AP Literature & Composition - Literary Terms & Concepts

Allegory

Allegory

Story where characters, objects, and actions have additional meanings.

Assonance

Usage of same or similar vowel sounds of several closely placed words that end with different consonant sounds. Ex - Mellow Wedding Bells

Asyndeton

The deliberate omission of conjunctions to creat a concise statement. Ex - I came, I saw, I conquered

Bildungsroman

A novel that explores the maturation of the protagonist. A coming-of-age story.

Catharsis

The emotional effect a tragic drama has on its audience.

Comedy of Manners

A satiric drama that publicly criticizes social conventions.

Consonance

Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds within and at the end of words.

Farce

A form of drama marked by absurd situations.

Foil

A character who contrasts another character.

In Medias Res

Starting a story in the middle.

Inverted Syntax

Reversal in the expected order of words.

Metonymy

Substituting a thing that represents something else that is closely related. Ex - “The Pentagon” released a statement.

Parable

Brief story that is meant to teach a lesson.

Synechdoche

Substituting a part of the whole for the whole itself. Ex - He's got a nice set of wheels. Wheels refers to a car.

Caesura

A pause or break in a line of poetry.

Elegy

Poem written in tribute to a person.

Enjambment

Continuation of a thought from one line of poetry to another.

Eulogy

Poem, speech, or other work written in praise of someone.