AP LIt Vocab

Abstraction

a concept or value that cannot be seen (love, honor) and which the writer illustrates by comparing it metaphorically to a known, concrete object.

Allegory

A literary work that portrays abstract ideas concretely. Characters in an allegory are frequently personifications of abstract ideas and are given names that refer to these ideas.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words or syllables.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature or to art, history, or current events.

Ambiguity

Expression of an idea in such a way that suggests more than one meaning.

Analogy

In literature, a comparison between two things that helps explain or illustrate one or both of them.

Anaphora

Repetition of an initial word or words to add emphasis.

Anecdote

A brief story that illustrates a point.

Annotation

The act of noting observations directly on a text, especially anything striking or confusing, in order to record ideas and impressions for later analysis.

Antagonist

Character in a story or play who opposes the protagonist; while not necessarily an enemy, the antagonist creates or intensifies a conflict for the protagonist.

Antithesis

A contrast of ideas expressed in a grammatically balanced statement.

Aphorism

A brief, clever saying that expresses a principle, truth, or observation about life.

Apostrophe

A direct address to an abstraction (such as time), a thing (the wind), an animal, or an imaginary or absent person.

Approximate Rhyme

Using words that have some sound correspondence but imperfect rhyme

Archaic Language

Words that were once common but that are no longer used.

Archetype

A cultural symbol that has become universally understood and recognized.

Archetypal Settings

Settings that have universal aspects associated by most people with a particular human experience.

Archetypical Characters

Characters who are understood by most people to embody a certain universal human experience.

Aside

Private words spoken by a character on the stage so that the audience hears the words but the other characters do not

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words

Asyndeton

Deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses

Attitude

The author’s way of looking at a subject, implicit in the mode/genre (tragedy, satire, etc.) and essential to meaning

Ballad

A narrative poem with songlike qualities written in quatrains with the rhyme scheme abcb, usually in iambic pentameter

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Bildungsroman

A novel that explores the maturation of the protagonist, with the narrative usually moving the character from childhood to adulthood. Synonymous with Coming of Age.

Cacophony

A succession of harsh, discordant sounds in prose or verse to achieve a specific effect

Cadence

Quality of spoken text formed from combining the text’s rhythm with the rise and fall in the inflection of the speaker’s voice

Caesura

A pause in a line of verse, usually near the middle of the line

Caricature

A character with features or traits exaggerated so that the character seems ridiculous. The term is usually applied to graphic depictions but can also be applied to written depictions.

Catharsis

Refers to the emotional release felt by the audience at the end of a tragic drama.

Character, Foil

A character that contrasts another character

Character, Flat

A character embodying only one or two traits and lacking character development. Often such characters exist only to provide background or adequate motivation for a protagonist’s actions.

Character, Round

A character who exhibits a range of emotions and who evolves over the course of the story

Character, Secondary/Minor

A supporting character; while not as prominent or central as the main character, they are still important to the events of a story or play.

Character, Stock

A type of flat character based on a stereotype; one who falls into an immediately recognizable category or type and thus resists unique characterization. Stock characters are often used for humor or satire.

Characterization

The method by which the author builds or reveals a character.

Characterization, Direct

A narrator tells the reader who a character is by describing the background, motivation, temperament, or appearance of that character

Characterization, Indirect

The author shows rather than tells what a character is like through what the character says, does, thinks, or what others say about the character.

Chiasmus

Sentence strategy in which the arrangement of ideas in the second clause is a reversal of the first.

Colloquial language/Colloquialism

An expression or language construction appropriate only for casual, informal speaking or writing.

Comedy

Usually used to refer to a dramatic work that, in contrast to tragedy, has a light, amusing plot, features a happy ending, centers on ordinary people, and is written and performed in the vernacular. Structurally, comedies usually progress from chaos to order.

Comedy of Manners

A satiric dramatic form that lampoons social conventions

Comic relief

Something said or done that provides a break from the seriousness of the work.

Conceit

A literary device that sets up a striking analogy between two entities that would not usually invite comparison.

Conceit, Metaphysical

A conceit that specifically draws connections between the physical and the spiritual

Confessional poetry

Poetry that uses intimate, painful, disturbing, or sad material from the poet’s life

Conflict

The tension, opposition, or struggle that drives a plot.

