AP Literary Terms & Movements: Key Concepts and Devices

exposition

the beginning of the story and involves initial characters, setting and initial conflict

rising action

action that leads to the turning point

turning point

action occurs that changes the course of the story and the characters cannot go back on

falling action

action occurs as a result of the turning point leading to the climax

climax

the highest point of interest in the story - the main conflict is resolved

resolution/denouement

action that occurs as a result of the climax

stanza

a unit in a poem

single line stanza

1 line stanza

couplet

2 line stanza

tercet

3 line stanza

quatrain

4 line stanza

cinquain

5 line stanza

sestet

6 line stanza

heptatstitch

7 line stanza

octave

8 line stanza

genre

a category or a type of literature

poetry

literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature

lyric poem

a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of a speaker

free verse

poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

concrete/visual poetry

poetry where the look or formation of the poem adds to the meaning

dramatic poetry

poetry written with the intention to be performed

narrative poetry

poetry that tells a narrative/story

epic poetry

a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods

prose

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

drama

a written work that tells a story through action and speech and is meant to be acted on a stage

comedy

in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters

tragedy

in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end

allegory

story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities

alliteration

repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

allusion

reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture

ambiguity

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work

analogy

comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

epistrophe

device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

anastrophe

inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence; purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony

inversion

reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

anecdote

brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual

antithesis

balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure

antihero

central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes; may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples

anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object; similar to personification

aphorism

brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth; also called maxim, or epigram

apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together

consonance

the recurrence of similar sounds, especially consonants, in close proximity

asyndeton

commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally

polysyndeton

sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series

characterization

the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character

indirect characterization

the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people, or by showing the character in action

direct characterization

the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on

antagonist

opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

protagonist

the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action

static character

is one who does not change much in the course of a story

dynamic character

is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action

flat character

has only one or two personality traits; they are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard

round character

has more dimensions to their personalities---they are complex, just as real people are

foil

character who acts as contrast to another character

chiasmus

In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed

antimetabole

in prose, this is called antimetabole

cliché

a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse

colloquialism

a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations

conceit

an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different, often an extended metaphor

confessional poetry

a twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life

conflict

the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story

external conflict

conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine, or between a person and a whole society

internal conflict

a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind

denotation

dictionary definition of a word

connotation

the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition

dialect

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

diction

speaker or writer's choice of words

didactic

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

elegy

a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died

eulogy

great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died

epigraph

a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

epithet

an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality

fable

a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life, usually using animals to represent human behavior

parable

a short tale in prose or poetry teaching a practical, spiritual or moral lesson

farce

a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations

figurative language

words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe

flashback

a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time

foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect

imagery

the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience

irony

a discrepancy between appearances and reality

verbal irony

occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else

situational irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen

dramatic irony

a character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better

juxtaposition

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit

Martin Luther King

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

litotes

a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form: "You are not as young as you used to be"

metaphor

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles

implied metaphor

does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison: "I like to see it lap the miles" is an implied metaphor in which the verb lap implies a comparison between "it" and some animal that "laps" up water

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. (conceit if it is quite elaborate)

dead metaphor

a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid: "The head of the house", "the seat of the government", "a knotty problem" are all dead metaphors

mixed metaphor

a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible: "The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas"

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it: "We requested from the crown support for our petition" --> the crown is used to represent the monarch

mood

an atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme; Kurt Vonnegut uses "so it goes" throughout Slaughterhouse-five to remind the reader of the senselessness of death

dramatic monologue

a long speech by a character while on stage

soliloquy

a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage

motivation

the reasons for a character's behavior (character motive)