AP Lit Terms
AP Literature Essential Vocabulary
You are encouraged to make an online version of these terms on Quizlet or another study platform for easier studying throughout the year, as we will be referencing and building on these terms all year long.
There will be a Vocabulary Test within the first two weeks of school to review your understanding of the vocabulary.
ANALYSIS AND CLOSE READING
Term | Definition | Provided Example |
Allusion | A reference to a well-known person, play, event, or work. | Calling someone a “Judas” implies that they will/have betrayed you A lot of music includes allusions |
Ambiguity | When a word or idea has more than one meaning | The ending of Inception (2010) |
Contrast | Clear difference between two elements | Light vs. dark, night vs. day, character foils |
Diction | Word choice; specifically chosen to create an intended effect | Calling a character “slender” vs. “scrawny;” saying it’s “freezing” vs. “cold” |
Figurative Language | Language (words/phrases) that aren’t meant to be taken literally | Similes, metaphors, personification, etc. |
Imagery | Descriptive language that appeals to the senses | “The golden sunlight spilled over the horizon.” |
Irony | A contrast between expectation and reality | (see below) |
Irony - Verbal | Saying one thing but meaning another* *This is NOT the same as sarcasm. Sarcasm is to Irony like a square is to a rectangle. | “Wow, what beautiful weather today!” you say in the midst of a hurricane |
Irony - Situational | What happens is the opposite of what’s expected | A firehouse burns down |
Irony - Dramatic | The audience knows something that the characters do not | In the movie Mulan, the audience knows Mulan’s real identity, but the soldiers do not |
Juxtaposition | Placing two things side by side to highlight differences | Rich vs. poor characters are shown in contrast with each other |
Mood | The emotional atmosphere of a text; how you, the audience, feel while reading | A scary story usually has a dark, tense mood |
Motif | A recurring element that has symbolic significance | The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, a billboard, represent the fact that God is always watching (The Great Gatsby) |
Oxymoron | Two opposite words that are paired together | Bittersweet, deafening silence |
Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth | “I must be cruel to be kind.” |
Symbolism | When one thing represents something else | A red rose represents romantic love |
Syntax | Sentence structure and word order | Short, choppy sentences can create tension |
Theme | The central idea or message in a text | Love vs. obsession is a recurring theme in many modern works |
Tone | The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience | Sarcastic, bitter, hopeful |
CHARACTER & STRUCTURE
Term | Definition | Provided Example |
Antagonist | The force or character that opposes the protagonist | Voldemort to Harry Potter; Draco Malfoy to Harry Potter |
Archetype | A universal symbol or character type | The hero, the mentor, the outcast, the rebel… think Breakfast Club (1985) |
Characterization | How the author develops characters | (See below) |
Characterization - Direct | The narrator tells you what a character is like | Jane is very curious and smart. |
Characterization - Indirect | You learn through actions, dialogue, and reactions | Jane asks a lot of questions and loves to learn. |
Climax | The turning point of the story | When Percy confronts Luke on the top of the Empire State Building in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif |
Conflict | The central struggle in a story | Percy vs. the gods in pretty much every Percy Jackson |
Conflict - Internal | When the struggle is inside a character, or with themself | In Inside Out (2015), one of the biggest conflicts is Joy needing to let go of the idea that Riley needs to be happy 100% of the time. |
Conflict - External | When the struggle is between outside forces:
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Flashback | A scene set earlier than the main story, but it happens during the main story | In The Lion King (1994), Rafiki shows Simba his reflection, and Mufasa appears in the sky. Simba then remembers his father’s death and some moments that they shared. This helps take the audience back emotionally and visually to earlier events, even though we’re in the middle of a different story. |
Foil | A character who contrasts another, highlight specific traits | Draco Malfoy vs. Harry Potter (Harry Potter); Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan (The Great Gatsby) |
Foreshadowing | Purposeful “easter eggs” that hint at what’s going to happen later in the story | In The Lion King (1994), Mufasa talks to Simba about the “great kings of the past” watching from the stars; this then sets up Mufasa’s later appearance in the sky (after he dies) when he guides Simba. This line hints at both Mufasa’s death and Simba’s development into a leader. |
Frame Narrative | A story within a story | In Titanic (1997) (We’ll see this a lot in Frankenstein.) |
In media res | Starting a story in the middle of the action | In The Maze Runner (2014), Thomas wakes up on his way to the maze; we start in the middle of the action. |
