AP Lit Literary Terms

Allegory

A story in which events, settings, characters, etc. stand for abstract or moral concepts

Analogy

A comparison to show similarities between disparate ideas, issues, etc.

Anaphora

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

Aphorism

A witty or concise saying that expresses a truth or principle

Apostrophe

A writer or speaker, using apostrophe, speaks directly to someone who is not present or is dead, or speaks to an inanimate object.

Canto

A subdivision of a long poem.

Conceit

An elaborate figure of speech, makes a surprising connection between dissimilar items

Deus Ex Machina

A contrived device used to inexplicably resolve a plot point, unexpected resolution

Elegy

A text, poem or narrative that laments or mourns a loss of someone or something

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Epigram

A clever, usually memorable statement, meaningful to the following text.

Epilogue

a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion

to what has happened.

Epitaph

Commemorative poem, inscription for a deceased (dead) individual

Epithet

A descriptive phrase or adjective used to characterize a person

Farce

A narrative that stereotypes characters as ridiculous, includes far-fetched events

In Media Res

Beginning a narrative in the middle

Kenning

A type of Anglo-Saxon metaphor used to name a person, place, or thing directly

Lament

A poem or song expressing grief.

Litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its

contrary (e.g., you won’t be sorry, meaning you’ll be glad)

Lyric

Emotional, music-like poetry or narrative

Motif

Refers to a word, object, image, character, etc. that repeatedly occurs within a text

Neoclassism

a revival of classical standards and forms during the late 17 th and 18 th centuries

Ode

Lyrical stanza, poem, text in praise of, or dedicated to, someone or something

Onomatopoeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

(e.g. cuckoo, sizzle )

Oxymoron

A figure of speech combining contradictory ideas or terms

Parable

An allegorical, usually short, text that teaches a moral or religious lesson

Parody

Imitation of music, literature, etc. for amusement or to make a point

Pun

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of words that sound alike but are different

Realism

The attempt to depict people and things as they really are, without idealizations

Refrain

A repetition of a phrase or series of phrases for emphasis

Romance

Historically, a medieval verse narrative chronicling the adventures of brave knights or other

heroes who must overcome grave danger for the love of a noble lady or a high ideal

Satire

Texts that criticize or ridicule human actions, weaknesses

Stream of conscientiousness

A narrative device that reflects the inner thoughts of the narrator

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas