AP Lit Literary Terms

Accent

Accent

A way of pronouncing words that indicates the place of origin or social background of the speaker.

Allegory

a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor.Main purpose is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of symbols, that have literal and figurative meanings, an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric. Examples: John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Temptations of Christians) , Orwell's Animal Farm (Russian Revolution), and Arthur Miller's Crucible ("Red Scare")

alliteration

the repetition of the same consonant, or beginning several words with the same vowel sound

allusion

a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature.

ambiguity

a technique by which a writer deliberately suggests two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work.

ambivalence

the simultaneous existence of conflicting feelings or thoughts, such as love and hate, about a person, an object, or an idea; uncertainty or indecisiveness as to what course to follow; fluctuation

anachronism

something out of its proper historical time; error of putting something in the wrong historical time

anadiplosis

repeating last word of clause at beginning of next clause

anaphora

the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences

angst

strong anxiety and unhappiness; a feeling of dread

annotation

a critical or explanatory note or comment, especially for a literary work

antagonist

The thing that opposes the protagonist in a narrative or drama. The antagonist may be another character, society itself, a force of nature, or even a conflicting impulse within the protagonist.

anticlimax

An unsatisfying and trivial turn of events in a literary work that occurs in place of a genuine climax. An anticlimax often involves a surprising shift in tone from the lofty or serious to the petty or ridiculous.

antithesis

A statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced. Words, phrases, clauses, or sentences set in deliberate contrast to one another. A species of parallelism, antithesis balances opposing ideas, feelings, tones, or structures, giving crisp expression to their pairing and heightening its effect.

aphorism

a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life. Examples: "Early bird gets the worm." "What goes around, comes around.." "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

apostrophe

Addressing something nonhuman as if it were human

archaism

the use of deliberately old-fashioned language

archetype

An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype

aside

a short speech, delivered to the audience or to another character, that others onstage are not supposed to hear.

assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

asyndeton

When the conjunctions (such as "and" or "but") that would normally connect a string of words, phrases, or clauses are omitted from a sentence

atmosphere

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene

ballad

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

baroque

extravagantly ornate; flamboyant in style

bathos

n. excessive or trivial sentimentality; and abrupt transition in style from the elevated to the commonplace, producing a laughable effect

blank verse

unrhymed poetry that has a regular rhythm and line length, especially iambic pentameter

cacophony

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.

caesura

a pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line, and often greater than the normal pause.

catharsis

an emotional release which brings about renewal of the self or welcome relief from anxiety, tension, etc.

characterization

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

chiasmus

A figure of speech that reverses the order of words in phrases that would otherwise be structured the same. (e.g. Heaven is too great of humanity; humanity is too great for heaven)

cinquain

a short poem consisting of five, usually unrhymed lines containing, respectively, two, four, six, eight, and two syllables.

climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

colloquial

conversational; informal in language

comic relief

A humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood.

conceit

a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects

connotation

what a word suggests beyond its surface definition

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds within words

couplet

two lines of verse that form a unit alone or as part of a poem, especially two that rhyme and have the same meter

denotation

the exact/literal meaning of a word, as found in the dictionary

denouement

an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot

dialect

a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

didactic

intended to teach; inclined to teach excessively

digression

straying from the main point

dramatic irony

This occurs when the audience or reader knows more than the characters know.

elegy

poem or song expressing lamentation

ellipsis

the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced for the context ("Some people prefer cats; others, dogs.")

enjambment

describes a line of poetry in which the sense and grammatical construction continues on to the next line

ennui

a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom

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

epigraph

The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme.

epiphany

a moment of sudden revelation or insight

euphemism

a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term

euphony

a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony

exposition

the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse

extended metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

farce

ridiculous, light comedy; slapstick comedy; absurd thing; mockery

flashback

the insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative

flat character

a character who is not very well developed; has few identifiable characteristics

foil

a character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another

foot

two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem

foreshadowing

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

free verse

Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

genre

type or category of literary work (e.g., poetry, essay, short story, novel, drama)

grotesque

fantastic; comically hideous; strange and unnatural (causing fear or amusement)

hamartia

In tragedy, the event or act that leads to the hero's or heroine's downfall

heroic couplet

two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter

hubris

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

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

ideology

a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, government, and society

iamb

a poetic foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

iambic pentameter

a line of poetry that contains five iambs (units which consist of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, as in the word, arise). (Shakespeare)

internal rhyme

A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line

imagery

description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

irony

the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens

literal

based upon the actual meaning, as it meets the eye

lyric verse

a shorter poem expressing an emotional state in a single, unified impression

malapropism

the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar

metaphysical

a term describing poetry that uses elaborate conceits, expresses the complexities of love and life, and is highly intellectual

metaphor

a comparison without using like or as

meter

a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it

monologue

a speech given by one character

mood

the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

moral

a lesson taught by a literary work

motif

a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design

octave

An eight-line stanza. Most commonly, octave refers to the first division of an Italian sonnet.

ode

a long, lyrical poem, usually serious or meditative in nature

onomatopoeia

the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

oxymoron

a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly."

paradox

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

parallelism

the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structure

parody

a humorous imitation of a serious work

pathos

quality in drama, speech, literature, music, or events that arouses a feeling of pity or sadness

pentameter

a metrical line containing five feet

persona

The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader or other audience

personification

giving human qualities to animals or objects

petrarchan sonnet

Italian 14 line poem comprised of an octave and sestet; a, b, b, a, a, b, b, a, c, d, e, c, d, e

point of view

the perspective from which a story is told