AP Lang Comp Satire-Zeugma

Zeugma

A trope, one word (usually a noun or main verb) governs two other words not related in meaning. Example: "He maintained a business and his innocence."

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas. Used especially, although not exclusively, in expository and argumentative writing, transitions effectively signal a shift from one idea to another. A few commonly used transitional words or phrases are furthermore, consequently, nevertheless, for example, in addition, likewise, similarly and on the contrary. More sophisticated writers use more subtle means of transition. We will discuss these methods later.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform orridicule. Regardless of whether or not the work aims to reform human behavior, satire is best seen as astyle of writing rather than a purpose for writing. It can be recognized by the many devices usedeffectively by the satirist: irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement, and sarcasm. The effects of satire are varied, depending on the writer's goal, but good satire, often humorous, is thoughtprovoking and insightful about the human condition

Undertone

An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece. Under a cheery surface, for example, a work may have threatening undertones. Example: Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is famous for its light, humorous, folksy surface tone and its sometimes dark, bitter undertone.

Unreliable Narrator

An untrustworthy or naïve commentator on events and characters in a story. Example: Huck Finn is on of American literature's most famous of this type

Syllogism

From the Greek for "reckoning together," a syllogism (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first one called "major" and the second, "minor") that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion. A frequently cited example proceeds as follows

Symbol/Symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else. Usually a symbol is something concrete--such as an object, action, character, or scene--that represents something more abstract. However, symbols and symbolism can be much more complex. One system classifies symbols in three categories: (1) Natural symbols are objects and occurrences from nature to represent ideas commonly associated with them (dawn symbolizing hope or a new beginning, a rose symbolizing love, a tree symbolizing knowledge). (2) Conventional symbols are those that have been invested with meaning by a group (religious symbols such as a cross or Star of David; national symbols, such as a flag or an eagle; or group symbols, such as a skull and crossbones for pirates or the scales of justice for lawyers). (3) Literary symbols are sometimes also conventional in the sense that they are found in a variety of works and are generally recognized. However, a work's symbols may be more complicated as is the whale in Moby Dick and the jungle in Heart of Darkness. On the AP exam, try to determine what abstraction an object is a symbol for and to what extent it is successful in representing that abstraction

Thesis

In expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position. Expository writing is usually judged by analyzing how accurately, effectively ,and throughly a writer has proved the thesis.

Wit

In modern usage, intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. A witty statement is humorous, while suggesting the speaker's verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks.Wit usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement. Historically, wit originally meant basic understanding. Its meaning evolved to include speed of understanding, and finally (in the early seventeenth century), it grew to mean quick perception including creative fancy and a quick tongue to articulate an answer that demanded the same quick perception. Example: Sydney Smith, a notable wit, once remarked that he never read a book before he reviewed it because it might prejudice his opinion of it.

Subordinate Clause

Like all clauses, this word group contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought. Also called a dependent clause, the subordinate clause depends on a main clause, sometimes called an independent clause, to complete its meaning.Easily recognized key words and phrases usually begin these clauses--for example: although, because,unless, if, even though, since, as soon as, while, who, when, where, how, and that.

Tone

Similar to mood, tone describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author's tone. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, and somber

semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychologicaldevelopment, their connotations, and their relation to one another

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. Usually theme is unstated in fictional works, but in nonfiction, the theme may be directly stated, especially in expository or argumentative writing.

Style

The consideration of style has two purposes: (1) An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices. Some authors' styles are so idiosyncratic that we can quickly recognize works by the same author (or a writer emulating that author's style). Compare, for example, Jonathan Swift to George Orwell or William Faulkner to Ernest Hemingway. We can analyze and describe an author's personal style and make judgments on how appropriate it is to the author's purpose. Styles can be called flowery, explicit, succinct, rambling,bombastic, commonplace, incisive, or laconic, to name only a few examples. (2) Classification of authors to a group and comparison of an author to similar authors. By means of such classification and comparison, we can see how an author's style reflects and helps to define a historical period, such as the Renaissance or the Victorian period, or a literary movement, such as the romantic, transcendentalor realist movement

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and emphatic. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. Example: "It seems to be raining a little," in the middle of a hurricane

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as the groups of words, while diction refers to the individual words. In the multiple-choice section, expect to be asked some questions about how an author manipulates syntax. In the essay section, you will need to analyze how syntax produces effects

Subject Complement

The word (with any accompanying phrases) or clauses that follows a linking verband complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it or (2) describingit. The former is technically a predicate nominative, the latter a predicate adjective. Multiple-choicequestions

Trope

an artful variation from expected modes of expression of thoughts and ideas., a figure of speech involving a "turn" or change of sense—a use of the word in a sense other than its proper or literal one.Common types of tropes include: metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, personification, hyperbole,litotes, irony, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, etc