AP Lit - Literary Terms and Class Procedure

Alliteration

The repetition of the same sound in a group of words, either in the first letter of each word or the stressed syllables of those words.

Allusion

An unexplained, direct or indirect reference to a source, usually another piece of literature, famous person, history, or a philosophy.

Anaphora

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the start of successive clauses

Aphorism

A saying that concisely expresses a moral principle or observation about the world.

Apostrophe

The addressing of someone or something that is not present or cannot speak back.

Aside

A short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience or to themselves without other actors hearing.

Bildungsroman

A genre of novel that shows a young protagonist’s journey from childhood to adulthood.

Caesura

A pause within a line of poetry, usually marked by punctuation.

Byronic Hero

An antihero who is often arrogant, violent, traumatized, and selfish, usually rejecting social norms and having more complex rationale.

Blank Verse

A type of poetry that lacks rhymes but follows a specific meter, usually iambic pentameter.

Ballad

A type of poem that tells a story and is usually set to music, typically composed of four-line stanzas following ABCB.

Archetype

A universal symbol, character, or theme that recurs in literature and media across cultures and periods.

Anti-Hero

A prominent character who has characteristics opposite to a conventional hero, usually having mixed qualities.

Prose

Writing that is structured in a grammatical way.

Limited Omniscient

A point of view in which the narrator tells the story from one character’s perspective at a time.

Omniscient

A point of view in which the narrator tells the story knowing the thoughts and feelings of every character.

Third Person

A story told by a distinct narrator who is not a character in the story, using “he, she, they.”

First Person

A story told by a character in the story, using “I, me, my.”

Personification

The application of human attributes to non-human things.

Pathos

An argument that appeals to audience’s emotions.

Allegory

A work that conveys a hidden meaning, usually spiritual, moral, or political, through the use of symbolic characters or events.

Epic

A long, poetic work, usually centered upon a hero and his journey with an elevated voice.

Elegy

A poem of serious reflection, especially of mourning.

Dynamic Character

A character who undergoes substantial internal changes through the story or as a result of it.

Diction

A writer’s unique style of expression, especially his or her choice and arrangement of words.

Dialect

A variety of language that is distinguished from others by its use by a specific group of speakers.

Denotation

The strict, dictionary definition of a word.

Couplet

A unit of two lines in poetry, especially forming a rhyme or separated from others by a double line break.

Connotation

The emotional, evocative meaning of a word.

External Conflict

A type of conflict in which a struggle occurs between a character and an external force.

Internal Conflict

A type of conflict in which a struggle occurs within a character.

Conceit

A fanciful metaphor, especially highly elaborate, extended, or strained, to demonstrate wit.

Comedy

A play with a favorable outcome for the protagonist.

Climax

The determining point of a story, usually towards the end of the work.

Direct Characterization

A device in which an author describes a character directly.

Catharsis

An emotional release through art.

Indirect Characterization

The revealing of a character’s traits through actions, thoughts, or dialogue.

Dystopia

A society characterized by human misery, usually pertaining to squalor, oppression, disease, or overcrowding.

Equivocation

The use of ambiguous expressions, especially to mislead or hedge.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.

Rhyme

The repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, usually as interior, end, or slants.

Regionalism

A linguistic feature specific to a region and not part of the standard language of a country.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticise something or someone for the purpose of social or political commentary.

Setting

Where or when a story takes place and the effect it has on the story.

Simile

The comparison of two unlike things through “like” or “as.”

Slant Rhyme

A type of rhyme at the end of two lines that ends in two similar consonant sounds that are not identical.

Soliloquy

A speech given by a character to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings aloud.

Sonnet

A type of fourteen-line poem using iambic pentameter.

Stanza

A group of lines forming a smaller unit within a poem.

Trope

A common or overused theme, device, or archetype.

Wit

The ability to relate boring or disparate things to amuse or entertain; having clever or apt humor.

Male Gaze

The assumption that the default audience consists of heterosexual males, often positing women as objectified or sexualized.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other.

Metaphysical Poetry

Poetry that often explains the interplay between the physical and spiritual world, usually from the mid-17th century.

Meter

The regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in lines of poetry, consisting of poetical feet.

Metonymy

Referring to something with a word closely associated with it.

Metrical Foot

A basic, repeating rhythmic unit consisting of two syllables.

Mood

The general atmosphere of a work evoked in the reader.

Motif

An element or idea recurring throughout a work of literature to help develop the central theme.

Onomatopoeia

Words created to replicate sounds.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are paired to make a point or reveal a deeper truth.

Parallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical structure throughout multiple lines, paragraphs, or sentences.

Static Character

A character that does not undergo a substantial change throughout the story.

Symbol

The representation of an abstract idea through one thing, usually a physical object or phenomenon.

Synechdoche

Referring to something by its part.

Syntax

The way in which elements are put together to form phrases or clauses.

Theme

A universal idea, lesson, or message conveyed throughout a literary work.

Thesis

A central claim substantiating a specific view throughout a literary work or essay.

Tone

The general character or attitude of an author or narrator in a piece of writing.

Tragedy

A play in which the protagonist has a negative ending.

Tragic Flaw

A great flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy.

Ethos

An argument that appeals to an audience’s credibility.

Exposition

The description or explanation of background information, such as relationships, settings, or characters, within a work of literature.

Figurative Language

Language that contains or uses figures of speech that vary from their literal interpretations.

Foil

A character that contrasts another character as to reveal information, traits, values, or motivations of the other.

Free Verse

Poetry that doesn’t use a rhyme scheme or strict meter.

Genre

A form, class, or type of literary work, usually including poetry, drama, essay, short story, and novel.

Hegemony

The dominance or leadership of one group over others by force and consent.

Hubris

Tragically excessive pride or overconfidence.

Hyperbole

Deliberate over-exaggeration to emphasize and make a point.

Imagery

Any descriptive language that engages the five senses.

Intertextuality

The complex interrelationship between a text and other texts taken as essential or inspirational to the creation of the text.

Irony

A figurative device in which how things seem to be is very different from how they are, pertaining to verbal, dramatic, and situational.

Kenning

A figure of speech in which two words are combined to form a poetic expression to refer to a word or concept.

Logos

An argument appealing to an audience’s logic.

Rhythm

An ordered, recurrent alternation of stressed and unstressed elements to create a flow of sound.

Tragic Hero

A protagonist in a tragedy who has both endearing, heroic traits and flaws leading to their downfall.

Pastoral Poetry

A genre or mode of poetry that explores the relationship between humans and nature, idealizing country life and the landscape it depicts.

Grading is based on

total points

Where can you turn in late work?

The teal tray at Mrs. Fink’s desk.

Where can you get missed assignments from?

The crate on the counter at the back of the class.

Say it.

…This class is a loving, supporting community of learners, and I will do my P.A.R.T!

What does PART stand for?

Prepared, accountable, respectful, and trying your best.