AP Literature Vocabulary Terms

Allegory

A story in which events, settings, characters, etc. stand for abstract or moral concepts

Analogy

A comparison to show similarities between disparate ideas, issues, etc.

Anaphora

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

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas

Aphorism

A witty or concise saying that expresses a truth or principle

Apostrophe

A writer or speaker, using apostrophe, speaks directly to someone who is not present or is dead, or speaks to an inanimate object.

Canto

A subdivision of a long poem

Conceit

An elaborate figure of speech, makes a surprising connection between dissimilar items

Deus Ex Machina

A contrived device used to inexplicably resolve a plot point, unexpected resolution

Elegy

A text, poem or narrative that laments or mourns a loss of someone or something

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Epigram

A clever, usually memorable statement, meaningful to the following text

Epilogue

a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.

Epiphany

Sudden insight or awareness, often experienced by a character after a dramatic situation

Epitaph

Commemorative poem, inscription for a deceased (dead) individual

Epithet

A descriptive phrase or adjective used to characterize a person

Farce

A narrative that stereotypes characters as ridiculous, includes far-fetched events

In Media Res

Beginning a narrative in the middle

Kenning

A type of Anglo-Saxon metaphor used to name a person, place, or thing directly

Lament

A poem or song expressing grief.

Litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad)

Lyric

Emotional, music-like poetry or narrative

Motif

Refers to a word, object, image, character, etc. that repeatedly occurs within a text

Neoclassicism

a revival of classical standards and forms during the late 17 th and 18 th centuries

Ode

Lyrical stanza, poem, text in praise of, or dedicated to, someone or something

Onomatopoeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle )

Oxymoron

A figure of speech combining contradictory ideas or terms

Parable

An allegorical, usually short, text that teaches a moral or religious lesson

Parody

Imitation of music, literature, etc. for amusement or to make a point

Pun

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of words that sound alike but are different

Realism

The attempt to depict people and things as they really are, without idealizations

Refrain

A repetition of a phrase or series of phrases for emphasis

Romance

Historically, a medieval verse narrative chronicling the adventures of brave knights or other heroes who must overcome grave danger for the love of a noble lady or a high ideal

Satire

Texts that criticize or ridicule human actions, weaknesses

Stream of Consciousness

A narrative device that reflects the inner thoughts of the narrator

Alliteration

A repetition of beginning consonant sounds

Allusion

A Biblical, historical, literary, mythological, etc. reference

Antagonist

The character or issue that creates conflict for the protagonist

Aside

Words spoken by a character to the audience, not to be overheard by other characters

Assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. It is used to reinforce the meanings of words or to set the mood

Atmosphere

The mood or feeling in a literary work

Autobiography

An individual's account of his or her life

Biography

An account of a person's life as told by another writer

Climax

The highest point of the plot arc, the height of emotion or drama, the point of no return

Conflict

Internal or external struggles faced by characters in a narrative

Connotations

emotions, meanings, associations associated with a specific word

Couplet

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Denotation

the definition of a term as determined by a dictionary

Denouement

The resolution or conclusion of a narrative, issues and problems are resolved

Dialect

Type of speaking characteristic to a specific region or environment, a group of people

Diction

Word choices made by an author, a device to establish purpose for a writer

Epic

A particular poem, lengthy in form, reflecting the values of a society through the hero's actions

Essay

A text reflecting the ideas, values, research, etc. of a writer

Fable

A narrative that features animals to reflect a moral message

Flashback

A portion of a text that flashes back to a previous event

Foil

One character developed as a contrast to another to highlight specifics characteristics

Foreshadowing

Clues included in a text to hint at future events

Irony

A discrepancy between the expected and the reality

Novel

A long narrative, fictional, generally more than 50,000 words

Paradox

Terms or ideas that appear contradictory but are actually both true

Parallelism

Repetition of structure, phrases, words

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to inhuman objects

Plot

The development of a narrative, sequence of events over a period of time

Point of View

Narrator's perspective (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd - Limited, omniscient, subjective)

Protagonist

The main character in a text, generally involved in conflict

Soliloquy

Usually seen in plays, a long speech spoken by a character alone on the stage

Suspense

The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story.

Symbol

A figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning

Theme

The central topic a text treats, a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject"