1. Words of the Day AP Lit Terms

2. Aside (9/19) A speech (usually just a short comment) made by an actor to the audience, as though momentarily stepping outside of the action on stage.

3. Aspect (9/19) A trait or characteristic.

4. Assonance (9/20) The repeated use of vowels as in “Old King Cole was a merry old soul.”

5. Attitude (9/20) The author’s mood, feelings, or thoughts toward his/her subject.

6. Atmosphere (9/21) The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene.

7. Ballad (9/21) A long, narrative poem, usually in very regular meter and rhyme. Typically has a naïve folksy quality distinguishing it from epic poetry.

8. Aphorism (9/22) When the writing of a scene evokes feelings of dignified pity and sympathy, pathos is at work. When writing strains for grandeur it can’t support and tries to jerk tears from every little hiccup, that’s bathos.

9. Begging the Question (9/22) Begging the Question is a fallacy in which the premises include the claim that the conclusion is true or (directly or indirectly) assume that the conclusion is true. This sort of "circular reasoning" typically has the following form. Premises in which the truth of the conclusion is claimed or the truth of the conclusion is assumed (either directly or indirectly). Claim C (the conclusion) is true. This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because simply assuming that the conclusion is true (directly or indirectly) in the premises does not constitute evidence for that conclusion. Obviously, simply assuming a claim is true does not serve as evidence for that claim. This is especially clear in particularly blatant cases: "X is true. The evidence for this claim is that X is true." Ex:Bill wants Jill to believe in God because it is in the Bible, which he claims was written by God. Also known as Catch-22.

10. Black Humor (9/23) This is the use of disturbing themes in comedy. Ex: In Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, the two hobos, Didi and Gogo, comically debate over which should commit suicide first, and whether the branches of the tree will support their weight

11. Bombast (9/23) This is pretentious, exaggeratedly learned language. When one tries to be eloquent by using the largest, most uncommon words, one falls into bombast.