’t actually mean.

The value of a man's life.

A literary work that can reveal a hidden meaning.

A speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object (Yorick’s skull in Hamlet).

The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence (His tender heir might bear his memory).

Verse without rhyme, especially one that uses iambic pentameter (does have meter though!).

A two-part sentence or phrase, where the second part is a reversal of the first (when the going gets tough, the tough get going).

Repeats the same consonant sound within a group of words (Paddy’s potatoes were prepared to perfection).

Type of literature that is meant to instruct or teach something.

The audience knows something that the characters don’t.

A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

Exaggerated statements.

The name of an object/concept is replaced with a word closely related to or suggested by the original (referring to the President of the U.S. as “the White House”).

A repeated pattern—an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and again.

A statement that does not logically follow from the previous statement (often used for comedic effect).

The repetition of grammatical elements in a piece of writing to create a harmonious effect (MLK’s “I have a dream” speech).

Exposing human folly to ridicule (being sarcastic).

A talk on a religious subject (usually given during church service abt the Bible).

A complex French verse form, usually unrhymed, consisting of six stanzas of six lines each and a three-line envoy.

A part is made to represent the whole or vice versa (ex: hungry mouths to feed).

An arrangement of triplets, especially in iambs, that rhyme (aba, bcb, cdc).

A particular quality of a person, object, emotion, or situation is downplayed.

“At once”

“Menacing”

“To pass something on to someone else”

“A castrated male chicken fattened for eating”

“To solidify by cooling”

“Manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval”

“Trick/deceive”

“Restrain or keep in check”

“Flood”

“The innermost parts of something (usually intestines)”

“Extremely cruel or unpleasant”

“A foreign gold/silver coin”

“Run or jump playfully”

“Social superiority (demonstrated by polite manners or behavior)”

“A person who does not belong to a widely held religion (usually Christianity)”

“Utterly wicked”

“A system in which people are ranked”

“Summoning a deity or (in Christianity) introducing a sermon/prayer”

“The name of the sword that belonged to Beowulf”

“A person of noble rank”

“Perhaps”

“Devoutly religious”

“Slang for a prostitute/whore (is actually a kind of weasel)”

“Skill/bravery (in battle)”

Of a horse- “Short of breath”

Of a human- “Fat”

“Talked about by many people”

“Admirably determined”

“A dishonest person”

“Person who knows how to have a good time (parties too far, causes disturbances, drink too much)”

“In a cunning manner; slyly”

“Supreme power/authority”

“The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences”

“A man who holds land granted by the king (ranks between an ordinary freeman and a hereditary noble)”

“Having and ulcer”

“The action of anointing someone with oil or ointment as a religious rite”

“Defeat thoroughly”

“Immoral behavior”

“Behavior showing high moral standards”

“Become weaker”

“Sharpen a blade or excite someone”

“Seek the favor of”

“Concept in Anglo-Saxon culture corresponding to fate or personal destiny”