Ap lang Literary terms 1-20

allegory

A story in which character or events stand for abstract or moral concepts

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close to one another example : baby blue or rough and ready

Allusion

reference to a statement, a person, a place, event, or thing from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture

Analogy

a comparison of two things to show that they are alike in certain respects

Antagonist

the character or force that opposes or blocks the protaginist or main character, in a narrative

Antithesis

a contrast of ideas expressed in a grammatically balanced statement

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding

Archetype

recurring patterns (plot structures, symbol, character types, themes) that occur in mythology, religion, and stories across cultures and time periods

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

Assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in words that are close together. example: piter piper....

Atmosphere

The mood of feeling in a literary work

Autobiography

a written account of the authors own life

Ballad

a song or songlike poem that tells a story

Biography

A ccount of a persons life written by another person

Blank verse

poetry written in unrymed iambic pentameter

Cadence

the natural rise and fall of the voice

character

an individual in a story or play

Characterization

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

Cliché

an expression that was fresh and apt when first coined but now is so overused that it has become hackneyed and stale
example: Busy as a bee

Climax

The greatest point of emotional intensityor suspense in a plot