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AP English Literature Vocabulary
This deck covers key vocabulary terms for AP English Literature and Composition, focusing on character attitudes, literary devices, and more.
What does 'condescension' mean?
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
What does 'condescension' mean?
A patronizing or superior attitude toward others; acting as if one is descending from a higher rank.
Define 'elegy'.
A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
What is 'obsequious' behavior?
Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
What does 'insatiable' describe?
Impossible to satisfy, often referring to a character's appetite for power, love, or wealth.
Explain 'enjambment' in poetry.
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
What is the meaning of 'pious'?
Devoutly religious; making a hypocritical display of virtue.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
What does 'condescension' mean? | A patronizing or superior attitude toward others; acting as if one is descending from a higher rank. |
Define 'elegy'. | A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. |
What is 'obsequious' behavior? | Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree. |
What does 'insatiable' describe? | Impossible to satisfy, often referring to a character's appetite for power, love, or wealth. |
Explain 'enjambment' in poetry. | The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. |
What is the meaning of 'pious'? | Devoutly religious; making a hypocritical display of virtue. |
Define 'ethereal'. | Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world; heavenly. |
What does 'recrimination' mean? | An accusation in response to one from someone else. |
What is a 'palimpsest'? | A manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for new writing but of which traces remain. |
Describe 'saccharine'. | Excessively sweet or sentimental, often used to describe a cloying tone. |