AP Lit Common Literary Terms

simile

a comparison of two seemingly unlike things that uses comparative words (such, like, as,etc)

vehicle

the aspect of a comparison (metaphor/simile/analogy, etc) that coneys (“drives”) intended understanding of the subject; the thing being used to describe the subject

pathetic fallacy

a type of personification in which inanimate aspects of nature (weather, landscape) are given human qualities or feelings. Usually reflects or foreshadows events and contributes to tone

mixed metaphor

when two or more incongruous vehicles are used to describe the same tenor

metaphor

a comparison of two seemingly unlike things that does not use comparative words

tenor

 the aspect of a comparison (metaphor/simile/analogy, etc) that is the literal subject; the thing that is being described

rhetorical question

a question is asked not to get answered but to emphasize an already implied conclusion

figurative language

words or phrases that are not intended to be interpreted literally

synecdoche

a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. 

For example, the phrase “all hands on deck,” means “all men on deck,” not just their hands

understatement

a form of irony in which a point is expressed as lesser in some way than it really is

1st POV

indicated by pronouns I, me, we, etc. Narrator tells a story in which they are a character

2nd POV

indicated by pronoun you. Narrator tells a story in which the reader is a character

3rd Omniscient POV

indicated by pronouns they, he, she, it, etc. Narrator is not a character in the story but knows everything about all the characters and events including inner thoughts, full backgrounds, etc.

3rd Objective POV

indicated by pronouns they, he, she, it, etc. Narrator is not a character in the story but knows only what is visible; does not know the thoughts or feelings of any characters

3rd Limited POV

indicated by pronouns they, he, she, it, etc. Narrator is not a character in the story but knows the thoughts and feelings of only one or a select few characters

Verbal irony

 implying a different meaning from, and often opposite of, what is actually stated. Can be misconstrued as sincere (ex. “Die early, and avoid the fate [of being famous].”)

Situational irony

that which is expected is not what occurs (not necessarily the opposite of what’s expected)

Dramatic irony

when the audience knows something that one or more of the characters do not know

Cosmic irony

outcome of character action seems to be controlled by forces larger than the self (fate, the universe, the gods)

metonymy

one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. 

For example, in the expression The pen is mightier than the sword, the word pen is used for “the written word,” and sword is used for “military power”

intrusive narration

 the narrator offers commentary on characters and events in a clear effort to influence the perceptions of the audience

parallelism

repetition of syntactical structure of a line or phrase

periphrasis

 the point is stated by deliberate circumlocution rather than directly 

*circumlocution - the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive

personification

nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes

unreliable narration

the narrator interprets events and intentions in their narration and thus influences (intentionally or unintentionally) the perceptions and attitudes of the audience. First person narrators are more likely to be unreliable. Tone is meant to be seen as exaggerated or misleading

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds

atmosphere

the predominant mood in all or part of literary work (established through setting, dialogue, diction, etc)

speaker

the voice that “speaks” a poem; as opposed to the “narrator” of a book or story

diction

word choice; phrasing

syntax

the order/arrangement of words in a line of poetry (or in a sentence)

theme

the central idea that a work conveys; that which the author intended the reader to understand, think about or know as a result of having read the work, established through plot, characterization, motif, and other elements

assonance

repetition of internal vowel sounds

apostrophe

spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea

antithesis

words or phrases with opposite ideas or meanings are balanced against each other. Example: “To err is human, to forgive divine” (Alexander Pope)

sarcasm

taunting use of approval or praise when the opposite is what is felt. More crude than verbal irony and is intended to cause emotional pain

anaphora

intentional repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines, stanzas, sentences or paragraphs

hyperbole

a deliberate and purposeful exaggeration

litotes

a positive is stated by negating its opposite; e.g. no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy; a form of understatement that requires the negative statement rather than just the understatement

enjambment

a line of poetry which is not end-stopped, in which the thought continues into the next line without any pause

tone

the attitude that a literary speaker expresses toward their subject matter and audience 

(term is derived from spoken discourse in which listeners attend to a speaker's voice in order to assess feelings about the topic at hand and about the speaker’s relationship to their audience / the speaker’s conception of the audience’s intelligence, sensitivity, receptivity, etc. In written discourse, must be inferred via diction, syntax, POV, selection of detail)

verisimilitude

writing that tries to be close to the truth (real-seeming) as possible

stanza

a grouping of lines of poetry, indicated by an empty space before the next one begins

rhyme

The repetition of the end sounds of nearby words

oxymoron

a kind of paradox that links seemingly contradictory elements that turn out to make sense together

repetition

the reiterating of a word or phrase within a poem

allusion

a reference to another work, an historical or mythical event, person, etc

paradox

a statement that appears contradictory or impossible but turns out to express a striking truth

onomatopoeia

words that sound like the idea or thing they represent

imagery

descriptive language that relies on at least one of the five senses

symbol

anything (word, phrase, person, action, etc) that represents itself but also stands for a more abstract idea

mood

the overall feeling of a text often created by the author’s use of imagery and word choice

motif

a recurring idea found in a work. Established through plot and symbols. Contributes largely to theme

chiasmus

a verbal pattern (a type of antithesis) in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. Example: You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget

pun

a play on words in which an effect is produced by using a word that suggest two or more meanings or involves words with similar sounds

analogy

a comparison of two seemingly different things so that a larger point can be made based on the comparisons

foreshadowing

allusion to a later point in the story

in media res

beginning “in the middle”

*Latin phrase meaning “in the midst of things” used to describe when a story opens with the character already in the middle of things

flashback

an interruption to the chronological order of the plot in order to provide context, information, or a scene that took place before the timeline of the current plot sequence

frame narrative

narrative technique in which there is a story within a story