Kelly's Wonderful AP Lit Vocab

allegory

Story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.

alliteration

Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

allusion

Reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from literature, etc.)

ambiguity

Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way- this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness and detracts from the work.

analogy

Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike.

anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.

anecdote

Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual.

antagonist

Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

antihero

Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes, may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.

anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object. (Personification)

apostrophe

Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.

assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together.

aside

A statement delivered by an actor in such a way that the other characters on stage are presumed not to have heard him.

chiasmus

In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed.

indirect characterization

Author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the ch. looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the ch. Says, by revealing the ch. private thoughts and feelings, their effect on other chs or by showing the ch. in action. Common in modern Literature

direct characterization

Author tells us directly what the character is like, sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantics relied on this form.

static

one who does not change much in the course of a story

dynamic

one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action."

flat

one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.

Round

more dimensions to their personalities, they are complex, just like a real person."

catalog

A list of things. It can be any length and may rhyme or not.

cliche

A word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse.

colloquialism

A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.

comedy

A story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters.

conceit

An elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.

confessional poetry

A twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life.

conflict

The struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.

External conflict

between two people, between a person and nature or a machine, or between a person a whole society.

Internal conflict

involving opposing forces within a person's mind.

connotation

The association and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.

couplet

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.

dialect

A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area.

diction

A speaker or writer's choice of words.

didactic

Form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

elegy

A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. A Eulogy is great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died.

enjanment

(in verse) the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

epic

A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.

aphorism

Brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth.

epanalepsis

Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.

epigraph

A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

epistrophe

Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. (The opposite of anaphora)

epithet

An adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality.

explication

Act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

fable

A very short story told in prose or poetry that teachers a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.

farce

A type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.

figurative language

Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe.

flashback

A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at a n earlier time.

foil

A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny sidekick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero.

foreshadowing

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the plot.

free verse

Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times"

imagery

The use of language to evoke a picture of a concrete sensation of a person, thing, a place, or an experience.

irony

A discrepancy between appearances and reality.

verbal irony

occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.

situational irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

dramatic irony

is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true.

juxtaposition

"Poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit. juxtaposition is also a form of contrast by which writers call attention to dissimilar ideas or images or metaphors."

litotes

A form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form.

local color

a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its custom, clothing, dialect and landscape.

lyric poem

a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker. A ballad tells a story.

metaphor

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like as than, or resembles.

implied metaphor

Does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison: "I like to see it lap the miles" is an implied metaphor in which the verb lap implies a comparison between "it" and some animal that "laps" up water.

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. (conceit if it is quite elaborate)

dead metaphor

is a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid: "The head of the house", "the seat of the government", "a knotty problem" are all dead metaphors.

mixed metaphor

a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible. "The President is a lame duck who is running out of gas."

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. "We requested from the crown support for our petition." The crown is used to represent the monarch.

mood

An atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected.

motif

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work, unifying the work by typing the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme.

motivation

The reasons for a character's behavior.

onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sounds echo their sense: "Pop" and "Zap.

oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase "Jumbo shrimp" and "Pretty ugly," and "Bitter-sweet"

parable

A relatively short story that teaches a moral, or a lesson about how to lead a good life.

paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth.

parody

A work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style.

personification

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

point of view

The vantage point from which the writer tells the story.

first person pov

the first person point of view uses the pronouns "I," "me," "we," and "us," in order to tell a story from the narrator's perspective.

third person pov

the narrator exists outside the events of the story, and relates the actions of the characters by referring to their names or by the third-person pronouns he, she, or they.

omniscient pov

god-like or all-knowing because the narrator has access to all aspects of the story, including each character's knowledge, thoughts, feelings, actions and backstory

objective pov

a narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events.

intrusive pov

A narrator who directly addresses the reader and offers commentary on characters and events.

Plot

the series of related events in a story or play, somethings called the storyline.

Protagonist

The central character in a story the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero, like John Proctor in The Crucible, there is always a tragic flaw in his character which will lead to his downfall.

Pun

A "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sounds alike but mean different things.

Quatrain

A poem consisting of four lines or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit (Often consist of alternating rhyme)

Refrain

A word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem.

Rhythm

A rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language.

Romance

In general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful.

Satire

A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change.

Simile

A figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles.

Soliloquy

A long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage.

Stereotype

a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices.

Stream of Consciousness

A style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) working of a character's mind

Style

The distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax.

Symbol

A person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole.

Theme

A sentence that explains the insight about the human experience of the human condition of a literary work.

Tone

The attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

Understatement

A statement that says less than what is meant

Vernacular

The language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality.