AP Literature and Composition Midterm Review Sheet

Character

Represents viewpoints, ideas, perspectives, biases, beliefs, and cultural norms, and is analyzed for personality, motive, and perspective.

Setting

Depicts time and place while also conveying the associated values, impacting character relationships and narrative interpretation.

Structure

Refers to how a text is arranged, including sequence and event relationships affecting reader interpretation.

Narrator

The voice that tells the story, influencing detail and emphasis, which in turn affects reader experience and text interpretation.

Figurative Language

Literary devices used to create comparisons and associations, steering text interpretation away from literal meaning.

Literary Argumentation

Establishing interpretations of a text using direct evidence and effectively communicating that interpretation.

Imagery

Descriptive language that creates visual representations in the reader's mind.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject matter as conveyed through their writing style.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two different things using 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Thesis Statement

A defensible claim or interpretation that serves as the backbone of an essay.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is narrated, influencing how information is presented and interpreted.

Contrast

The difference between two or more elements in a text that can highlight specific characteristics or themes.

Symbol

An object, character, or event that represents a larger idea or concept within a text.

Diction

Word choice used by an author to convey tone, mood, and meaning.

imagery

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

tone

the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

mood

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

metaphor

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

simile

a figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as , than, or resembles.

repetition

a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or romanticizing it.

irony

a discrepancy between appearances and reality.

hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times....”

archetypes

universal, recurring patterns or themes that are present in works of literature.

sonnet form/structure

a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter, traditionally associated with themes of love. It typically consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a concluding couplet (two-line stanza).

point of view/narrator

the vantage point from which the writer tells the story.

stream of consciousness

a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind.

metric pattern

refers to the rhythm of a poem.

stage directions

an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements.

paraphrase

a way of using different words and phrasing to present the same ideas.

ambivalence

simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (such as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action.

antipathy

a feeling of strong dislike, opposition, or anger

benevolence

the quality of being well meaning; kindness.

ephemeral

lasting for a very short time.

idiosyncratic

peculiar or individual.