AP Lit devices and terms for AP exam

Dialogue

Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative.

Irony

A situation, or use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy.

Verbal Irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

Dramatic Irony

An incongruity of discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true (or between what a character perceives and what the author intends the reader to perceive).

Situational Irony

A situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate.

Motif

A recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work, such as good and evil. A motif is important because it allows the reader to see main points and themes that the author is trying to express, in order that the reader might be able to interpret the work more accurately.