AP LIT

Allegory

A narrative or description having a second or symbolic meaning beneath the surface one

Allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history

Anecdote

A short account of an interesting or humorous incident

Artistic unity

That condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

Euphony

A smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

Genre

A type or class, as poetry, drama, etc.

Imagery

The representation through language of sensory experience

Mood

The pervading impression of a work

Moral

A rule of conduct or maxim for living expressed or implied as the "point" of a literary work. Compare Theme.

Prose

Non-metrical language; the opposite of verse

Theme

The main idea, or message, of a literary work. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly.

Tone

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject, the audience, or herself or himself; the emotional coloring, or emotional meaning, of a work

Topic

The subject matter or area of a literary work. Not to be confused with theme.

Setting

The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs

Symbol

(literary) Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well, a figure of speech which may be read both literally and figuratively.

Verse

Metrical language; the opposite of prose

Voice

The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or a character in a book

Antagonist

Character in a story or poem who opposes the main character (protagonist). Sometimes the antagonist is an animal, an idea, or a thing.

Character

(1) Any of the persons involved in a story or play [sense 1] (2) The distinguishing moral qualities and personal traits of a character [sense 2]

Characterization

The process of conveying information about characters

Deuteragonist

the second most important character, after the protagonist, often a foil or eventual antagonist

Direct presentation of character

A method of characterization in which the author, by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a character is like, or has someone else in the story do so

Dynamic character

A character (sense 1) who during the course of a story undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of character (sense 2) or outlook.

Flat character

A character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is summed up in one or two traits

Foil

a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight various features of that other character's personality, throwing these characteristics into sharper focus.

Hero

A man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold exploits, and favored by the gods

Hubris

Overbearing and excessive pride

Indirect presentation of character

That method of characterization in which the author shows us a character in action, compelling us to infer what the character is like from what is said or done by the character

Protagonist

The main character of a novel, play, or film

Round character

A character (sense 1) whose character (sense 2) is complex and many sided.

Static character

A character who is the same sort of person at the end of a story as at the beginning.

Stock character

A stereotyped character.

Tragic Flaw

A flaw in the character of the protagonist of a tragedy that brings the protagonist to ruin or sorrow

Aside

A brief speech in which a character turns from the person being addressed to speak directly to the audience; a dramatic device for letting the audience know what a character is really thinking or feeling as opposed to what the character pretends to think or feel

Colloquial

Informal, conversational language

Dialogue

(1) Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. (2) A literary work written in the form of a conversation.

Dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary

Diction

Word choice

Euphemism

Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one

Figure of speech

Broadly, any way of saying something other that the ordinary way; more narrowly (and for the purposes of this class) a way of saying one thing and meaning another.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth

Invective

Denunciatory or abusive language.

Monologue

(1) A dramatic soliloquy. (2) A literary composition in such form

Proverb

A short, pithy saying that expresses a basic truth or practical precept

Pun

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words

Sarcasm

Bitter or cutting speech; speech intended by its speaker to give pain to the person addressed

Soliloquy

A device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters.

Slang

A kind of language esp. occurring in casual or playful speech, usu. made up of short-lived coinages and figures of speech deliberately used in place of standard terms

Understatement

A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants.

Exposition

The part of a play (usually at the beginning) that provides the background information needed to understand the characters and the actions.

Conflict

A clash of actions, desires, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story or drama. Conflict may exist between the main character and some other person or persons; between the main character and some external force—physical nature, society, or "fate"; or between the main character and some destructive element in his or her own nature. A struggle that takes place in a character's mind is called internal conflict.

Rising action

That development of plot in a story that precedes and leads up to the climax

Climax

The turning point or high point of a plot

Falling Action

The falling action immediately follows the climax and shows the aftereffects of the events in the climax

Denouement

(Also called the resolution) the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis for them and the reader. Sometimes a hint as to the characters' future is given

Irony

A situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy. Three kinds of irony are distinguished in this class:

Dramatic irony

An incongruity of discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true (or between what a character perceives and what the author intends the reader to perceive).

Irony of situation

A situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

Epistolary novel

a novel written as a series of documents.

First person point of view

The story is told by one of its characters, using the first person.

Flashback

A literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into a narrative.

Flashforward

A literary device in which a later event is inserted into a narrative.

In medias res

(into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning, establishing setting, character, and conflict via flashback and expository conversations.

Limited omniscient point of view

The author tells the story, using the third person, but is limited to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tells us only what that one character thinks, feels, sees, or hears.

Linear structure

a plot that follows a straight-moving, cause and effect, chronological order

Objective point of view

The author tells the story, using the third person, but is limited to reporting what the characters say or do; the author does not interpret their behavior or tell us their private thoughts or feelings.

Omniscient point of view

The author tells the story, using the third person, knowing all and free to tell us anything, including what the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do.

Narrator

the speaker or the "voice" of an oral or written work. Although it can be, the narrator is not usually the same person as the author. The narrator is one of three types of characters in a given work, (1) participant (protagonist or participant in any action that may take place in the story), (2) observer (someone who is indirectly involved in the action of a story), or (3) non participant (one who is not at all involved in any action of the story). The narrator is the direct window into a piece of work.

Nonlinear structure

is when the plot is presented in a non-causal order, with events presented in a random series jumping to and from the main plot with flashbacks or flashforwards; or in any other manner that is either not chronological or not cause and effect, for example, in medias res.

Point of View

The angle of vision from which a story is told.

Stream of consciousness

Narrative which presents the private thoughts of a character without commentary or interpretation by the author

Unreliable narrator

a narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromised. Unreliable narrators are usually first-person narrators.

Anticlimax

A sudden descent from the impressive or significant to the ludicrous or inconsequential

Catastrophe

The concluding action of a classical tragedy containing the resolution of the plot

Comic Relief

A humorous incident introduced into a serious literary work in order to relieve dramatic tension or heighten emotional impact

Dilemma

A situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable

Deus ex machina

(god from the machine) The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence (so named from the practice of some Greek dramatists of having a god descend from heaven at the last possible minute—in the theater by means of a stage machine—to rescue the protagonist from an impossible situation).

Indeterminate ending

An ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved

Inversion

A reversal in order, nature, or effect

Motivation

An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action

Mystery

An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense

Paradox

A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements

Plot

The sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed

Plot manipulation

A situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved

Plot device

An object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story. Often breaks suspension of disbelief.

Prologue

An introduction or a preface, esp. a poem recited to introduce a play

Red herring

a literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item or person of significance

Scene

A subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and the time continuous Suspense: That quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end Suspension of Disbelief: An unspoken agreement between writer and reader: "I agree to believe your make-believe if it entertains me."

Subplot

A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work

Surprise

An unexpected turn in the development of a plot

Comedy

A type of drama, opposed to tragedy, having usually a happy ending, and emphasizing human limitation rather than human greatness.

Comedy of manners

Comedy that ridicules the manners (way of life, social customs, etc.) of a certain segment of society

Satire

A kind of literature that ridicules human folly or vice with the purpose of bringing about reform or of keeping others from falling into similar folly or vice.

Scornful comedy

A type of comedy whose main purpose is to expose and ridicule human folly, vanity, or hypocrisy

Romantic comedy

A type of comedy whose likable and sensible main characters are placed in difficulties from which they are rescued at the end of the play

Farce

A type of comedy that relies on exaggeration, horseplay, and unrealistic or improbable situations to provoke laughter

Escapist literature

Literature written purely for entertainment, with little or no attempt to provide insights into the true nature of human life or behavior.

Fable

A short narrative making an edifying or cautionary point and often employing animal characters that act like human beings