Ap English Literature Terms

Muncy Sr High School AP Lit Te

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (ex. peter piper picked a pack of peppers)

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Ambiguity

a word, phrase, or statement that can be understood in more than one way.

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses (ex. Give me liberty, or give me death)

antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

pair of statements of images that sharply contrast, one reversed the other.

Aphorism

a concise statement of a truth or principle (ex. "actions speak louder than words")

Apostrophe

a speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity (ex. the sun rose high in the bright sky, emphasis on "eye" or long "i" sound)

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words (ex. I came. I saw. I conquered.)

atmosphere

the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

attitude

how an author or character feels about something in a novel

Ballad

A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas

Bildungsroman

a novel dealing with one person's formative years, their development, and education.

blank verse

Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.

dynamic character

A character who grows, learns, or changes throughout the story

static character

A character who does not change during the story.

round character

Complex character that goes through development

flat character

uncomplicated characters that do not change/develop

direct characterization

Author directly describes character

indirect characterization

Author subtly reveals the character through actions and interactions.

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (ex. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going)

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquialism

Literary device that uses informal words/phrases/slang, informal and can be regionally specific.

Conceit

a comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature, in particular an extended metaphor within a poem (extended metaphor)

external conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force (man, nature)

internal conflict

man vs. self, character struggles internally

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests (can be positive, negative, or neutral)

couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

heroic couplet

a pair of rhyming iambic pentameters found in an epic or heroic poem

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word without connotation

details

pieces of information (about character, setting, etc.) that support or tell more about the main idea

devices of sound

the techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry (rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia)

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words used to convey meanint

didactic

fiction, nonfiction, or poetry that teaches a specific moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

digression

a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing (getting of track from the main point)

elegy

a sad or mournful poem

end-stopped

a term that describes a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause often indicated by a mark of punctuation (colon, semi-colon, period)

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. (continues across a line break)

Epic

A long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds (ex. Homer's Odyssey)

epic simile

A long extended comparison used in epic poems

epigram

witty comment (ex. "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.")

epilogue

a short passage added at the end of a literary work, rounds out/completes a work

Epiphany

visionary moment when a character has a sudden insight or realization

Epistle

a letter or literary composition in letter form

Ethos

Ethical appeal to your sense of right & wrong (credibility).

Euphemism

substitution of an inoffensive term for one that is offensive ("passed away" instead of "died")

Exposition

Background information presented in a literary work, introduces characters, setting, and plot.

figurative language

uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

free indirect style

When the voice of a third person narrator takes on the style and "voice" of one of the characters in the story.

free verse

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter

Gothicism

a style in fictional literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence

grotesque

aims to elicit empathy & disgust, focuses on the human body and ways it can be distorted and exaggerated

Hexameter

a line containing six feet ( -uu|-uu|-uu|-uu|-uu|-u)

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

Iamb

unstressed and stressed syllables (ex. a- MUSE, to- DAY)

Imagery

language that appeals to the senses

internal rhyme

rhyme between two words found in the same line/sentence. (ex. I went to town to buy a gown)

verbal irony

saying the opposite of what you mean

situational irony

something unexpected happens

dramatic irony

audience knows something the characters don't

Jargon

specific language used by a specific group or profession (ex. computer nerd terms)

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Litote

understatement (ex. saying "it's not the best weather" during a hurricane)

Logos

an appeal to the audience based on logic or reason

loose sentence (cumulative)

An independent clause followed by one or more modifiers (ex. I went to the movies yesterday, bought candy, and shopped at the mall.)

lyrical

Songlike poem; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.

malapropism

a word humorously misused (ex. "he is the pineapple of class" "you mean pinnacle?")

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Metonomy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Motif

a reoccurring element that conveys the theme (ex. roses to love)

narrative techniques

the methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts

Ode

A formal lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject. Usually addresses and celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea.

omniscient point of view

third person pov where the narrator is capable of knowing, telling, and seeing all

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents. (ex. buzz & bang)

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. (ex. same difference)

Parable

A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true (ex. I can't live with or without you)

Parrallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns in literature

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Pathos

to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions, emotional persuasion

Pentameter

a line containing five feet; Consists of 10 syllables in a stressed/unstressed pattern.

periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end. (ex. I couldn't wait any longer, I went to sleep.)

Personification

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

first person point of view

the narrator is a character in the story, perspective of "I"

third person point of view

the narrator is not a character in the story, does not use "I" or "we"

third person limited

the narrator tells what only one character thinks, feels, and observes. Other characters are external.

Polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions in close succession (ex. Not snow nor rain nor heat nor hail will stop us.)

Prose

written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure, follows the natural flow of speech.

Realism

Literary genre that focuses on ordinary individuals, reflects on real life with accurate descriptions.

Reliability

a quality of some fictional narrators whose word the reader can trust

resources of language

a general phrase for the linguistic devices or techniques that a writer can use

Rhetoric

the art of using language effectively and persuasively to persuade, move, & entertain an audience.

rhetorical question

A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer

rhetorical techniques/strategy

words or phrases used to convey meaning, provoke a response from a reader, and to persuade.

Romanticism

a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature, individual experience, idealization of women, and embrace of melancholy.