AP Lit - Literary Terminology

prose

prose

a written composition with complete sentences that follows most conventions of gramar mechanics (e.g. novels, short stories, textbooks, etc.)

verse

a written composition that often makes use of rhythm and rhyme; may or may not adhere to written conventions (e.g. poems, older plays, songs, etc.)

fiction

a composition that is about events that are not real

non-fiction

a composition that is about events that are believed to be real, factual, or have occurred

denotation

a literary and exact definition of a word; like what you see in a dictionary

connotation

the implications or suggestions indicated by a word; added meaning given to a word by society

simile

a direct comparison using “like” or “as” (e.g. “He is as scared as a cat.”, “She is fast like a cheetah.”)

metaphor

a comparison (direct or indirect) between two things (e.g. “He is a scaredy cat.” “She is a cheetah.”)

idiom

a commonly understood expression that does not make literal sense for the given situation (e.g. “It is raining cats and dogs.”, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”)

personification

a kind of metaphor giving human qualities to inhuman things (e.g. “My car growled with frustration as I tried to urge it up a hill.”, “My phone is dead.”)

apostrophe

when the speaker of a text addresses someone who is not present or something that is not human (e.g. “O’Canada, we stand on guard for thee.”, “Mr. Social Media App, why do you make me feel so lonely and inadequate?”)

metonymy

a type of metaphor where something is referred to by something else that commonly associated with it (e.g. “Ottawa is sending help to the provinces for the affordable housing crisis.”)

synecdoche

A type of metaphor where a specific part of something is used to refer to the whole (e.g. “All hands on deck”, “eyes forward, class”)

hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration (e.g. “This test is going to kill me!”, “There were millions of people on the bus today.”)

allusion

a reference to a commonly understood character, person, or event (e.g. “When Walter mentioned he had not studied for the test, Jose’s only advice was to use the force.”)

paradox

an apparent contradiction that is actually true (e.g. “The more one knows, the more they realize how little they know.”)

pun

word play where two words with the same or similar sounds, but different meanings, are exchanged for one another (e.g. “The cat’s tale was too long; he never knows when to be quiet.”)

understatement

aka meiosis; the act of presenting something as less significant than it really is (e.g. “Hamlet is a slightly relevant play.”)

euphemism

a word or phrase that softens or obscures a hard reality (e.g. “Grandma passed away today.”)

stream of consciousnesss

the flow and flux of thoughts and feelings as they pass through a narrator or character’s mind; often appear in a style that breaks from formal prose

colloquial

language that is informal and casual (e.g. “I am so gonna fail this test.”, “This test is legit!”)

rhetorical appeals

techniques for convincing the reader/listener that the speaker is correct (originally from ancient Greek orators)

ethos

appeal to credibility; using one’s experience, education, status, and reputation to convince a reader/listener

pathos

appeal to emotion; using ideas or stories that create an emotional reaction in order to convince the reader/listener

logos

appeal to logic; using logical points involving facts and/or logical reasoning to convince the reader/listener

assonance

a pattern created by repeated vowel sounds (e.g. “That rh__y__me is a s__i__gn of the t__i__mes.”)

consonance

a pattern created by repeated consonant sounds anywhere in the word (e.g. “Mi__k__e’s new bi__k__e is a __c__ool c__olour called space bla__ck.”)

alliteration

a type of consonance where the pattern is created by only initial consonant sounds (at beginning of words or stressed syllables) (e.g. __C__arol flies such __c__ool __k__ites.”)

onomatopoeia

a word which imitates the sound of the object it describes (e.g. “The tick tock of the clock drove me mad while I waited for the start.”)

repetition

the repeating of words or phrases for effect (e.g. Macbeth = “Tomorrow and tomorrow, and tomorrow/creeps in this petty pace from day to day.”)

introduction

introduces main characters, setting; hints at central idea and conflict; purpose is to engage the reader and spur them on

exposition

a section of the text which explains something in detail; a procedure or incident could be explained in a step-by-step manner; commonly occurs in intrdocution but may appear elsewhere

description

a section of text which describes something in detail; draws mental picture for the reader of a person, place, or thing

initial incident

first bit of action; gets plot moving and is usually a minor event; often the catalyst for the plot

rising action

where events in plot come with increasing speed or significance; things will seeem to be speeding up and becoming more intense or exciting; tension will build during this period

climax

usually final conflict in novel; involves protagonist (hero/narrator) and antagonist (villain/oppposing forces); usually most exciting plot event, and all other preceding events make it possible

falling action

aka denouement; occuring just after the climax, the falling action slows the plot down and helps further explain what happened in the climax

resolution/conclusion

wraps-up the actions and reflects on novel’s theme; usually provides closure for reader

indeterminate/inconclusive endings

ending which leave the reader with some unanswered questions

flashback

a plot device that interrupts present action of a story to explain events that happened in past; will reveal important information about a character or situation

flash forward

the opposite of flashback; skips forward to a future time in order to reveal something yet to come

foreshadow

a hint or clue of what is to come; prepares reader for eventual outcome of action or character development

setting

description of time, place, mood, and tone in a piece of writing; divided into two types: physical and emotional/atmosphere

physical setting

place and time; may be described in rich detail, or just briefly mentioned

place

five senses (sight - appearance; touch - texture, temperature, pain or pleasure; hearing - strange noises, music; smell - scents, odours; taste - flavours, eating experience)

time

year, month, day, or time of day; present day, historical, futuristic; duration of time that a story covers

emotional/atmosphere setting

feeling of a place

mood

feeling created by setting and/or characters of a story (e.g. A murder mystery may create a suspenseful mood.)

tone

the narrator’s, or author’s, critical attitude towards a subject as revealed by the characters adn emotional setting

conflict

struggle being experienced by one or more of the central characters

person vs person

conflict between two characters (external)

person vs self

conflict between a character and themself (internal)

person vs environment/society

conflict between a character and the rest of society/nature

direct character presentation

the author, or character in a story, tells the reader what a particular character is like

indirect character presentation

the author shows the reader what a particular is like by revealing that character’s thoughts, actions, statements, mannerisms, etc.

narrator

someone who tells the story; may or may not be a character in the story

protagonist

main character of the story; usually but not always “the good guy/girl”; may be more than one

antagonist

force against protagonist; usually another character (often the “bad guy/girl”) but not always; sometimes is a thing, animal, or society itself; often heavily involved in central conflict of story; may be more than one

flat character

a character with one dimension; does not have multi-faceted personality; usually have minor parts in the story; are described with one or two characteristics only; serve as part of the setting

round character

a character who has many dimensions; can be described by listing many different characteristics; vivid and usually more involved in the plot more than flat characters

static character

a character who does not change; may still have very interesting or strong characteristics; keeps same characteristics throughout story; simplier person to understand

dynamic character

a character who changes; grow or degrade as story progress; comes to realization part way through story and then will change their attitude or way of thinking accordingly; people who learn and adapt before our eyes

stock character

a stereotyped flat character; characters are the same in many different stories (e.g. mad scientist, knight in shining armour, spoiled rich kid)

character foils

two contrasting characters; contrast is so apparent that they actually emphasize traits of each other; opposites who come in contact with one another frequently

point of view

perspective from which a story is told by the narrator

first person

main character who narrates as the “I” in the story; may be central character or a minor one; no direct interpretation by author

second person

writing to someone specifically or giving instructions (e.g. a letter to a friend, a guidebook)

third person

narrator is telling the story from a removed context

third omniscient

narrator can describe and comment on the thoughts of several major characters; uses pronouns “he”, “she”, or “they”; does not use “I” and “we”

third person limited omniscient

narrator can describe and comment on the thoughts of one major character; uses pronouns “he”, “she”, or “they”; does not use “I” or “we”; reader finds out thoughts and feelings of only one character; can shift from one character to another in different parts of a novel

third person objective

narrator is like a camera, can only record actions and words of characters; cannot see into character's’ minds; narrator does not comment or express his/her personal opinions

irony

when the opposite of what is expected actually occurs; expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humourous or dramatic effect

verbal irony

a contrast between a character says and what a character actually means; sometimes is sarcastic but not always

situational irony

occurs when there is a contrast between what the reader expects to happen and what actually does happen in the plot

dramatic irony

occurs when the audience understands a character’s mistakes or misunderstandings, and the character does not; contrast between audience’s understanding and the understanding of a character

symbol

something that stands for something else; a concrete image that calls to mind a complex idea (e.g. objects, characters, events, settings)

theme

underlying central idea of a story; illustrates some truth about life or human nature; author’s message to reader; may be stated explicity or alluded to implicitly; not a moral or general topic