AP Literature Terminology Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering general literature terms, genres, characterization, setting, plot, narration, figurative language, diction, syntax, sound devices, and poetry based on AP Literature terminology notes.

Anecdote

A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event used in literature to entertain or reinforce the author’s purpose.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Binary Opposition

Contrasting ideas (like good/bad or light/dark) that suggest a hierarchy and assume no gray areas in major thematic contrasts.

Irony

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.

Verbal Irony

A type of irony where words literally state the opposite of the writer’s or speaker’s true meaning.

Situational Irony

A type of irony where events turn out the opposite of what was expected by characters and readers.

Dramatic Irony

Facts or events unknown to a character in a work of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters.

Juxtaposition

Placing two or more ideas, places, or characters side by side to develop comparisons and contrasts.

Paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth or an opinion contrary to traditional ideas.

Rhetorical Questions

A question asked for effect or emphasis when no real answer is expected, often used to motivate thoughtful consideration.

Rhetoric

From the Greek for "orator," this term refers to the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Sarcasm

From the Greek for "to tear flesh," it involves bitter, caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule.

Shift

A change in tone or attitude, often signaled by keywords like "but," "however," or "yet."

Style

A writer’s characteristic way of writing determined by word choice, imagery, syntax, and point of view.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work that offers insight into life.

Genre

A major category into which a literary work fits, such as prose, poetry, or drama.

Allegory

A story with two levels of meaning: the surface story/plot and a deeper symbolic level representing political, religious, or historical meanings.

Bildungsroman

A genre denoting the story of a single individual's growth and development within a defined social order.

Epistolary Novel

A novel in which the narrative is carried forward by letters written by one or more characters.

Frame Story

A story that contains another story within it, usually featuring two or more narrators.

Parable

A short, simple tale from which a moral lesson is drawn.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another for comic effect or ridicule.

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, referring to fiction and nonfiction written in ordinary language resembling everyday speech.

Satire

A work that targets human vices, follies, or social institutions for reform or ridicule using irony, wit, and sarcasm.

Horatian Satire

A gentle, sympathetic form of satire that uses wit to ask the audience to laugh at themselves.

Juvenalian Satire

Harsh criticism of a society, people, or individuals intended to affect change.

Tragedy

A branch of literature addressing the sorrowful downfall of a protagonist in a serious manner.

Characterization

The process by which description, dialogue, and behavior reveal a character’s values and traits to the reader.

Perspective

How characters understand their circumstances based on background, personality, biases, and relationships.

Motivation

The reason behind a character’s specific action or behavior, which can be intrinsic (internal) or extrinsic (physical reward).

Protagonist

The central character in a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem.

Antagonist

A force or character that opposes the protagonist; can be another person, internal conflict, society, or nature.

Foil

A secondary character who contrasts with a major character to illuminate or enhance their specific traits.

Dynamic Character

A character who undergoes internal or external changes throughout the narrative due to conflicts and experiences.

Static Character

A character who does not undergo inner changes and remains unaffected by the events of the narrative.

Round Character

A complex, multi-faceted character with depth in feelings and passions, similar to a real person.

Flat Character

A simple character with only one or two qualities who does not undergo significant growth or change.

Epiphany

A moment of sudden realization that allows a character to see things in a new light, often affecting the plot.

Aside

A short comment delivered by a character directly to the audience or themselves, which other actors on stage supposedly do not hear.

Soliloquy

An extended speech delivered by a character alone on stage to express their thoughts privately.

Setting

The time, place, and social/historical situation in which the events of a text occur.

Anachronism

From the Greek for "against time," an error of chronology where something is placed out of its correct historical time.

Atmosphere/Mood

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, often established by setting and descriptive details.

Plot

The sequence of connected events in a narrative, often linked by cause-and-effect and conflict.

Exposition

The part of the plot focusing on characters, their relationships, and the setting.

Climax

The turning point of the story and the moment of highest interest and emotion.

Resolution (Denouement)

The part of a work where problems are unraveled and conflicts are resolved or left intentionally unresolved.

External Conflict

Tension between a character and outside forces, including Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, or Man vs. Society.

Internal Conflict

Psychological tension within a character, such as Man vs. Self.

Catharsis

From the Greek for "cleansing," an emotional discharge leading to moral or spiritual renewal.

In Medias Res

Literally "in the midst of things"; beginning a narrative in the middle of its action.

Deus Ex Machina

The introduction of an implausible concept or divine character to resolve a conflict; often viewed as a sign of an ill-structured plot.

Narrative Pacing

The manipulation of time in a text through details, frequency of events, and syntax.

Persona

Literally "a mask"; a second self or voice created by an author through whom the narrative is told.

Reliable Narrator

A speaker whose values align with the author and who demonstrates wide knowledge of the situation.

Unreliable Narrator

A protagonist who lacks credibility and cannot be trusted to tell events accurately due to insanity, delusion, or other factors.

First-person Point of View

Narration by a character involved in the story who uses first-person pronouns.

Third-person Omniscient

An all-knowing narrator who presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters.

Third-person Limited

A narrator who presents the thoughts and feelings of only one character, usually the protagonist.

Stream of Consciousness

A narrative style that attempts to replicate the continuous flow of a character’s thought processes.

Tone

The writer’s attitude or feeling about a subject, inferred through diction and connotations.

Allusion

A reference to another literary work, myth, artwork, or historical event to create intellectual associations.

Analogy

Explaining something unfamiliar by associating it with something more familiar and simpler.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent/imaginary person or a personified abstraction like love.

Conceit

An extended metaphor comparing two extremely dissimilar things, often in an ingenious or far-fetched way.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for comic or serious effect.

Metaphor

An implied comparison of seemingly unlike things, suggesting some similarity.

Pathetic Fallacy

A literary device that attributes human qualities and emotions to inanimate objects of nature.

Personification

Endowing concepts, animals, or inanimate objects with human attributes or emotions.

Simile

An explicit comparison between two unlike things using "like," "as," or "than."

Synaesthesia

The mixing of the senses, such as describing a sound that "smells" or a "loud color."

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it actually is.

Diction

The writer's specific word choices, described as formal, informal, ornate, or plain.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Connotation

The non-literal, associative, or suggested meaning of a word, often involving emotions or attitudes.

Ambiguity

The presence of multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, in a word or passage.

Colloquialism

The usage of informal or everyday language, often geographic or regional in nature.

Epithet

An adjective or descriptive phrase used to characterize a person or thing, such as "Alexander the Great."

Euphemism

From the Greek for "good speech," a less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept.

Idiom

A fixed expression whose figurative meaning is different from its literal meaning.

Malapropism

The inappropriate use of one word for another that resembles it, often creating a humorous effect.

Oxymoron

From the Greek for "pointedly foolish," a grouping of contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Pun

A play on the meaning of words, involving repetition of a word in different senses or words that sound alike.

Absolute

A phrase consisting of a noun and an "ing" or "ed" verb form that modifies the whole sentence.

Antithesis

Literally "opposite," a device where two opposite ideas are put together for a contrasting effect.

Asyndeton

The intentional elimination of conjunctions between phrases while maintaining grammatical accuracy.

Polysyndeton

The use of several coordinating conjunctions in succession for artistic effect.

Parallelism

The use of grammatically similar components in a sentence to add emphasis, organization, or rhythm.

Anaphora

A form of parallelism involving the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Antistrophe

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Chiasmus

A structure where the grammatical order of the first clause is reversed in the second.

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences; sentence structure.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.

Assonance

The repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words with different starting consonants.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds, typically at the end or middle of words.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated by the sounds of words.

Cacophony

A harsh, unpleasant, or unmelodious combination of sounds, often using explosive consonants.

Euphony

Pleasing, melodic sounds, generally using vowels and nasal consonants (l, m, n, r).

Meter

A generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Iambic

A rhythmic foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable (duh-DUH).