AP Literature and Composition Vocabulary List

Allegory

An elaborate system of symbols that are all inter-related; an entire novel is sometimes an allegory (a story that is a symbol for a larger phenomena)

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, mythology, history, religion

Apostrophe

Directly addressing someone who is absent, dead, or something non-human as if it were alive and present and could reply

Hyperbole

when someone exaggerates by overstating the situation (ex: “I’m dying” when someone didn’t vet enough sleep)

Irony

A contrast between an expected and the actual outcome

There are three kinds of irony you need to know:

• Verbal Irony - when someone says one thing but means something else (sarcasm)

• Situational Irony - when the outcome is the opposite of what is expected (ex: sheep killing and eating the wolf)

• Dramatic Irony - when the viewer knows something the characters don’t (ex: Juliet isn’t actually dead, just asleep; the reader knows this but Romeo is distraught and takes his own life)

Metaphor

An implicit comparison between two things not denoted by “like” or “as”

Implied Metaphor

The use of context (usually verbs) to implicitly compare something to another thing (ex: “ Shattered by the news” - comparison of person to glass; “barked orders” - comparison of person to a dog)

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. It is called “conceit” if it is quite elaborate and between things that barely relate beyond the text.

Dead Metaphor

 A metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid: “The head of the house”, “the seat of the government”, “essay body” are all dead metaphors.

Mixed Metaphor

A metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible. (ex: “The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas.”)

Metonymy

When some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience (ex: using “White House” to refer to the president). Not a part replacing the whole or vice versa; that would be synecdoche.

Oxymoron

Combining two contradictory words (ex: “small dwarf,” “jumbo shrimp”)

Paradox

A contradictory statement that is true (ex: “Parting is such sweet sorrow”).

Personification

Giving human characteristics or actions to an animal, object, or concept

Simile

An explicit comparison between the two objects, usually indicated by words such as “like” or “as.”

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole (ex: “If you don’t drive properly, you will lose your wheels” - the wheels represent the entire car; “can you give me a band-aid?” - brand is used to refer to an item, a bandage).

Symbol

When something (object, person, action) means more than what it is.

Understatement

When someone says less than what he means; also called reverse exaggeration (ex: in pouring rain, someone says, “it’s a little wet out there”).

Imagery

Language appealing to the senses. There are several types:

• Visual - “the sun rose, dripping like a bucket of gold”

• Auditory - “the men were hacking and coughing like old beggars”

• Gustatory (taste) - “the light, rich smoothness of a chocolate mousse”

• Tactile - “the dog was as soft and warm as a blanket by the fireplace”

• Olfactory (smell) - “the sweet, fresh scent of jasmine flowers lingered in the air”

• Internal sensations (things like nausea, hunger, food poisoning, vomitting) - “at each bump on the ride, blood would come gargling up from his corrupted lungs”

Onomatopoeia (musical device)

Using a word to represent or imitate natural sounds (buzz, hiss, clang)

Alliteration (musical device)

When the FIRST consonants of different words are the same (Peter Piper picked…)

Assonance (musical device)

When the vowel sounds of different words are the same (ex: free, easy)

Consonance (musical device)

When the LAST consonants of different words are the same (ex: good, bad)

Feminine Rhyme

When the NEXT TO LAST syllables of words rhyme and the last is unstressed (ex: flower power)

Masculine Rhyme

When the LAST, STRESSED syllables of words rhyme, usually one syllable words (ex: dance pants)

Slant Rhyme

When words ALMOST rhyme but not quite (yellow – willow)

End Rhyme

When the ENDS of lines of poetry rhyme.

Internal Rhyme

When the words WITHIN a line of poetry rhyme.

