AP Literature Terms, Mr. Soliven's Class 2025-2026

Anecdote

Story to illustrate a lesson, Ex: Great Gatsby

Antithesis

Opposite, Ex: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times from Tale of Two Cities

Apostrophe

Addressing an absent person, Ex: Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo from Romeo and Juliet

Archetype

A typical example, Ex: Robinhood is the outlaw archetype

Aside

A remark to the audience, Ex: Lincoln in the Loud House

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds within words Ex: The need for speed

Ballad

A song detailing a story Ex: Most country music

Bildungsroman

A coming of age story, Ex: Harry Potter

Connotation

The figurative/slang definition of a word Ex: Hip as in cool and not as in the bone

Deconstructionist Criticism

Examines a text for internal contradictions Ex: In the Hunger Games, Katniss who is "Good" has bad traits

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word Ex: Hip as in the bone, not as in cool

Dénouement

The resolution of a story

Dialect

A regional or social variety of language

Epiphany

Aha moment

Fable

NON-religous story that teaches a moral

Farce

A humorous work Ex: Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors

Flashback

Scene in the past

Foreshadowing

Hints to future events

Gothic Fiction

Dark, gloomy literature Ex: most of Edgar Allen Poe

Hamartia

A fatal flaw Ex: Achilles's Heel

Hubris

Fatal pride Ex: Victor Frankenstein making his monster

Hyperbole

Exaggeration Ex: "My mom is going to kill me if I fail this test"

In media res

In the middle of the action Ex: the start of Forest Gump

Irony

Opposite of what you expect

Catharsis

A change of heart Ex: When the Grinch's heart grew three sizes

Legend

A story about untrue human events Ex: Bigfoot, the Lochness monster

Local Color

Unique aspects of a specific area/culture Ex: Dels Freeze is a local color of Melbourne

Magic Realism

Makes fantastical occurrences seem normal Ex: Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Mary Poppins

Melodrama

Dramatic piece with sensationalized emotions & multiple plots Ex: Soap operas and telenovellas

Metafiction

Show within a show Ex: The Truman show

Metonymy

One word in place of another Ex: The White House refers to the President and his/her staff

Microcosm

Mini model of a larger thing Ex: A dollhouse is a microcosm of a house

Dramatic Monologue

Long theatrical speech by an individual, reveals character feelings

Motif

Recurring theme Ex: The green light in Great Gatsby, symbolizes Gatsby's longing for Daisy

Onomatopoeia

Sound words Ex: Boom, clank, pow, thud

Parable

a simple story that illustrates a RELIGIOUS lesson

Paradox

Contradiction

Parallelism

Similar grammatical elements to emphasize similar ideas Ex: "I Have a Dream Speech"

Paraphrase

Restate text in own words

Parody

Satirical imitation of a writing/writing style Ex: Weird Al songs

Peripeteia

Change in fortunes Ex: Rags to Riches like Cinderella

Picaresque

Prose following adventures of a roguish, lower-class hero Ex: Breaking Bad

Pun

Play on words Ex: You can tune a guitar but you can't tuna fish

Regionalism

Movement portraying a unique culture

Simile

Comparison using like/as Ex: He was as sad as a puppy

Soliloquy

Speaking one's thoughts aloud

Stream of Consciousness

Writing that shows a character's continuous flow of thoughts

Interior Monologue

Shows a character's thoughts in a more structured way

Surrealism

Dreamlike literature to explore the unconscious mind and reveal deeper truths Ex: Metamorphosis, Salvador Dali's work

Synecdoche

Part represents the whole, specific form of metonymy

Ex: "Lend me a hand" meaning you need the person's help

Synopsis

Brief summary

Tall Tale

Exaggerated story

Tone

Author's attitude

Tragedy

Protagonist downfall

Allegory

Narrative where characters, events, and settings are symbolic Ex: In Lord of the Flies, children represent societal struggles and moral philosophies

Alliteration

Repeating the same sound at the start of a word Ex: The big blue bubble burst

Canon

Group of works based on common theme

Syntax

Word placement in a sentence Ex: Yoda rearranges his words to make a point

Trope

A generic, recurring theme/device Ex: Enemies to lovers

Dystopia

genre or setting that depicts a flawed, oppressive, or nightmarish society, often used to criticize real-world issues

Utopia

depicts a perfect, idealized society without flaws

Polemic

Scathing argument that attacks a belief Ex: Farmer Refuted from Hamilton

Satire

Makes fun of a serious subject Ex: SNL

Epithet

Nickname used to characterize a person, place, or thing. Ex: The Rock is Dwayne Johnson, the Big Apple is New York

Euphemism

Good way to say a bad thing, sugarcoating Ex. "Passed Away" instead of "Died"

Caricature

Description of a person that exaggerates certain features to make them look funny

Foil

Direct opposite of a character

Stock character

Character with very predictable traits for its role in the media Ex: Lady with the Hat

Oxymoron

Contradictory speech Ex: Jumbo Shrimp

Personification

Give objects human traits

Anthropomorphism

Give animals human traits

Protagonist

The main hero

Antagonist

The main villain

Biography

A story about someone's life

Autobiography

A story about one's own life

Vernacular

A language/vocabulary