AP Literature Terms

Melodrama

A form of cheesy theater in which the hero is very, very good, the villain mean and rotten, and the heroine oh-so-pure

Masculine Rhyme

The final syllable of the first word rhymes with the final syllable of the second word

Rhetorical Question

A statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered

Archaism

The use of deliberately old-fashioned language

Euphony

Any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Allegory

A literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas: a symbolic representation

Theme

The main idea of a story

Foreshadowing

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

Gothic Novel

A novel in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors pervades the action

Nemesis

The protagonist arch enemy or supreme and persistent difficulty

Epic

A long narrative poem written in elevated style which present the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation

Anachronism

Something that is out of its proper historical time

Pun

A play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings

Travesty

A grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

Ballad

Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor

Foot

The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry

Abstract

This is typically complex writing that discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points

Simile

A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually forms with 'like' or 'as'

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

Tragic Flaw

The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall

Utopia

An imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal

Inversion

The reversal of normal order of words

Parallelism

The use of series of words, phrases, or sentences that have grammatical form

Stock Characters

Standard or cliched character types: the drunk, the miser, the foolish girl, etc...

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers

Persona

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing

Dirge

A song of prayer for the dead

Burlesque

A theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

Feminine Rhyme

When the latter two syllables of a first word rhyme with the latter two syllables of a second word

Academic

Theoretical writing that analyzes objectively

Accent

Stressed portion of the word

Aesthetic, aesthetics

Appearing to the senses

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Anecdote

A short narrative/ personal writing

Anthropomorphism

When inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena are given human characteristic behavior, or motivation

Anticlimax

Action produces far smaller results than one had been led to except

Antihero

A protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero

Aphorism

A short and usually a witty saying

Aphostrophe

An address to someone not present or to a personified object or idea

Aside

A line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage

Assonance

The repeated use of vowel sounds

Atmosphere

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

Black humor

Use of disturbing themes in comedy

Bombast

Speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning 

Cacophony

In poetry, using deliberately harsh, awkward sounds

Cadence

Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

Canto

The name for a section division in a long work of poetry, similar to the way chapters divide a novel

Caricature

A portrait that exaggerates a facet of personality

Catharsis

Drawn form Aristotle's writings on tragedy/ refers to cleansing of emotion an audience member experiences having lived (vicariously) through the experiences presented on stage

Chorus

In Greek drama, the group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it

Colloquialism

Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing 

Conceit

Startling or unusual metaphor, or one developed and expanded upon over several lines (in poetry)

Connotation

Everything else that the word suggests or implies

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within words

Decorum

A character's speech must be styled according to his/her social station and in accordance with the occasion

Diction

A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words

Dissonance

The grating of incompatible sounds

Doggerel

Crude, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme

Dramatic irony

Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play

Dramatic monologue

When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience

Elegy

A type of poem that meditates on death or mortality in a serious, thoughtful manner

Enjambment

The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line or couplet of a poem to the next with no pause

Epitaph

Lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place

Euphemism

A word or phrase that takes the place of a harsh, unpleasant, or impolite reality

Farce

Extremely broad humor (earlier times used as a more neutral term- simply a funny play or comedy

Foil

A secondary character whose purpose is to highlight the characteristics of a main character, usually by contrast

Free verse

Unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern

Hubris

Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

Interior monologue

A narrative technique that records a character’s internal flow of thoughts, memories, and ideas; a longish passage of uninterrupted thought

Irony

A statement that means the opposite of what it seems to mean

Lampoon

A satire

Lyric

A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world (or the part that his poem is about)

Metaphor

A comparison or analogy that states one thing is another (not as, or like)

Metonym

A word that is used to stand for something else that is has attributes of or is associated with

Objectivity

Treatment of subject matter is an impersonal or outside view of events

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate sounds

Oxymoron

A phrase composed of opposites: a contradiction

Parable

Like a fable or an allegory

Parody

A work that makes fun of another work by exaggerating many of its qualities to ridculousness

Pastoral

A poem set in tranquil nature, or even more specifically, one about shepherds

Pathos

Appeals to emotion

Personification

The act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas

Plaint

A poem or speech expressing sorrow

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work

Refrain

A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem

Requiem

A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead perosn

Rhapsody

An intensely passionate verse or section of verse, usually of love or praise

Satire

A literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision 

Soliloquy

A speech spoken by a character along on stage

Stanza

A group of lines in verse, roughly analogous in function to the paragraph in prose

Summary

A simple retelling of what you've just read

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

Thesis

The main position of an argument

Truism

A way too obvious truth

Zeugma

The use of a word to modify two or more words but used for different meanings