AP Lang Literary Terms Vocab

Allegory

The device of using story elements symbolically to represent abstractions in addition to their literal meaning (ex. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a Christian allegory)

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds within a phrase or line (ex. Betty bought a bit of butter)

ambiguity

Multiple meanings of a word, phrase, or text. Can be intentional or unintentional, adds layers of meaning and complexity (ex. I saw her duck.)

Colloquial (Colloquialism)

Slang, informal language (Ex. You’re nuts. Means you’re crazy)

Euphemism

Substituting a more agreeable or less offensive term for a generally unpleasant word or concept (Ex. Passed away (died), restroom (toilet))

Inter/Interface

To draw a reasonable conclusion from information presented; to read between the lines (Ex. Your brother opens the pantry and grabs a snack. Inference: He is hungry.)

Irony

Tension created by multiple layers of meaning or understanding (Ex. A fire station burning down)

Situational Irony

Events turn out the opposite of what is expected (Ex. A traffic cop gets a speeding ticket.)

Verbal Irony

What is stated is not what is actually meant (Ex. What amazing weather we’re having today! (When the weather is actually terrible))

Dramatic Irony

Audience/readers know more than characters (Ex. audience knows Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan to kill King Duncan, but he doesn’t know.)

Metonymy

Substituting an object closely associated with something for the thing itself (Ex. The White House signed off a new law. Meaning the president signed off))

Oxymoron

Two opposite terms placed side by side (Ex. Bitter sweet)

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement that, upon closer inspection, actually makes a logical point (Ex. Less is more)

Simile

Implied comparison of unlike things using like or as (Ex. As cold as ice)

Symbol

A physical object that also represents something else (often an abstract idea) (Ex. Four leaf clover: good luck)

Synecdoche

Substituting a part for the whole (or a whole for the part) (Ex. The suitor asked fo

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. (Ex. I may have made a minor mistake. (Calling from a jail cell))

Allusion

A reference to something commonly known (can be direct or indirect) (Ex. You just opened Pandora’s Box. Refers to a greek myth)

Juxtaposition

When 2 words, phrases, images, or ideas are placed side by side for comparison or contrast (Ex. The Tortoise and the Hare)

Anecdote

A brief story often dealing with an event from someone’s life (Ex. Mother Tongue by Amy Tan)

Syntax

The way the author arranged words into phrases, clauses, and sentences (Ex. Earnest Hemingway was known for using telegraphic sentences in some of his writing)

Tone

The author or speakers attitude toward their audience, or both. (Ex. Playful, somber, critical)

Personification

Attributing human traits to nonhuman things (Ex. The wind whispered)

Repetition

The duplication of any element of language, such as a sound, word, or phrase (Ex. Martin Luther’s I Have a Dream)

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals directly to the 5 senses (Ex. Early mornings, when the lake was cool and motionless…E.B. White from “Once More to the Lake)

Connotation

Nonliteral, associative meaning of a word, that which is implied or suggested by a word (Ex. Guest: positive Intruder: negative)

Denotation

The strict literal dictionary definition of a word (Ex. I love my bed at home.) (Wrong: It feels like home.)

Diction

Word Choice (Ex. Shakespere using poetic diction throughout a variety of his literary work.)

Figurative Language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid, often through the use of some type of comparison (Ex. Simile, Metaphor, Personification)

Hyperbole

Exaggeration, deliberate overstatement (Ex. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse)

Metaphor

Implied comparison of unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity (Ex. Life is a roller coaster)

Analogy

A comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. (Ex. Photosynthesis does for plants what digesting food does for animals.)

Antithesis

Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure. (Ex. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. -Neil Armstrong)

Aphorism

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (Ex. But race is the child of racism, not the the father. -Ta-Nehisi Coates 7).

Apostrophe

Directly addressing an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction. (ex. Oh Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman)

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. (Ex. In his poem “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” John Donne compares two lovers who must be apart to the two legs of a compass.)

Expletive

Figure of emphasis; word or phrase that adds emotion or emphasis to words on either side of it but does not add to the meaning. (Ex. In fact, of course, indeed, clearly)

Onomatopoeia

Figure of speech in which natural sources are imitated in the sounds of words (Ex. Buzz, hiss, crack, hum)

Parallelism

Also referred to as parallel construction or parallel structure, this term comes from Greek roots meaning “beside one another” (Ex. Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? - Henry David Thoreau)

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. (Ex. The Simpson’s version of Poe’s “The Raven”)

Sarcasm

Sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule something. (Ex. “stop working so hard” to someone doing nothing.)

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions for reform or ridicule. (Ex. The Onion)

Wit

Intellectual language that surprises and delights. (Ex. “Politicians and diapers must be changed often. For some reason.” -Mark Twain)