More AP Lit Terms

allegory

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

alliteration

repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

allusion

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

ambiguity

deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work

analogy

comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

anastrophe

inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence

anecdote

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

antagonist

opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

antimetabole

repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order

antithesis

balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure

antihero

central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes; may lack courage, grace, or moral scrupules

anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object

aphorism

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

maxim

another term for aphorism

epigraph

another term for aphorism

apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea

invocation

a character asks a god or goddess for inspiration

apposition

placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first (often set off by a colon)

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together

asyndeton

commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally

balance

constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance

characterization

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

indirect characterization

the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the character’s effect on other people (showing how other characters feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action

direct characterization

the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on

static character

character who does not change much in the course of a story

dynamic character

character who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action

flat character

has only one or two personality traits; one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard

round character

has more dimensions to their personalities-they are complex, just like real people

chiasmus

in poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balance against the first, but with the parts reversed

cliché

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word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse

colloquialism

a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing, but is inappropriate for formal situations

comedy

in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters

conceit

an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startling different; often an extended metaphor

confessional poetry

a 20th century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet’s life

conflict

the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story

external conflict

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

internal conflict

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

connotation

the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition

couplet

two consecutive lines of poetry

dialect

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

diction

a speaker or writer’s choice of words

didactic

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

elegy

a poem or mourning, usually about someone who has died

eulogy

great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died

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

epic

a long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society

epigraph

a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

epistrophe

device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

epithet

an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality

homeric epithet

compound adjective used with a person or thing

essay

a short piece of nonfiction in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

argumentation

one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way

persuasion

relies more on emotional appeals than on facts

argument

form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way

casual relationship

form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing result from another, often used as part of a logical argument

description

a form of discourse that uses language to create a mood or emotion

exposition

one of the four major forms of discourse that tells about a series of events

explication

act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language

fable

a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life

farce

a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situation

figurative language

words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe

flashback

a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that has happened at an earlier time

foil

a character who acts as contrast to another character

foreshadowing

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

free verse

poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme

hyperbole

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

hypotactic

sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them

hypotaxis

syntactic subordination of just one clause to another

imagery

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

inversion

the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

irony

a discrepancy between appearances and reality

verbal irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen

dramatic irony

a character a play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better

juxtaposition

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and with - OR - a form of contrast by which writers call attention to dissimilar ideas or images or metaphors

litotes

form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of the negative form

local color

term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape

loose sentence

sentence in which the main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units

lyric poem

poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker

ballad

poem that tells a story

metaphor

a figure of speech that make a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as: like, as, than, or resembles

implied metaphor

does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison

extended metaphor

metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it

dead metaphor

metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid

mixed metaphor

metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are so visually or imaginatively incompatible

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it

mood

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

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme

motivation

the reasons for a character’s behavior

onomatopoeia

the use of words whose sounds echo their sense

oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

parable

a relatively short story that teaches a moral or lesson about how to lead a good life

paradox

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

koan

paradox used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge

parallel structure

the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures

paratactic sentence

simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences

parody

a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style

periodic

sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements

personification

a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

plot

the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes call the storyline