Conflict, Dilemma

A type of conflict in which both choices have negative consequences

Conflict, External

The opposition or tension between two characters or forces.

Conflict, Internal

Conflict occurring within a character

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity. Can occur at the beginning, middle, or end of words and is often used to create a harmonious effect in poetry and prose.

Contrast

A literary technique in which the author examines two opposites to create an attitude, to accomplish a purpose or effect, or to make an assertion.

Couplet

Two lines of poetry

Couplet, closed

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry that express a complete thought

Couplet, Heroic

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter

Critical Lenses

different ways to approach interpreting a work of literature; also known as critical perspectives. Specific types include Cultural, Formalist, Gendered/Feminist, Historical, Psychological

Deduction

Arriving at a conclusion by making an inference from the premise

Dialect

Dialogue or narration written to simulate regional or cultural speech patterns

Diction

A writer’s choice of words.

Didactic

A work in which the author’s primary purpose is to instruct, teach, or moralize

Digression

Use of material unrelated to the subject of the work

Dramatic Monologue

A poem in which the speaker addresses one or more listeners who remain silent or whose replies are not revealed

Economy

A style of writing characterized by brevity and conciseness

Ekphrastic Poetry

A form of poetry that comments on a work of art in another genre, such as painting or music.

Elegy

a solemn, reflective poem, usually about death, written in a formal style

Ellipsis

Omission of an element from a sentence so that the grammatical structure is incomplete but the meaning is clear; often appears in aphorisms, epigrams, proverbs, and maxims

End-stopped lines

lines of poetry that end with punctuation marks

Enjambment

In poetry, the running over of a sentence from one line, verse, or stanza to the next without stopping at the first

Epic

Long narrative poem dealing with heroes and adventures, usually having a large setting and involving supernatural forces, written in a ceremonial style

Epigram

A short witty verse or saying, often ending with a wry twist

Epigraph

A motto or quotation at the beginning of a story, novel, or chapter, often indication theme

Epiphany

A character’s transformative moment of realization

Epistolary Novel

A novel comprised of letters written by one or more of the characters

Euphemism

Describing something negative in a positive way

Euphony

A choice and arrangement of words creating a pleasant sound

Fable

A brief tale that teachers a moral truth and usually features animals as characters

Farce

A dramatic form marked by wholly absurd situations, slapstick, raucous wordplay, and sometimes innuendo

Figurative Language

Language that uses figures of speech; non-literal language usually evoking strong images. Common types include metaphor, simile, personification, paradox, hyperbole, litotes, and irony.

Fixed form

Poetry which follows a specific rhyme, meter, and/or stanza arrangement

Flashback

going back in time to reveal past history that is important to the work

Foot

A unit of meter that contains a set number of syllables

Foot, Dactylic

A metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

Foot, Iambic

A metrical foot comprised of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

Foot, Trochaic

A metrical foot comprised of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable

Foot, Anapestic

A metrical foot comprised of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable

Foot, Spondee

A metrical foot comprised two stressed syllables

Form

The external pattern of the poem (continuous, stanzaic, free verse, fixed form, blank verse)

Foreshadowing

A literary technique in which the author gives hints about future events

Frame

A narrative device presenting a story or group of stories within the context of a larger work or plot

Free Verse

Poetry with no set form or meter

Gothic

A genre of literature characterized by its dark and mysterious settings. Emphasizes emotional intensity and the sublime aspects of nature and the human psyche

Grotesque

An element of gothic Romanticism in which bizarre, fantastically ugly or absurd elements are important to the overall effect

Homily

Generally means a sermon; can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice

Hyperbole

Exaggeration to create an effect, to accomplish a particular purpose, or to reveal an attitude

Imagery

Diction describing the five senses to convey tone, purpose, and effect

Induction

The process of reasoning from a part to a whole or from the general to the particular

Inference

A reasonable conclusion drawn from the information presented

Internal rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

Inverted order

Reversing the usual subject-verb-complement order, often used in poetry to conform to rhyme and rhythm patterns in poetry or for effect in prose