AP Lit Terms Devices

allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical,or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion

analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging

anticlimax

Occurs when an action produces far smaller results than one had been led to expect. The effect is often comic.

aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.

external conflict

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

internal conflict

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

epanalepsis

Device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence. Voltaire: "Common sense is not so common."

epigram

A short, witty statement in verse or prose which may be complimentary, satiric, or aphoristic.

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. "Father of our country" and "the great Emancipator" are examples.

homeric epithet

a compound adjective used with a person or thing: "swift-footed Achilles"; "rosy-fingered dawn."

euphemism

From the Greek for "good speech," euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. The euphemism may be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement. Saying"earthly remains" rather than "corpse" is an example of euphemism

in media res

(In the middle of things) Means of starting a story in the middle of the action at some crucial point.

motif

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or inseveral works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previousones, or new ideas to the theme. Kurt Vonnegut uses "So it goes" throughout Slaughterhouse-Five to remind the reader of the senselessness of death.

Point of View - First, Third Omniscient, Third Limited

The vantage point from which the writer tells the story. First Person Narrator - tells the story with the first person pronoun, "I," and is a character in the story. This narrator can be the protagonist, a secondary character, or an observing character. Third Person Narrator - relates the events with the third person pronouns, "he," "she," and "it."There are two main subdivisions to be aware of: Third Person Omniscient-in which the narrator, with godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters Third Person Limited Omniscient -in which the narrator presents the feelings and thoughts of only one character, presenting only the actions of all the remaining characters.

pun

A "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things

syllogism

From the Greek for "reckoning together," a syllogism (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is 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. A frequently cited example proceeds as follows: major premise: All men are mortal. minor premise: Socrates is a man. conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is a mortal.A syllogism's conclusion is valid only if each of the two premises is valid. Syllogisms may also present the specific idea first ("Socrates") and the general second ("all men").

symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else. Usually a symbol is something concrete -- such as an object, action, character, or scene - that represents something more abstract. However, symbols and symbolism can be much more complex. Onesystem classifies symbols into three categories:(1) Natural symbols are objects and occurrences from nature to symbolize ideas commonly associated with them (dawn symbolizing hope or a new beginning, a rose symbolizing love,a tree symbolizing knowledge).(2) Conventional symbols are those that have been invested with meaning by a group(religious symbols such as a cross or Star of David; national symbols, such as a flag or an eagle; or group symbols, such as a skull and crossbones for pirates or the scale of justice for lawyers).(3) Literary symbols are sometimes also conventional in the sense that they are found in a variety of works and are more generally recognized. However, a work's symbols may be more complicated, as is the jungle in Heart of Darkness

synethesia

when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another. Ex: The sight of red ants makes you itchy. In literature, synesthesia refers to the practice of associating two or more different senses in the same image. Red Hot Chili Peppers' song title, "Taste the Pain," is an example.

syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as groups of words, whilediction refers to the individual words.

zeugma

The use of a word to modify two or more words, but used for different meanings. She looked at the object with suspicion and a magnifying glass.