AP Literature - Language of the Discipline Part 2

Alliteration

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of two or more neighboring words or syllables

Allusion

a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, event, or another work of art that the author expects the reader to recognize without spelling it out

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person, a dead person, an inanimate object, or an abstract idea as if it could hear and respond

Assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds within nearby words, phrases, or sentences

Cacophony

a literary device that uses a combination of harsh, unharmonious, or jarring sounds—often created by packing explosive or plosive consonants (b, d, g, k, p, t, x, ch) together—to create an unpleasant or chaotic effect

Caesura

a natural pause, break, or stop in the middle of a line of verse using punctuation

Conceit

a literary figure of speech that uses an elaborate, extended, or surprising metaphor to compare two vastly dissimilar things (a long metaphor)

Connotation

the emotional, cultural, or social feeling a word carries beyond its literal dictionary definition

Consonance

a literary device that involves repeating the same consonant sound in nearby words

Enjambment

a poetic technique where a sentence, phrase, or clause continues from one line or stanza to the next without a terminal punctuation mark or major pause

Euphony

a literary device that combines words to create a pleasant, melodious, and smooth sound that is easy to pronounce

Hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses extreme, deliberate exaggeration to make a point, add emphasis, create humor, or convey intense emotion—and is never meant to be taken literally

Imagery

descriptive language that engages the human senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, movement, and internal physical feelings—to build vivid mental pictures

Irony

a sharp contrast between expectation and reality, or between what is said and what is actually meant

Juxtaposition

a literary device where a writer places two or more characters, settings, ideas, or objects side by side to highlight their differences, reveal surprising similarities, or create a deeper emotional and thematic impact

Metaphor

a figure of speech that compares two different things by stating that one thing literally is another

Mood

the overall atmosphere and the emotional response that an author creates in the reader

Onomatopoeia

a figure of speech in which a word phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound it describes

Personification

a figure of speech that gives human traits, emotions, or actions to non-human things like objects, nature, or abstract ideas

Scansion

the analytical process of examining and marking a line of verse to reveal its rhythmic pattern, meter, and poetic feet (stressed and unstressed syllables)

Shift/Volta

a rhetorical shift, pivot, or change in a poem's thought, argument, tone, or perspective

Symbol

an object, person, situation, or action that has a literal meaning in a story but also represents a larger, abstract idea

Tone/Attitude

the author’s, narrator’s, or speaker's attitude toward the subject matter, characters, or audience