AP LIT YELLOW TERMS

Abstract

A general idea or concept, not a physical object.

Allegory

A story where characters represent abstract ideas.

Analogy

A comparison used to explain an idea.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Catharsis

Emotional release at the end of a tragedy.

Climax

Moment of greatest tension.

Colloquialism

Informal, everyday language.

Complex Sentence

Independent clause + subordinate clause.

Compound Sentence

Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction.

Compound-Complex Sentence

At least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

Concrete

A specific, physical thing.

Conflict

Struggle driving the plot.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds.

Dependent Clause

Has subject and verb but not a complete thought.

Dialect

Speech reflecting regional or cultural patterns.

Dialogue

Written conversation between characters.

Elegy

Poem about death or mourning.

End-Stopped Line

Line of poetry ending with punctuation.

Enjambment

Line continues without pause.

Epiphany

Sudden realization.

Exposition

Background information.

Form

Structure of a literary work.

Free Verse

Poetry without regular rhyme or rhythm.

Hubris

Excessive pride.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration.

Iambic

Unstressed syllable followed by stressed.

In Media Res

Starting in the middle of action.

Independent Clause

Complete sentence on its own.

Motif

Repeating image or idea.

Narrative

The story itself.

Narrator

Voice telling the story.

Narrative Frame

Story within a story.

Ode

Poem addressing an object or idea.

Overstatement

Exaggeration for effect.

Oxymoron

Contradictory terms together.

Parallelism

Repeated grammatical structure.

Pastoral

Idealized rural life.

Passive Voice

Subject is acted upon.

Persona

Voice adopted by author.

Plot

Sequence of events.

Point of View

Perspective of narration.

First Person POV

Uses 'I'.

Second Person POV

Uses 'you'.

Third Person Limited

Focuses on one character.

Third Person Omniscient

Knows all characters’ thoughts.

Pun

Wordplay.

Refrain

Repeated line.

Reversal

Sudden change in fortune.

Rhetorical Question

Asked for effect.

Rhyme

Repeated sounds.

Rhyme Royal

Seven-line stanza, iambic pentameter.

Rhyme Scheme

Pattern of rhyme.

Satire

Criticism using irony.

Sarcasm

Saying opposite of what is meant.

Simple Sentence

One independent clause.

Slant Rhyme

Near rhyme.