Ap Lit Terms

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Ambiguity

instances where a sentence, literary work, or piece of media can have multiple possible interpretations

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Ancedote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Antithesis

A literary device that states that two objects are different from each other.

Anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Carsura

a strong pause within a line of verse

Catharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

Characterization

the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.

crux

a textual passage that is corrupted to the point that it is difficult or impossible to interpret and resolve

Dialect

a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

Diction

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation or insight

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.

Irony

when a moment of dialogue or plot contradicts what the audience expects from a character or story

Juxaposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite

Metonymy

figure of speech in which the name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely related to or suggested by the original,

microcosm

a small society, place, or activity which has all the typical features of a much larger one and so seems like a smaller version of it, within literature. Think Frankenstein

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Motif

A recurring theme, subject or idea

Polysyndeton

the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural

Protagonist

Main character in a story

Rhetoric

the art of using language effectively and persuasively

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

Synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")

Theme

the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.

Vernacular

the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region within literature