AP Lit Terms List 5

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in adjacent words

Allusion

An allusion is a reference to something outside a text. This can be a reference to an event or person from history, history, mythology, pop culture, or something else

Anaphora

Anaphora is when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences throughout a piece of writing. It's used to emphasize the repeated phrase and evoke strong feelings in the audience

Antecedent

A device in which a word or pronoun in a line or sentence refers to an earlier one-also antecedent action (an action or event that took place prior to the plot of the text)

Apostrophe

Apostrophe, in poetry, is a figure of speech in which a character or speaker addresses someone who is absent

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in adjacent words

Cacophony

The use of a combination of words with loud, harsh sounds- this combination of words with rough or inharmonious sounds are used for a noisy or jarring poetic effect

Caesura

Caesura refers to a pause within a line of poetry, indicated by punctuation

Catharsis

The cleansing or purging of emotion in or caused by a literary work

Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of informal language and slang. It's often used by authors to lend a sense of realism to their characters and dialogue. Forms of colloquialism include words, phrases, and contractions that aren't real words (such as "gonna" and "ain't")

Conceit

A startling, unusual, or extended metaphor is stretched over several lines or an entire work–often found in Metaphysical Poetry

Connotation

Connotations are the associated feelings or ideas that a particular word evokes

Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis refers to a poem or story that is directly inspired by another piece of art. Ekphrasis can be considered a direct allusion because it borrows language and images from other artwork

Euphemism

A euphemism is when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant

Enjambent

Epistrophe is similar to anaphora, but in this case, the repeated word or phrase appears at the end of successive statements. Like anaphora, it is used to evoke an emotional response from the audience

Euphony

The use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create. It gives pleasing and soothing effects to the ear due to repeated vowels and smooth consonants