AP LIT: Lit terms

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Antithesis

A rhetorical device where contrasting ideas are presented in a parallel structure for emphasis and to highlight the differences between them.

Aphorism

A concise statement expressing a general truth or observation. Often used to convey wisdom or advice in a memorable way. Examples include "Actions speak louder than words."

Apostrophe

a figure of speech where a character addresses someone who is not present, or something inhuman

Assonance

relatively close juxtaposition of similar sounds especially of vowels. Example: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

Asyndeton

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence. Enhances rhythm and urgency in writing. Creates a fast-paced, concise, and impactful effect.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed poetry written in a way that has meter. Often used in English literature, such as Shakespeare's plays and Milton's "Paradise Lost."

Chiasmus

a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. ‘Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.’.

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation. Casual or familiar tone to communication.

Deus ex machina

A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly resolved by an unexpected and improbable intervention, often seen as a narrative flaw.

Ekphrasis

the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device.

Elegy

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.

Enjambment

When a sentence or phrase in poetry continues beyond the end of a line without a pause, creating a sense of flow and connection between lines.

Epistolary novel

A novel written in the form of letters, diary entries, or other documents. It provides a unique perspective through multiple viewpoints and voices.

Feminine Rhyme

A rhyme between stressed syllables followed by one or more unstressed syllables, like "ending" and "bending." Often used in poetry.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not follow a specific rhyme scheme, meter, or structure. It allows poets to experiment with language and form freely.

ln media res

Starting a narrative in the middle of the action, rather than at the beginning. Commonly used in literature and film to engage the audience immediately.

Internal rhyme

a rhyme occurs within a single line of verse, rather than at the end of two or more lines. It adds a musical quality to poetry. Ex.) I went to town to buy a gown

Irony

literary device that describes a situation where there is a contrast between reality and expectation

Litotes

uses a negative to create an affirmative understatement. For ex.) not good, not wrong

Masculine Rhyme

a line of the poem ends with words having one stressed syllable Ex.) still, hill, bore, more

Metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Ode

a short, highly structured lyric poem that celebrates or glorifies something

Paradox

involves expressing contradictory ideas that challenge what is already known or expected to be true. Can be considered a statement that is both true and untrue at the same time.

Pastoral

work of literature that focuses on the relationship between humanity and nature in a rural environment.

Refrain

is a literary element that involves repeating a word, line, or phrase within a poem.

Sestet

is a six-line stanza of poetry, or the last six lines of a Petrarchan or Italian sonnet

Syllogism

three-part logical argument, based on deductive reasoning, in which two premises are combined to arrive at a conclusion. For ex.) "All mammals are animals. All elephants are mammals. Therefore, all elephants are animals."

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”).

Trochaic Meter

pair of syllables with a falling rhythm, where the first syllable is stressed and the second is unstressed. The pattern reads as DUH-duh, as in "LAD-der"