Most Common Literary Terms for AP Literature

roof iykyk

Metaphor

Comparison between two unlike things without using like or as

Simile

Comparison using like or as

Personification

Giving human qualities to nonhuman things

Symbolism

An object, character, or event representing a deeper meaning

Allusion

Reference to another work, historical event, or myth

Hyperbole

Intentional exaggeration

Understatement

Deliberately minimizing something

Verbal Irony

Saying the opposite of what is meant

Situational Irony

Outcome differs from expectations

Dramatic Irony

Audience knows something characters do not

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within words

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds

Meter

Rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables

Iambic Pentameter

Five iambs per line (common in Shakespeare)

Rhyme Scheme

Pattern of rhymes in a poem

Volta

A shift in thought or tone in a poem (especially sonnets)

Enjambment

A sentence continues past the end of a poetic line.

Caesura

A pause in the middle of a line

First Person POV

Story is told from the narrator’s perspective as a character in the story, pronouns like “I“ or “me”

Third Person Limited

Story is told from a narrator who has the limited inner perspectives of certain characters, does not have universal knowledge.

Third Person Omniscient

Story is told from an all-knowing narrator’s perspective, knows all character thoughts, feelings, motivations.

Narrator

The voice telling the story

Unreliable Narrator

A narrator whose credibility is questionable

Frame Narrative

A story within a story

Foreshadowing

Hints about future events

Flashback

Scene set earlier in the timeline

Direct Characterization

Author explicitly describes a character

Indirect Characterization

Character revealed through actions, speech, thoughts, etc.

Protagonist

Main character

Antagonist

Character opposing the protagonist

Dynamic Character

Changes throughout the story

Static Character

Does not change

Man vs. Self

Type of conflict where a character struggles with their own thoughts, emotions, fears, or moral dilemmas among other possible conflicts.

Man vs. Man

An interpersonal conflict where one character struggles against another.

Man vs. Nature

A conflict where a character struggles against natural forces

Man vs. Society

A conflict where a character fights against societal norms

Man vs. Fate

A conflict where a character struggles against an inevitable destiny, prophecy, or pre-determined cosmic order

Climax

Turning point of the story

Resolution (Denouement)

Final outcome

Juxtaposition

Placing contrasting elements together

Parallelism

Similar grammatical structures

Tone

Author’s attitude toward the subject

Mood

Emotional atmosphere of the text

Diction

Word choice

Syntax

Sentence structure

Imagery

Descriptive language appealing to the senses

Motif

A recurring idea, image, or symbol

Allegory

Narrative with a deeper moral or political meaning

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement that reveals truth

Ambiguity

Multiple possible meanings

Didactic

Intended to teach a moral lesson