ap lit terms

simile

simile

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”).

metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

speaker

the perspective of whom the story is told by

assonance

in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of each line of a poem, speech, or sermon

tone

the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept him falsely true ).

onomatopeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).

motif

a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.

foreshadowing

be a warning or indication of (a future event).

vehicle

the components of a metaphor, with the tenor referring to the concept, object, or person meant, and the vehicle being the image that carries the weight of the comparison

tenor

the person, place, or thing being described in a metaphor

understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

intrusive narration

one who interrupts the story to provide a commentary to the reader on some aspect of the story or on a more general topic.

unreliable narration

any narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly

diction

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

apostrophe

a literary device that involves a character addressing a person, object, or idea that isn't present or is imaginary, as if it were a person

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real.

repetition

repeating

imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work

chiasmus

a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form; e.g. ‘Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds

in media res

In medias res is a Latin phrase that means “in the middle of things.” It's a literary device that refers to a story that begins in the middle of the plot, rather than at the beginning. The missing events are then filled in later through flashbacks, dialogue, or other techniques.

pathetic fallacy

the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.

rhetorical question

a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

1st pov

the narrator is a person in the story, telling the story from their own point of view. The narration usually utilizes the pronoun I

2nd pov

uses the pronoun “you” to address the reader. This narrative voice implies that the reader is either the protagonist or a character in the story and the events are happening to them.

3rd omniscient

where the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters

3rd objective

the narrator reports the events that take place without knowing the motivations or thoughts of any of the characters.

3rd limited

the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character

parallelism

the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc

alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

syntax

the study of how words, phrases, and clauses are arranged in a sentence to create meaning

antithesis

a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other, such as “hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins”

litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad ).

stanza

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.

allusion

an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text.

symbol

a mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process, e.g.

pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings

flashback

move to a scene in a movie, novel, etc. that is set in a time earlier than the main story.

mixed metaphor

a combination of two or more different metaphors, often producing a silly or humorous effect

figurative language

a way of using words or phrases that have meaning but are not literally true

verbal irony

when what is said is the opposite of the literal meaning

situational irony

when the outcome is the opposite or completely different from what was expected

dramatic irony

a literary device by which the audience's or reader's understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.

cosmic irony

when the outcome of a character's actions seem to be controlled by fate, the universe, or the gods

periphrasis

a literary device that uses a longer or less direct way of saying something

atmosphere

the feeling or mood that an author creates for the reader through their use of setting, objects, and characters' thoughts.

theme

the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.

sarcasm

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

enjambment

(in verse) the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

rhyme

correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.

paradox

a statement or situation that seems contradictory but can be true or make sense after further reflection

mood

the emotional response or general feeling a writer evokes in the reader through their writing

analogy

a literary device that compares two different ideas or concepts to help explain a new concept or idea to the reader

frame narrative

a literary device that involves a story within a story, or multiple stories within a story.