AP Literature Review

Vocabulary flashcards for Review of AP Literature Terms

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Anaphora

The intentional repetition of beginning words, phrases clauses in order to create an artistic effect

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

The opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite. Using opposite phrases in close conjunction.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction

Asyndeton

The artistic elimination of conjunctions in a sentence to create a particular effect.

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described.

Bildungsroman

The German term for a coming-of-age story.

Caricature

A verbal description the purpose of which is to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person's distinctive physical features or other characteristics.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical technique in which the author introduces words or concepts in a particular order, then later repeats those terms or similar ones in reversed or backwards order.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Connotation

The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.

Deus ex machina

An event usually at the end of a work that serves as a divine and often unlikely intervention.

Diction

Refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

Words that have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.

Doppelganger

Quite simply a double. It can be a ghost or physical apparition, but it is usually a source of psychological anxiety for the person who sees it.

Ellipsis

Refers to the artful omission of a word implied by a previous clause.

Enjambment

A line having no pause or end punctuation but having uninterrupted grammatical meaning continuing into the next line.

Epistrophe

The poet or rhetorician repeats the concluding phrase over and over for effects.

Euphemism

From the Greek for 'good speech', a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Feminine Rhyme

Rhyme emphasis on the last two syllables

Figurative Language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

Figure of Speech

A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Homily

This term literally means 'sermon,' but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

Imagery

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions.

In Medias Res

The work starts in the middle of the action.

Inference/Infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

Irony/Ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.

Lampoon

A coarse or crude satire ridiculing the appearance or character of another person.

Leit-motif

In literature, this refers to an object, animal, phrase, or other thing loosely associated with a character, a setting, or event.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite.

Loose Sentence/Non-Periodic Sentence

A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.

Masculine Rhyme

Rhymes that end with a heavy stress on the last syllable in each rhyming word.

Metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity.

Metonymy

A term from the Greek meaning 'changed label' or 'substitute name,' a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated or related to the whole of it.

Mood

The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.

Narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Oxymoron

From the Greek for 'pointedly foolish,' a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.

Parallelism

Also referred to as parallel construction or parallel structure, this term comes from Greek roots meaning 'beside one another.' It refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Pastoral

An artistic composition dealing with the life of shepherds or with a simple, rural existence.

Periodic Sentence

The opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.

Personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

Picaresque

A humorous novel in which the plot consists of a young knave's misadventures and escapades narrated in comic or satiric scenes.

Point of View

In literature, the perspective from which a story is told.

Polysyndeton

Using many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence.

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, this refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms.

Repetition

The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.

Rhetoric

From the Greek for 'orator,' this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Rhetorical Modes

This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing.

Sarcasm

From the Greek meaning 'to tear flesh,' this involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

Slant Rhyme

Rhymes created out of words with similar but not identical sounds.

Style

An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices.

Subject Complement

The word (with any accompanying phrases) or clause that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it (the predicate nominative) or (2) describing it (the predicate adjective).

Subordinate Clause

Like all clauses, this word group contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, this cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought.

Syllogism

From the Greek for 'reckoning together,' a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (the first one called 'major' and the second called 'minor') that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion.

Symbol/Symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part.

Synesthesia

Involving shifts in imagery or sensory metaphors. It involves taking one type of sensory input (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and comingling it with another separate sense in what seems an impossible way.

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.

Thesis

In expository writing, the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.

Tone

Similar to mood, this describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas.

Understatement

The ironic minimalizing of fact, this presents something as less significant than it is.

Wit

Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights.

Abstract

Theoretical, without reference to specifics

Abstruse

Complex, profound

Affected

Assuming a false manner of attitude to impress others

Allusive

Makes used of allusions or references to other works, history, religion, pop culture

Ambiguous

Having two or more possible meanings

Ambivalent

Of two minds- undecided

Analytical

Inclined to examine things by studying their contents or parts

Anecdotal

Involving short narratives of interesting events

Archaic

In the style of an earlier period

Austere

Stern, strict, frugal, unadorned

Banal

Pointless and uninteresting

Baroque

Elaborate, grotesque, and ornamental

Bombastic

Pretentious and pompous- often featured in satiric figures

Cinematic

Having the qualities of a motion picture

Classical

Formal, enduring, and standard, adhering to certain traditional methods

Colloquial

Using everyday language; conversational- not formal

Concise

Using very few words to express a great deal

Concrete

Solid, physical, real

Confessional

Characterized by personal admissions of faults