AP Literature and Composition Terms

Summer Assignment ^^

Absolute

a word free from limitations or qualifications.

Example: "best," "all," "unique," "perfect."

Adage

a familiar proverb or wise saying.

Allegory

a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions.

Alliteration

the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words.

Allusion

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize.

Analogy

a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way.

Anaphora

the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences.

Anecdote

a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.

Antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.

Antithesis

a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced.

Aphorism

a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance.

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction.

Archetype

a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response.

Argument

a statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work.

Asyndeton

a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions.

Balanced sentence

a sentence in which words, phrases, or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast.

Bildungsroman

a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character: in particular, his or her psychological development and moral education.

Chiasmus

a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed.

Example: "Fair is foul and foul is fair."

Cliché

an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off.

Climax

the point of highest interest in a literary work.

Colloquialism

informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing.

Complex sentence

a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Compound sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or

more conjunctions.

Conceit

a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor.

Concrete details

details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events.

Connotation

the implied or associative meaning of a word.

Cumulative sentence

a sentence in which the main independent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of modifying clauses or phrases.

Declarative sentence

a sentence that makes a statement or declaration.

Deductive reasoning

reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word.

Dialect

a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region.

Dialogue

conversation between two or more people.

Diction

the word choices made by a writer.

Didactic

having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing.

Dilemma

a situation that requires a person to decide between two equally attractive or equally unattractive

alternatives.

Dissonance

harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds.

Elegy

a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme.

Ellipsis

the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context (“Some people prefer cats; others, dogs.”)

Epic

a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation.

Epigram

a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying.

Epigraph

a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work.

Epiphany

a moment of sudden revelation or insight.

Epitaph

an inscription on a tombstone or burial place.