2026 AP Lit Vocabulary List

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary terms from the 2026 AP Literature course, designed to aid in understanding important literary concepts and terminology.

imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and evokes mental images.

symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

irony

A contrast between expectation and reality.

verbal irony

When a speaker says one thing but means another.

dramatic irony

When the audience knows something that the characters do not.

situational irony

When the opposite of what is expected occurs.

reliable narrator

A narrator whose credibility is established.

naive narrator

A narrator who lacks the understanding of the full situation.

unreliable narrator

A narrator whose credibility is compromised.

point of view

The perspective from which a story is told.

Freytag’s pyramid

A diagram that illustrates the structure of a narrative.

exposition

The introduction of background information in a story.

inciting incident

An event that sets the main plot into motion.

rising action

A series of events that build tension and develop the conflict.

climax

The turning point or most intense moment in the story.

falling action

Events that follow the climax and lead towards resolution.

denouement

The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.

resolution

The conclusion of the story's plot.

conflict

The struggle between opposing forces in a story.

narrative

A spoken or written account of connected events.

en media res

Beginning a story in the middle of the action.

flashback

A scene set in a time earlier than the main story.

foreshadowing

Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

protagonist

The main character in a story, often a hero.

antagonist

A character or force that opposes the protagonist.

coming-of-age story

A story about the growth or maturity of a character.

bildungsroman

A novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education.

epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation or insight.

round character

A complex character with depth and personality.

dynamic character

A character that undergoes significant internal change.

flat character

A simplistic character without much depth.

static character

A character that does not change throughout the story.

stock character

A stereotypical character easily recognizable by audiences.

stereotype

A widely held but oversimplified idea of a particular type of person.

foil

A character that contrasts with another character.

direct characterization

The author explicitly describes a character's traits.

indirect characterization

The author reveals a character's traits through their actions, thoughts, and dialogue.

first person point of view

The narrator is a character in the story, using 'I' or 'we'.

second person point of view

The narrator addresses the reader directly with 'you'.

third person point of view

The narrator is outside the story and refers to characters as 'he', 'she', or 'they'.

omniscient narrator

A narrator who knows everything about all characters.

limited omniscient narrator

A narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of one character.

objective narrator

A narrator who reports only what can be seen and heard.

stream of consciousness

A narrative technique that captures the continuous flow of a character's thoughts.

frame story

A story within a story.

symbol

Anything that represents something else.

allegory

A story with a double meaning; often moral or political.

archetypes

Universal symbols that evoke responses from the audience.

allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

theme

The central idea or message in a literary work.

diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in writing.

denotative meaning

The literal meaning of a word.

connotative meaning

The emotions and associations connected to a word.

formal diction

A style of writing that uses elegant, higher-level language.

informal diction

A style of writing that uses everyday language.

slang

Informal language that is often specific to a particular group.

colloquialism

A word or phrase that is not formal and is used in everyday conversation.

extended metaphor

A metaphor that is extended over several lines or throughout an entire work.

conceit

An elaborate or extended metaphor.

oxymoron

A figure of speech in which two contradictory terms appear together.

hyperbole

Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.

understatement

The presentation of something as being smaller or less important than it is.

paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but may nevertheless be true.

personification

Attributing human qualities to non-human things.

syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

cumulative sentence

A sentence that starts with an independent clause and adds subordinate elements.

periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning at the end.

inverted sentence

A sentence where the predicate comes before the subject.

inversion

Reversing the usual order of words to create emphasis.

tone

The author's attitude toward the subject.

mood

The emotional quality or atmosphere of a work.

parallel structure

Using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line.

caesura

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

rhythm

The pattern of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables.

meter

The basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse.

feet

The basic unit of measurement in poetry, consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables.

iambic

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

iamb

A foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

iambic pentameter

A type of meter used in poetry that consists of five iambs.

Italian/Petrarchan sonnet

A sonnet consisting of an octave and a sestet.

Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet

A sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a couplet.

epic

A long narrative poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.

epitaph

An inscription on a tombstone.

euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered harsh.

stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem, often sharing a common rhyme scheme.

elegy

A mournful poem, typically written in remembrance of someone who has died.

lyric poem

A poem that expresses personal emotions or feelings.

ode

A type of lyric poem that praises or glorifies an event or individual.

dirge

A slow, mournful song or poem, often lamenting the dead.

ballad

A narrative poem that tells a story, typically in a simple and direct style.

villanelle

A 19-line poem with a specific structure of five tercets and a quatrain.

pastoral

A literary work that deals with rural life and often idealizes it.

requiem

A mass for the repose of the souls of the dead.

tercet

A stanza or poem of three lines.

quatrain

A stanza or poem of four lines.

free verse

Poetry that does not have a regular rhyme scheme or meter.

dramatic monologue

A poetic form in which a single character speaks to a silent listener.

alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.