AP Language and Composition Literary Terms

Words 1 - 20

Allegory

story or poem in which characters, settings and events stand for other people or events for abstract ideas or qualities

Alliteration

repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

Allusion

reference of the someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something

Ambiguity

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way — this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work

Analogy

comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

Anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writers’ point more coherent

Anastrophe

inversion of the usual, normal or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion

Anecdote

brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual

Antagonist

opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

Antimetabole

repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order; called chiasmus in poetry

Antithesis

Balancing words, phrases or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure

Antihero

central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes, may lack courage, grace, intelligence or moral scruples

Anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (personification)

Aphorism

brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth; also called maxim, epigram

Apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation

Apposition

placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification or modification of the first

Assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together

Asyndeton

commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally (e.g. X,Y,Z instead of X, Y and Z)

Balance

constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance. sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well

Characteizatoin

the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character