AP Literature Terms Used on Exams (Allegory to Imperative)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key AP Literature terms from Allegory through Imperative.

Allegory

A story in which people, things, and events have another meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.

Allusion

A reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person, or work.

Ambiguity

Multiple meanings a literary work may communicate, especially two meanings that are incompatible.

Antecedent

That which goes before; the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.

Apostrophe

Direct address to someone or something that is not present.

Asyndeton

A series of words or phrases that are presented without conjunctions; example: Veni, vidi, vici.

Attitude

A speaker's, author's, or character's feelings toward or opinion of a subject.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter; the meter of most of Shakespeare's plays and Milton's Paradise Lost.

Caesura

A pause or break within a line of verse (poetry only).

Clause

A group of words with a subject and verb that may or may not form a complete sentence; can be independent or dependent.

Connotation

The implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning (denotation).

Convention

A device of style or subject matter that is so often used it becomes a recognized means of expression.

Cumulative Sentence

Also called a loose sentence; a sentence in which the main clause comes first and is followed by subordinate clauses.

Denotation

The dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to its connotation.

Diction

Word choice; the specific words used for effect and meaning.

Didactic

A piece of writing that is explicitly instructive.

Ellipsis

The omission of one or more words necessary for a complete construction that is still understandable.

End-stopped Lines

Lines of verse that end with a pause, punctuation, or complete syntax.

Epigram

A pithy, often satiric saying or remark that is brief and pointed.

Euphemism

Indirection to avoid bluntness, such as 'deceased' for 'dead'.

Figurative Language

Language that uses figures of speech (metaphor, simile, irony) to mean more than the literal.

Free Verse

Poetry not written in a traditional meter but still rhythmical.

Grotesque

Characterized by distortions or incongruities; often used to describe Poe or Flannery O'Connor.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration or overstatement; usually self-conscious and not meant to be literal.

Lamb

A two-syllable foot with an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable; the iamb is the most common foot in English poetry.

Imagery

The images of a literary work; the sensory details and figurative language that evoke the senses.

Imperative

The mood of a verb that gives an order or command.