AP Lit Vocab Quiz

Irony

A technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposite to what is stated

Colloquialism

A word or phrase that’s used in spoken English but not in standard or written English

Connotation

The other meanings a word suggests

Denotation

A word’s literal meaning

Concelt

An elaborate metaphor, used in poetry

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something the characters do not

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence unit from one line to the next without a pause

Syntax

The patterns by which sentences are formed

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor (direct comparison between two things) which continues through a poem

Metonymy

A figure of speech when the name of one thing is substituted for another related one

Synecdoche

A figure of speech when a part is used to refer to a whole, the whole for the part or the special for the general

Protagonist (vs antagonist)

The main charcter of a novel or a play

Point of View

The perspective from which the action takes place

Paradox

A statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

Omniscient Narrorator

A third person narrator who sees into every character’s mind

Symbol

Something that refers to itself while also representing something else