AP Lit Final

Allusion

Reference to a famous person or event

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonants

Ambiguity

Deliberately adding double meanings to words/phrases to deepen meaning

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

Antecedent

the noun that the pronoun refers back to

Antithesis

Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas

Caesura

Stop or pause in a metrical line, often marked by punctuation or by a grammatical boundary such as a phrase or clause

Catharsis

an emotional release experienced by the audience when they witness intense emotions and conflicts being resolved

Conceit

an elaborate, extended metaphor that compares two strikingly unlikely things

External conflict

a character’s fight with other characters or outside forces

Internal conflict

a character’s fight with their emotional/mental state

Diction

An author’s intentional word choice, structure, tone, characterization, theme, etc.

Dramatic Monologue

a poem written in the voice of a persona—not the poet—who addresses a silent listener at a critical moment

Dramatic Situation

the specific circumstances, setting, and interpersonal conflict that form the core of a poem or narrative

Elegy

A lament or serious reflection about death or grief

Enjambment

the running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next without terminal punctuation

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

Extended metaphor

metaphor that continues throughout multiple lines, stanzas, works of literature, etc.

First-person narrator

Narrator is in the story. Uses I/Me.

Ex: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Foreshadowing

a narrative device where authors plant subtle hints, symbols, or omens early in a text to suggest future plot developments, creating suspense and thematic unity

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Imagery

creates associations and meanings through appeals to the 5 senses

Lyric

a short, non-narrative poem focusing on a speaker’s personal, intense emotions or thoughts rather than a plot

In media res

a narrative technique where a story begins in the midst of crucial action rather than at the chronological beginning

Verbal irony

saying the opposite of what is meant

Dramatic irony

audience knows more than the characters

Situational irony

opposite of expected outcomes happening

Juxtaposition

placing of two contrasting things side-by-side to highlight differences, deepen meaning, or enhance thematic complexity

Metaphor

An implied comparison between two things by speaking of one (the tenor) in terms of the other (the vehicle). Often with the verb “to be”

Mood

the emotional atmosphere or "feeling" a literary work evokes in the reader, created through setting, imagery, diction, and tone

Motif

a recurring element—such as an image, symbol, object, phrase, or idea—that appears throughout a literary work to develop a central theme

Narrator

the person telling the story

Narrative bias

the subjective, often skewed perspective of a narrator or author that influences how events and characters are presented

Narrative reliability

the evaluation regarding whether a narrator can be trusted

are they being truthful? do they have other objectives/motives? are they consistent? etc.

Paradox

a statement, situation, or concept that appears self-contradictory, illogical, or absurd on the surface but reveals a deeper, profound truth or complex meaning upon closer examination

Pathetic Fallacy

Giving emotion to inanimate objects. A type of personification

Personification

Attributing a personality to an animal, an inanimate object, an idea, or abstraction

Perspective

how the narrator react to certain situations based on their personality and character

Closed form poetry

Follows traditional patterns of lines, meters, rhymes, and stanzas.

Ex: sonnets, haikus, rhymed couplets

Open form (Free verse)

Authors determine patterns of lines, meter, rhyme, and stanza

Point of view

the speaker. the narrative perspective.

Protagonist

the central character who drives the plot forward, faces the main conflict, and often undergoes significant change or transformation

Repetition

purpose: creates emphasis

Reliability

the trustworthiness and credibility of a narrator or speaker in a text, assessing whether they provide an accurate, unbiased account of events

Setting

a dynamic, functional element encompassing social, cultural, and historical contexts

Simile

A comparison between two things that resemble each other in at least one way, usually introduced by “like” (when nouns are used) or “as” (when verbs are used). The thing being compared is the “tenor”, the thing it is being compared to is the “vehicle”

Soliloquy

a dramatic device where a character speaks their inner thoughts, emotions, or plans aloud while alone on stage, or oblivious to others, directly revealing their true, private state of mind to the audience

Sonnet

14 lined poems, usually in iambic pentameter. highly structured by theme and rhyme

2 types: Petrarchan/Italian, Shakespearean/English

Speaker

The person saying the phrase/sentence

Symbols

a concrete object that holds deeper meaning that reveals thematic concepts

Syntax

strategic organization of words, phrases, structure, etc. to create meaning and emphasize certain points

Thematic topic

a broad, universal subject—such as love, betrayal, or alienation—explored throughout a literary work

Thematic statement

a complete sentence that articulates the central, universal message or insight a work of literature conveys about human nature, life, or society

Tone

the author’s or speaker's attitude toward their subject, audience, or characters, conveyed through diction, syntax, imagery, and irony

Understatement

Expresses an idea as less important than it is

Thesis

addresses the prompt and ties in the meaning of the work as a whole

Claim

a defensible argument to the prompt

Line of reasoning

a logical, organized sequence of claims and evidence that supports an overarching, defensible thesis

Evidence

specific details/examples/quotes to support a thesis or claim

Commentary

analysis and interpretation of textual evidence