Ap Lang Figurative Language Words

Bias

Bias refers to a systematic preference or prejudice that can distort judgment, leading to unfair or unbalanced conclusions. It can manifest in various forms, such as cognitive bias, cultural bias, and confirmation bias.

Characterization

The portrayal or description of someone or something, often influenced by the author's subjective perspective or emotions, leading to potential bias in interpretation.

Flashback

A narrative technique that involves a scene or event from the past being presented during the current timeline of the story. It provides background and context to the characters' motivations and experiences.

Flat character

A character with little depth, often defined by a single trait or characteristic. They do not undergo significant growth or change throughout the story.

Foreshadowing

A literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.

Limited POV

A narrative perspective where the story is told from the viewpoint of one character, limiting the insights into other characters' thoughts and feelings.

Meter

A unit of measure in poetry that specifies the rhythm and pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created by a literary work, influencing the reader's feelings.

Narrator/Speaker

The character or voice that tells the story or provides insight into the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Omniscient POV

A narrative mode where the narrator knows all characters' thoughts, feelings, and experiences, providing a comprehensive perspective on the story.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal to emotion, aiming to evoke feelings in the audience to persuade them.

Round character

A character with depth and complexity, exhibiting varied traits and evolving over the course of a narrative.

Style

A particular manner of expression in literature that influences the tone and aesthetics of a work. It encompasses elements like diction, sentence structure, and figurative language.

Suspense

A literary device used to create a feeling of excitement or anxious uncertainty about what may happen next in a story, often keeping readers engaged and eager to learn the outcome.

Symbol

A mark or character that represents an idea or concept, often used in literature to convey deeper meanings.

Thesis statement

A single sentence that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay or paper, guiding the direction of the argument.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence, often used for emphasis or poetic effect.

Anecdote

A short, interesting story or an amusing event used to illustrate a point in writing or speech.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words, used to create rhyme and rhythm in poetry or prose.

Argument

A statement or series of statements intended to convince or persuade an audience about a particular point of view.

Central idea

The main point or underlying theme that expresses the overall message of a text.

Character tag

A descriptive label for a character that highlights their traits or role in a narrative.

Claim

A statement that asserts something to be true, often forming the basis of an argument.

Climax

the turning point of a narrative, representing the peak of tension and drama, and the point where the conflict's resolution begins to unfold

Conflict

the struggle between opposing forces, driving the narrative and creating tension

Dialogue

the spoken exchange of words between two or more characters

Falling Action

the events that occur after the climax of a story, leading towards the resolution or conclusion

Figurative language

the use of words and phrases in a way that goes beyond their literal meaning to create a special effect, enhance understanding, or evoke emotions

First Person POV

a narrative perspective where the story is told by a character within the story, using pronouns like "I," "me," and "my"

Genre

a category of literary composition, characterized by similarities in form, style, and subject matter

Hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect

Idiom

a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its individual words

Imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to create a vivid mental picture for the reader

Metaphor

a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things by stating that one thing is another, without using "like" or "as"

Onomatopoeia

a literary device where words are used to mimic the sounds they describe, creating a vivid and immersive experience for the reader

Organizational pattern

the way that a text is organised above sentence level. Texts are made up of predictable patterns of structures, grammar and vocabulary

Personification

a figure of speech where human qualities or characteristics are attributed to inanimate objects, animals, or abstract ideas

Plot elements

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

Poetic form

the structure and organization of a poem, encompassing elements like line length, rhyme scheme, meter, stanza length, and overall layout on the page

Point of view

the perspective from which a story is narrated

Repetition

the literary device where sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas are repeated within a text to create an intended effect

Rhyme scheme

a poet's deliberate pattern of lines that rhyme with other lines in a poem or a stanza

Rhythm

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse, creating a flow and musicality

Resolution

the conclusion of a story's plot, occurring after the climax and falling action

Rising action

the events in a story that build tension and suspense, leading up to the climax

Scenes

a specific unit of storytelling that takes place in a particular time and setting, often defined by changes in location or character presence

Setting

the time and place in which a story unfolds, encompassing not only the physical location but also the social, historical, and cultural context of the narrative

Simile

figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things using the words "like" or "as" to create a vivid image or highlight a shared quality

Sound devices

techniques writers use to enhance the sound of their writing, creating specific effects and enriching meaning, especially in poetry

Stage directions

written instructions within a play's script that guide actors, directors, and the production team on how to stage the performance

Stanza

a grouped set of lines within a poem, functioning as a recurring unit

Stereotypes

a widely held, oversimplified, and often inaccurate idea about a group of people or a type of character

Theme

the underlying message or big idea that the author is conveying to the reader, often about life, society, or human nature

Third Person POV

a narrator who is not a character in the story tells the story using pronouns like "he," "she," or "they."

Voice

an author's or narrator's distinct style and personality as expressed through their writing