Stanzas

Sections of lines of a poem

Couplet

2 lines

Tercet

3 lines

Quatrain

4 lines

Cinquain

5 lines

Sestet

6 lines

Septet

7 lines

Octave

8 lines

Foot/Feet

The building blocks of poetry; pattern of syllables, stressed & unstressed, that create the meter of a poem

Iamb

A 2-syllable foot with stress on the 2^nd syllable (ex: “below”)

Trochee

A 2-syllable foot with stress on the 1^st syllable (ex: “apple”)

Anapest

A 3-syllable foot with 2 unstressed followed by 1 stressed (ex: “understand”)

Dactyl

A 3-syllable foot with 1 stressed followed by 2 unstressed (ex: “beautiful”)

Spondee

2 stressed syllables (ex: “downtown”)

Meter

Number of feet in a line of poetry

Monometer

1 foot

Dimeter

2 feet

Trimeter

3 feet

Tetrameter

4 feet

Pentameter

5 feet

Hexameter

6 feet

Heptameter

7 feet

Octameter

8 feet

Nonometer

9 feet

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is told

1st person

Narrator is the story’s protagonist

3rd person objective

Narrator is an onlooker reporting the story

3rd person omniscient

Narrator reports the story and provides information unknown to the characters

Stream of conciousness

Narrative technique that places the reader in the mind and thought processes of the narrator, no matter how random and spontaneous that may be

Ballad

A songlike poem that tells a story

Elegy

A formal lyric poem written to honor someone who has died

Epic

A long, narrative poem about the adventures of heroes of high standing (The Odyssey)

Haiku

Poem with 17 syllables total in 3 lines [5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables]; uses one precise image to suggest an emotion

Lament

A non-narrative poem (or song) expressing deep grief or sorrow over a personal loss; related to elegy and the dirge

Limerick

A poem with 5 lines, aabba rhyme scheme (long, long, short, short, long), pun on the last line; often bawdy

Lyric

A poem which expresses the poet’s feelings about a subject (most common poetic form)

Pastoral/Idyll

A poem that idealizes country life

Ode

A long, formal lyric poem with a serious theme and elevated tone, often in praise of something

Sonnet

A 14-lined poem usually written in iambic pentameter with a definite rhyme scheme; most popular fixed form of poetry

Two basic forms:  Petrarchan [octave/sestet] and Shakespearean [3 quatrains/couplet]

Sestina

A lyric poem of 39 lines consisting of six 6-line stanzas plus a concluding 3-line stanza; contains 6 recurring end words in a fixed pattern

Villanelle

A fixed form of poetry of 19 lines in six stanzas [five tercets/final quatrain]; contains a fixed rhyme scheme and line repetition

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings (either intentional or unintentional) of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

Anaphora

The repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent.

Antagonist

The force (may or may not be a person) that opposes the protagonist

Antithesis

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

Aphorism

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.

Aside

Private words that a character in a play speaks to the audience or to another character and that are not supposed to be overheard by others onstage.

Blank Verse

Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Cadence

The natural rise and fall of the voice in spoken language; often imitated in free verse

Caesura

A pause or break in a line of poetry

Canto

A subdivision in a long poem; similar to a chapter in a book

Carpe Diem

“Seize the day”; a motif in poetry that advises one to enjoy the present pleasures because of life’s brevity and the finality of death; popular with pastoral poetry

Catalogue

A list of people, places, and things (Walt Whitman used this frequently in his poetry.)

Cliché

An overused phrase that has lost its freshness; sometimes used for ironic purposes

Conceit

An extended or fantastic metaphor comparing two unlike objects; arouses surprise, shock, or amusement; typical of metaphysical poets like John Donne

Conflict

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions

Connotation

 The emotional meaning of a word

Dialect

A way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people (think Zora Neale Hurston)

Diction

The writer’s word choice

Denotation

The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word

Dramatic Monologue

A poem in which a character addressed one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed

Enjambment

“Run on” lines in poetry that carry the completion of a statement from one line to the next

Epiphany

In a literary work, a moment of sudden insight or revelation that a character experiences

Epithet

An adjective or other descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place, or thing (ex: America the Beautiful)

Euphemism

An innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay (ex: “passed away” instead of “died” or “I was let go” instead of “I was fired”).

Flashback

To cut or piece an event from the past into the present situation in a text

Foil

A character who sets off another character by strong contrast (ex: Laertes was Hamlet’s foil.)

Foreshadow

Elements in the text that provide hints to future events

Frame story

A story within a story (ex: Frankenstein)

Free Verse

Poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme

Juxtaposition

Technique of placing two unlike images or symbols close together for the purpose of contrast

Kenning

In Anglo-Saxon poetry, a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place, or thing indirectly (gas guzzler = Hummer; foamy-throated sea stallion = ship)