AP Literature Terms Part 2

Allegory

A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events 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. an indirect reference to something.

Ambiguity

Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way

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

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

Aphorism

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

Blank Verse

Unrhymed lines of poetry usually in iambic pentameter

Couplets

A pair of rhyming lines in a poem often set off from the rest of the poem

End Rhyme

Rhyming words that are at the ends of their respective lines

Conceit

an elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different

Connotation

the associations and emotional overtones that have come attached to a word or phrase

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

Free Verse

Poetry with no set meter or rhyme scheme

Iambic Pentameter

Ten syllable lines where every other syllable is stressed

Internal Rhyme

A rhyme that occurs within one line

Foil

A character who contrasts with another character most often the protagonist to highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist

Atmosphere

The feeling or sense evoked by an environment or setting

Comedy

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

Elegy

A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died

Eulogy

Great praise or congratulations often about someone who has died

Epic

A long narrative poem written in heightened language

Epigraph

A quotation or an observation at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme