AP LIt Prose Terms

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Antecedent

a thing or event that existed before or logically precedes another

Aphorism

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.

Aside

A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words (and and and and and)

Bildungsroman

a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education, coming of age story

Catalogue

a list of things, people, or events

Deus ex machina

In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem.

Digression

a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing

Epistolary Novel

A novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to another.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Existentialism

A philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions

Flashback

A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character, can parallel too

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

In Media Res

a piece of writing that begins in the middle of the action

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

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 ).

Magic Realism

A style of writing in which realistic details, events, settings, characters, and dialogue are interwoven with magical, bizarre, fantastic, or supernatural elements.

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it

Modernism

A cultural movement embracing human empowerment and rejecting traditionalism as outdated. Rationality, industry, and technology were cornerstones of progress and human achievement.

Naturalism

A nineteenth-century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was.

Oxymoron

conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

Parable

a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson

Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

Pastoral

A work of literature dealing with rural life

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Picaresque

involving clever rogues or adventurers especially as in a type of fiction

Polysyndeton

the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural "If there be cords, or knives, or poison, or fire, or suffocating streams, I'll not endure it"

Postmodernism

Post-World War II intellectual movement and cultural attitude focusing on cultural pluralism and release from the confines and ideology of Western high culture.

Pun

a humorous play on words

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

Romanticism

a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Soliloquy

A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, "wheels" to refer to a car

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.

Understatement

the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.

Victorian

of or pertaining to the reign of Queen Victoria; also someone who shares the values of that period