AP LIT TERMS 51-75

Epigram

A short, clever poem with a witty turn of thought; a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way

Epigraph

A brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of theme. (E.g.: Toni Morrison’s Beloved opens with the epigraph: “Sixty million and more” which says volumes about slavery.)

Epiphany

A sudden flash of insight; a startling discovery and/or appearance; a dramatic realization; an a-ha moment (E.g.: Jocasta’s sudden realization that her husband is her son is an epiphanous moment in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex.)

Epistrophe

Repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Epistolary novel

A novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters. The novelist can use this technique to present varying first-person points of view and does not need a narrator. (E.g.: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple are epistolary works.)

Epithet

an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality or characteristic of the person or thing mentioned; an identifying expression like “Prince Charming” for Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. This also works for places and objects like “Rosy-fingered Dawn” in Homer’s The Odyssey.

Essay

A short composition on a single topic expressing the view or interpretation of the writer on that topic.

euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for another that would be harsh, offensive, or embarrassing. A euphemism makes something sound better than it is but is usually wordier than the original. (E.g.: “He passed on” rather than “he died.” A dishwasher calling herself a “utensil maintenance tech.”)

Euphony

The quality of a pleasant or harmonious sound of a word or group of words as an intended effect.

Fallacy

A mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument; a failure in reasoning which renders an argument invalid (E.g.: The notion that a camera never lies is a fallacy or ad misericordiam fallacy "You need to pass me in this course, since I'll lose my scholarship if you don't.")

Farce

A kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or improbable situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience. Many situation comedies on television today might be called farces like Seinfeld or Scrubs. (E.g.: Classical examples include Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest)

Figurative language

Unlike literal expression, uses figures of speech such as a metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, and hyperbole.

First person

Point-of-view (POV) is vital to all works of literature---prose and poetry. A character in the story tells the story using the pronoun I. This is a limited point of view since the narrator can relate only events that he or she sees or hears about.

Flashback

Interruption of a narrative by the introduction of an earlier event or by an image of a past experience

Flat character

A simple one-dimensional character who remains the same, and about whom little or nothing is revealed throughout the course of the work. Flat characters may serve as symbols of types of people, similar to stereotypical characters. (E.g.: Mrs. Micawber in Dickens’ David Copperfield is the ever- loyal wife who repeatedly says, “I never will desert Mr. Micawber”)

Foil

A character whose contrasting personal characteristics draw attention in order to enhance, or contrast, with those of the main character. A character who, by displaying opposite traits, emphasizes certain aspects of another character. (E.g. Starbuck serves as Captain Ahab’s foil in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.)

Foot

the basic unit used in the scansion or measurement of metrical verse. A foot usually contains one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables.

Foreshadowing

When the author gives hints of what is to come. It is sometimes noticeable only in hindsight, but usually it is obvious enough to set the reader wondering.

Free verse

poetry that does not have regular rhythm or rhyme.

Genre

The category into which a piece of writing can be classified- poetry, prose, drama. Each has its own conventions and standards.

Hamartia

A tragic flaw

Heroic couplet

In poetry, a rhymed couplet written in iambic pentameter (five feet, each with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable). (E.g.: Alexander Pope used this form almost exclusively in his poetry: “The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read,/ With loads of learned lumber in his head.”)

Hubris

Insolence, arrogance, or excessive pride. In Greek tragedy, the protagonist’s is usually the tragic flaw that leads to his or her downfall.

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration for literary effect that is not meant to be interpreted literally.

iambic pentameter

A five-foot line made up of an unaccented followed by an accented syllable. It is the most common metric foot in English-language poetry.

u / u / u / u / u / u / u / u / u / u /

“When I have fears that I may cease to be/ Before my pen has gleaned my teeming/ brain.” (John Keats)