AP Lit Terms

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30 Terms

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Allegory

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

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Allusion

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

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Ambiguity

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work; an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

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Anecdote

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

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Aphorism

brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth.

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Characterization

Indirect:the author reveals to the reader what the character is like through appearance, dialogue, private thoughts, action, and effects on others. Direct:the author tells us directly what the character is like. Static:one who does not change much in the course of a story. Dynamic:one who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action. Flat:only one or two personality traits; they are one dimensional. Round:more dimensions to their personality; they are complex, just like real people are.

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Conflict

External:a conflict between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person and a whole society. Internal:a conflict involving opposing forces within a person’s mind.

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Diction

a speaker or writer’s choice of words.

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Epiphany

a sudden realization.

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Euphemism

substitute words that sound less offensive or more neutral than others.

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Figurative Language

Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.

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Foil

a character who acts as a contrast to another character.

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Foreshadowing

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

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Hyperbole

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

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Imagery

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

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Irony

Verbal:when a character says one thing but really means something else. Dramatic:a character is unaware of something that another character or the audience knows. Situational:when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen.

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Juxtaposition

two normally unassociated ideas, words, or things are placed next to one another to create a contrasting effect.

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Metaphor

a direct comparison between two unlike things.

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Mood

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

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Motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work unifying the work.

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Oxymoron

a combination of opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

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Pace

the rhythm of a story and how the chain of events fall into place.

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Paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.

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Personification

an object or animal is given human characteristics.

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Satire

a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.

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Stream of Consciousness

a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind.

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Symbol

an object, character, action, or idea represents more than its literal meaning.

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Tone

the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience.

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Theme

the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work.

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Verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real.