AP Lit Vocab

Alliteration

two or more words close to each other repeat the same starting consonant sound, ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Antagonist

character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain

Antithetical/antithesis

a rhetorical device that puts two contrasting ideas side by side in a balanced way, ex. give me liberty or give me death, also means direct opposite of, Antithetical is an adjective meaning directly opposed, contradictory, or sharing the nature of an antithesis

apostrophe (poetry)

the speaker directly addresses an absent person, a dead person, an inanimate object, or an abstract idea as if it could hear and respond

assonance

repetition of similar vowel sounds inside nearby words. ex "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain”

caesura (poetry)

a natural phrase end, especially when occurring in the middle of a line, ex. "To be, or not to be, || that is the question”

conflict

internal: moral, fear based, religious/philosophical, loved based, identity based, existential, man vs self basically

external: man vs man, man vs society, man vs nature, man vs tech

consonance

repeating the same consonant sounds in nearby words, ex. “Short and sweet" (repetition of the "t" and "s" sounds)

enjambment (poetry)

poetic device where a sentence or clause continues past a line break without a pause or punctuation mark

meter (poetry)

The rhythmical pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse

mood

the emotional feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

oxymoron

puts together opposite elements, ex. deafening silence, bittersweet

paradox/paradoxical

a statement or situation that seems to-contradict itself, but actually reveals a deeper truth, ex. My only love sprung from my only hate from R&J

perspective

a character's or narrator's inner outlook, beliefs, and attitude toward the events and people in a story, acts as a mental lens that shapes how a narrative is understood, POV is simply structural framework

points of view

first: uses I , narrator tells own story

second: uses you , narrator addresses reader directly

third: narrator tells story about other characters, only knows thoughts of one character at any time

• limited: reports the facts and interprets events from the perspective of a single character, like 1984

• omniscient: all-knowing narrator not only reports the facts but may also interpret events and relate the thoughts and feelings of any character

• observant: The facts of a narrative are reported by a seemingly neutral, impersonal observer or recorder, never reveals what character thinking or feeling

protagonist

leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

rhyme scheme (poetry)

pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song, ex. abab or aabb

symbol

characters, settings, images, or other motifs that stand in for bigger ideas

tone

attitude or feeling that an author, narrator, or character has toward a specific subject, plot event, or character, shown through word choice, sentence structure, and style, and it guides how readers interpret a story, ex. saying giggle for playful tone or smirk for mocking one

antihero

the main character (protagonist) in a literary work who lacks traditional heroic qualities such as courage, honor, moral integrity, or self-sacrifice

archetype

a universal character type, symbol, plot pattern, or setting that repeats across different cultures and eras, instantly recognized by readers because it taps into shared human experiences, ex. the hero, the villain, light vs dark

character/characterization

the process and method by which an author creates, develops, and reveals the personality, motives, physical traits, and psychology of fictional figures in a narrative or dramatic work

climax

the highest point of tension, drama, or emotional intensity in a narrative's plot

encounter

an unplanned meeting, a face-to-face confrontation, or a sudden experience with a person, object, or abstract challenge

fiction

any creative narrative work—such as a novel, novella, or short story—that is generated from the author's imagination rather than presented as factual history or a true account

flashback

a literary device that interrupts the chronological order of a story to depict an event from an earlier time

foreshadowing

a literary device in which an author drops subtle or explicit hints about events that will happen later in a story

genre

a category of artistic work defined by similarities in form, style, content, or subject matter

inconsistencies

a state where a text contains statements, plot points, timelines, or character behaviors that contradict or fail to align with each other

infer

to draw a logical conclusion about a character, setting, plot, or theme using clues provided by the author combined with your own background knowledge and real-world experience

imagery

descriptive language that uses vivid details to appeal to the human senses and create mental pictures or physical sensations

literal vs figurative meaning

Literal meaning is the direct, straightforward, dictionary-based (denotative) definition of words, where a statement communicates exactly what it says at face value without hidden layers or exaggeration.

Figurative meaning is an indirect, imaginative, or non-literal interpretation of words that departs from strict definitions to create emotional resonance, sensory imagery, or deeper thematic connections

narrative

a spoken or written account of connected events—whether fictional or non-fictional—conveyed through a specific storytelling style and perspective

narrator

the voice or perspective that tells a story

parallels or poem parallelism

narrative parallel occurs when an author repeats or mirrors characters, settings, plot points, or themes within a story to highlight similarities, differences, or deeper meanings

plot

the sequence of events that make up a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

repetition

the intentional reuse of words, phrases, sounds, or sentences to add emphasis, create musical rhythm, reinforce a theme, or evoke a strong emotional response

setting

the time and place in which a story unfolds

Sensory language: auditory, gustatory, tactile, olfactory, optical/visual

the use of descriptive words and phrases that appeal to the five human senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—to create vivid, immersive mental images

shift

a noticeable change within a text that alters the reader’s perception, the emotional tone, the narrative perspective, or the plot's trajectory

sibilance

a literary device and figure of speech that creates a hissing, whispering, or hushing sound through the repeated use of sibilant consonant sounds across nearby words, “sinking sun slanted”

simile

a figure of speech that explicitly compares two different, unrelated things using words like "like," "as," or "than