AP English Lit Terminology

Alliteration

The repetition of beginning consonant sounds in multiple words in a single line, sentence, or phrase.

Alliteration example

“And we beseech you, bend you to remain/Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye,/Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son”

Allusion

A reference to another literary work or event.

Allusion example

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley makes various _______to the “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” For example, “...but I shall kill no albatross.”

Analogy

a literary technique used to compare similarities between two unrelated things as a way to make a point through the comparison.

Analogy example

In The Things They Carried, O’Brien compares a war story to a thread in a cloth, meaning that telling a war story is tied to many other things and cannot be told simply.

Antithesis

A literary device that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammar structures.

Antithesis example

“To be or not to be” from Hamlet

Apostrophe

A figure of speech through which the speaker addresses a person, thing or concept not physically present or able to respond.

Apostrophe example

In Hamlet, Hamlet talks to the skull of Yorick as if he were alive.

Aside

A remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

Aside example

In Hamlet, Hamlet says “A little more than kin, and less than kind” when talking about his uncle to show the audience his true feelings.

Catharsis

translates to “cleansing” in Greek, and is the purification or purgation of emotions, typically used at the end of a tragedy.

Catharsis example

In Hamlet or Things Fall Apart, the deaths of Okonkwo and Hamlet serve as _____ for the readers.

Caesura

A usually rhetorical break in the flow of sound in the middle of a line or verse.

Caesura example

In Hamlet, Hamlet opens his soliloquy with “To be or not to be - that is the question.” The line is broken up to give pause and weight to the statement.

Conceit

an elaborate, improbable comparison between two very unlike things to create an imaginative connection between them. It is a specific type of extended metaphor.

conceit example

Shakespeare uses ____ in Sonnet 130 to draw comparisons between his plain mistress and the beauty of nature.

Connotation

Refers to secondary, implied, or associative meanings and emotions a word carries beyond its literal definition.

Connotation example

Frankenstein uses the word “wretch” describing his creature to convey his negative emotions towards it.

Deus ex machina

a plot device in which a seemingly unsolvable problem or plot situation is suddenly resolved by an unexpected occurrence.

Deus ex machina

In an unexpected twist, the pirates take Hamlet as their prisoner, which resolves the problem of him being sent to England.

Diction

Word choice and phrasing in writing to create a desired tone or impact

Diction example

In Hamlet, the ghost says: “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wits, with traitorous gifts”

Dramatic monologue

A long speech in a play, poem or story in which a character describes a particular situation, while revealing aspects of their character and their inner thoughts.

Dramatic monologue example

“To Be or Not to Be'' monologue in Hamlet

Enjambment

The continuation of a phrase from one verse or couplet into another without any punctuation.

Enjambment example

Sonnet 29

“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes

I all alone beweep my outcast state”

Figurative language

A type of descriptive language which uses a statement or phrase not intended to be understood literally. Some examples include similes, metaphors, and personification.

Figurative language example

Things Fall Apart: “Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water.”

Foil

A character who contrasts the protagonist, in order to highlight the qualities of the main character.

Foil example

Fortinbras is a ____ to Hamlet, since he is quick in his actions while Hamlet is slow to avenge his father.

Free verse

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

Free verse example

“Between Days” poem

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, for the sake of emphasis.

Hyperbole example

In The Things They Carried it states: “his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside her lungs and breathe her blood…”

Imagery

Descriptive language to create mental images that appeal to the senses.

Imagery example

In The Things They Carried it states “The field was boiling. The shells made deep slushy craters, opening up all those years of waste, centuries worth, and the smell came bubbling out of the earth.”

Irony

a situation where there is a contrast between reality and expectations.

Irony example

Baba told Amir that stealing is the worst sin, and lying is stealing someone from the truth. It is revealed that Baba was violating his own rule and stealing the truth, since he hid the fact that Amir and Hassan are half brothers.

Juxtaposition

A literary device that places two things together to contrast them and highlight their differences.

Juxtaposition example

In Hamlet, Fortinbras’ quick action in revenge for the death of his father _____ Hamlet’s continuous inaction and indecision in avenging his father’s murder.

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things.

Metaphor example

In Hamlet, the Ghost of Hamlet compares Claudius to a snake, “The serpent that did sting thy father/Now wears his crown.”

Metonymy

A figure of speech that involves using a word or phrase that closely relates to the actual topic.

Metonymy example

In Hamlet, “the crown” was often referred to by the people which represented the monarchy.

Motif

A recurring and prominent theme topic in a work of literature.

Motif example

In Hamlet, there was a consistent ____ of death and corruption. For example, when the skull of the jester was found. The skull represented how death and decay were an inevitable part of life.

Oxymoron

A phrase that combines two contradictory terms.

Oxymoron example

In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, “who see with blinding sight” contradicts being able to see and being blind.

Paradox

A statement that seems to be contradictory, but when investigated it may be true.

paradox example

In Hamlet, Hamlet is talking to Gertrude after killing Polonius and states “‘I must be cruel only to be kind.’”

Parallelism

The use of similar sentence structures repeatedly to create emphasis.

Parallelism example

In Things Fall Apart, “he had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father.”

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to nonhuman and inanimate things.

Personification

In Frankenstein destiny is ____ by Victor, “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.”

Repetition

A phrase or word that is repeated many times to make an emphasis.

Repetition example

In The Things They Carried, “they carried” was _____ many times not only to emphasize the physical weights the soldiers carried but also the emotional weight.

Rhetorical question

A question intended to make a point and not intended to get an answer.

rhetorical question example

During Hamlet’s third soliloquy he questions whether he should kill himself, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer/The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/And by opposing end them?” emphasizing his inner turmoil.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, and exaggerations to criticize and ridicule people’s vices and stupidity.

Simile

A comparison using “like” or “as.”

Simile example

In Hamlet, Horatio describes the Ghost of Hamlet, “And then it started like a guilty thing/ Upon a fearful summons”

Sonnet

a poem consisting of 14 lines using any number of a formal rhyme scheme.

Sonnet example

Shakespearean ____ use iambic pentameter and are composed of three quatrains and a concluding couplet.

Symbol

A thing (object) that represents something abstract (an idea).

Symbol example

In Things Fall Apart, yams were a ___ of wealth and power.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part of something is used to represent the whole.

Synecdoche example

In Hamlet, “To cut his throat i' the church,” with the throat representing Hamlet’s life.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases in sentence structure.

Syntax example

The simple ____ in Things Fall Apart displays the oration of the Ibo tribe, “Okonkwo did as the priest said. He also took with him a pot of palm-wine. Inwardly, he was repentant.”

Tragic flaw (hamartia)

A tragic hero’s weakness that leads to his downfall/demise.

Tragic flaw (hamartia) example

Okonkwo’s _____ was his excessive pride and fear of weakness which led to his ultimate demise (his suicide).

Tragic hero

A noble character (usually the protagonist) with a tragic flaw that contributes to their reversal of fortune which leads to their demise/downfall.

Tragic hero example

Hamlet is a ______ because his inaction/indecisiveness causes his downfall.

Tone

The general attitude or mood in a piece of writing.

Tone example

The beginning _____ of “One Day I Wrote Her Name” is playful, “One day I wrote her name upon the strand/But came the waves and washed it away.”

Villanelle

A 19 line poem consisting of five tercets (three line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (four line stanza).

Villanelle example

The poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a _______.

Satire example

Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 uses _____ when describing his lover to make fun of poets at the time