AP Literature Terms, Mr. Soliven's Class 2025-2026

Anecdote

Story to illustrate a lesson, Ex: Great Gatsby

Antithesis

Opposite, Ex: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times from Tale of Two Cities

Apostrophe

Addressing an absent person, Ex: Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo from Romeo and Juliet

Archetype

A typical example of a person or thing, Ex: Robinhood is the outlaw archetype

Aside

A remark to the audience, Ex: Lincoln in the Loud House

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds within words Ex: The need for speed

Ballad

A song detailing a story Ex: Most country music

Bildungsroman

A coming of age story, Ex: Harry Potter

Close Reading

Analyzing a text

Comic relief

Spiderman in Marvel movies

Connotation

The figurative definition of a word Ex: Hip as in cool and not as in the bone

Convention

Features of a specific genre Ex: Dystopias have dictators, chaos, and normalized wrongs

Deconstructionist Criticism

Examines a text for internal contradictions Ex: In the Hunger Games, Katniss who is "Good" has bad traits

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word Ex: Hip as in the bone, not as in cool

Dénouement

The resolution of a story

Dialect

A regional or social variety of language

Concrete Diction

Specific and direct language that refers to tangible items and only cites facts Ex: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, where the narrator states "My new clothes was all greased-up and clayey, and I was dog-tired."

Abstract Diction

Discusses concepts rather than physical things Ex: Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death," abstract concepts like immortality are being personified

Epiphany

Aha moment

Fable

NON-religous story that teaches a moral

Farce

A humorous work that uses exaggerated situations to entertain. Ex: Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors

Flashback

Interrupts chronological order of story to show an earlier event

Foreshadowing

Gives clues to later events in the story

Gothic Fiction

A genre of literature that combines horror, mystery, and the supernatural, often set in dark, gloomy settings

Hamartia

A fatal flaw Ex: Achilles's Heel

Hubris

Fatal pride Ex: Victor Frankenstein making his monster

Hyperbole

Exaggeration Ex: "My mom is going to kill me if I fail this test"

Impressionism

Describes feelings, sensations, and emotions

In media res

In the middle of the action Ex: the start of Forest Gump

Irony

When something happens that is the opposite of what you expect

Catharsis

A change of heart Ex: When the Grinch's heart grew three sizes

Legend

A story about human events/actions that isn't proved Ex: Bigfoot, the Lochness monster

Local Color

Unique aspects of a specific area/culture Ex: Dels Freeze is a local color of Melbourne

Magic Realism

Genre that makes fantastical occurrences seem normal Ex: Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Mary Poppins

Melodrama

Dramatic piece with sensationalized emotions w/ multiple plots Ex: Titanic movie, Soap operas and telenovellas

Metafiction

Fictional piece that parodies its own structure, or a "show within a show" Ex: The Truman show

Metonymy

Figure of speech where part refers to a whole Ex: The White House refers to the President and his/her staff

Microcosm

Mini model of a larger thing Ex: A dollhouse is a microcosm of a house

Dramatic Monologue

Long theatrical speech by an individual

Motif

Recurring theme Ex: The green light in Great Gatsby, symbolizes Gatsby's longing for Daisy

Novella

A work of fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. Ex. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Onomatopoeia

literary device of sound words Ex: Boom, clank, pow, thud

Pantomime

Dramatic entertainment where performers express meaning through gestures accompanied by music

Parable

a simple story that illustrates a RELIGIOUS lesson

Paradox

A contradiction

Parallelism

Similar grammatical elements to emphasize similar ideas Ex: "I Have a Dream Speech"

Paraphrase

Restate text in own words

Parody

Satirical imitation of a writing/writing style Ex: Weird Al songs

Peripeteia

Sudden change in fortunes Ex: Rags to Riches like Cinderella

Persona

Narrative voice an author adopts

Picaresque

Prose fiction that follows the adventures of a roguish, lower-class hero Ex: Breaking Bad

Point of View

Perspective from which a story is told

Pulp Fiction

Racy, action-based stories published in cheaply printed magazines from 1900 to 1950s

Pun

Play on words Ex: You can tune a guitar but you can't tuna fish

Realism

Ordinary mundane subject matter in a straightforward way

Regionalism

focused on accurately portraying unique culture, customs, dialects, and landscapes of a specific geographic area

Simile

Comparison using like/as Ex: He was as sad as a puppy

Soliloquy

Speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself in a play

Stream of Consciousness

Writing that shows a character's continuous flow of thoughts, feelings, and impressions, often jumping around without clear order or grammar

Interior Monologue

Shows a character's thoughts in a more structured way, often clearer and more organized than stream of consciousness

Surrealism

Mixes dreamlike, strange, or illogical ideas with reality to explore the unconscious mind and reveal deeper truths Ex: Metamorphosis, Salvador Dali's work

Synecdoche

Figure of speech where a part represents the whole, specific form of metonymy

Ex: "Lend me a hand" meaning you need the person's help

Synopsis

Brief summary of the main points or events in a text

Tall Tale

Story with exaggerated characters and events, often humorous or unbelievable

Tone

Author's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience

Tragedy

Main character dies

Allegory

Narrative where characters, events, and settings are symbolic and represent a deeper, often moral or spiritual meaning Ex: In Lord of the Flies, children represent societal struggles and moral philosophies

Alliteration

Repeating the same sound at the start of a word Ex: The big blue bubble burst

Analysis

Detailed examination of a text's elements such as plot, setting, character, language, and themes to interpret the author's choices and understand how they contribute to the work's overall meaning/purpose

Canon

Group of works widely considered to be important, influential, and representative of a culture or tradition

Paradox

A statement that seems impossible but is actually true Ex: This statement is false

Syntax

Way words are arranged to be able to make a sentence Ex: Yoda rearranges his words to make a point

Trope

A recurring theme/device Ex: Enemies to lovers

Dystopia

genre or setting that depicts a flawed, oppressive, or nightmarish society, often used to criticize real-world issues

Utopia

depicts a perfect, idealized society without flaws

Polemic

Argument that attacks as belief

Horatian Satire

Makes fun of human flaws in a way that's not meant to attack

Juvenalian Satire

Criticizes corruption, injustice, and stupidity with more dry humor

Ambiguity

Something has more than one possible meaning

Epithet

A nickname used to characterize a person, place, or thing. Ex: The Rock is Dwayne Johnson

Euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive expression for one that may offend Ex. "Passed Away", instead of "Died"

Active voice

Makes your meaning in sentences clearer Ex: Zombies killed him

Passive voice

Subject of the sentence is the one receiving the action, not doing it Ex: He was killed by zombies

Caricature

Description of a person that exaggerates certain features to make them look funny

Foil

Direct opposite of a character

Stock character

Character with very predictable traits for its role in the media Ex: Gandalf as the wise mentor