AP Lang Lit Terms

Alliteration

the reptition of initial consonant sounds

Allusion

An implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or a thing or to another text

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses

Antimetabole

Originates as “turning about”. Involves repeating a phrase in reverse order

Assonance

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within words, phrases, or sentences

Asyndeton

A stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between phrases, and in the sentence, yet maintain grammatical accuracy

Consonance

Diction

Epistrophe

Epithet

Imagery

Metaphor

Mood

Paradox

Parallelism

Polysyndeton

Rhetorical Question

Simile

Symbolism

Tone

Ambiguity

Anadiplosis

Antimeria

Aphorism

Cliché

Conceit

Connotation

Denotation

Euphemism

Hyperbole

Invective

Juxtaposition

Litotes

Malapropism

Metonymy

Periphrasis

Polyptoton

Syndecdoche

Synesthesia

Understatement