Point of View (POV) | The perspective from which a story is told | |
Protagonist | The main character* | Harry Potter in Harry Potter; Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson; Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse |
Resolution/Denouement | The final outcome/wrap up; the conclusion of the story | The denouement of Avengers: Endgame (2019) is Tony Stark’s funeral. |
Unreliable Narrator | A narrator whose credibility is questionable | Ted Mosby in “How I Met Your Mother”; Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby |
FORM & GENRE
Term | Definition | Provided Example |
Allegory | A story where characters and events represent deeper moral or political meanings | The characters in Inside Out (2015) represent parts of a person’s emotional makeup |
Aside | A brief remark to the audience not heard by others, usually in a play/script | When Jim (“The Office”) looks directly at the camera and makes comments Frequently used in Shakespearean plays |
Bildungsroman | A coming-of-age story | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse |
Blank Verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter | Plays like Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet are mostly blank verse |
Comedy | A lighter story with a happy ending | Legally Blonde; “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” |
Couplet | Two lines of verse, usually rhymed | “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow” (Romeo and Juliet) |
Dramatic Monologue | A poem where a character speaks to a silent listener | In The Dark Knight (2008), the Joker has a really intense dramatic monologue (“Do I look like a guy with a plan?” speech) |
Free Verse | Poetry without regular meter or rhyme | “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou |
Iambic Pentameter | A line with ten syllables in an unstressed-stressed pattern | Most of William Shakespeare’s sonnets |
Prose | Regular written or spoken language; anything that is NOT poetry | Any novel, article, or film script |
Satire | Using humor or irony to criticize | “The Simpson” constantly poke fun at politics, culture, and celebrities to criticize them. |
Soliloquy | A speech where a character speaks thoughts aloud while alone | Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” |
Sonnet | A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme | Shakespearean: |
Tragedy | A serious story where the main character faces downfall, often due to a personal flaw | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could be considered a tragedy because the weight of grief and legacy leads to incredibly complex and emotional consequences |
Verse | Writing with meter or rhythm, most often poetry | Music is written in verses (specific rhythm and/or rhyme) |
DEVICS & STRATEGIES
Term | Definition | Provided Example |
Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds | Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. |
Anaphora | Repetition at the beginning of clauses | “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds…” (Winston Churchill) |
Antithesis | Contrasting ideas in a balanced sentence | “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Charles Dickens) |
Apostrophe | Addressing an absent or imaginary person/thing | “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” (William Shakespeare) |
Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds | “Here the mellow wedding bells” → Edgar Allen Poe, short e sound is repeated “I’ve been staring at the edge of the water” → Moana, long a and long e sounds |
Consonance | Repetition of consonant sounds within words | The ship has sailed to far off shores → s and sh sounds repeat |
Epiphora | Repetition at the end of clauses | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech contains lines like “...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people…” |
Hyperbole | Extreme exaggeration | “I’ve told you a million times!” |
Metaphor | A comparison saying one thing IS another | Time is a thief. |
Metonymy | Substituting something closely related for the actual object | The pen is mightier than the sword. |
Motif | A recurring element (object, image, or idea) that reinforces a theme of a text | In Harry Potter, his scar, the use of mirrors, and the idea of choice are all motifs In Encanto (2021), the door motifs represent family roles and identity |
Onomatopoeia | Words that imitate sounds | Buzz, crash, brr |
Personification | Giving human qualities to non-human things | “The wind is howling like a swirling storm inside” (Frozen) |
Simile | A comparison using “like” or “as” | You are as brave as a lion |
Symbolism | When an object or element stands for a deeper meaning | In The Giver (novel and movie), the apple symbolizes knowledge and change |
Synecdoche | A part that represents the whole | All hands on deck! |
Understatement (Litotes) | Saying less than what you actually mean | “It’s just a scratch!” when in reality, it’s a huge dent |
AP SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY
Term | Definition |
Commentary | Your analysis of evidence |
Complexity | Acknowledging nuance, contradiction, or multiple meanings in a text |
Evidence | The quote/idea from the text you’re analyzing |
Line of Reasoning | The logical flow of your argument |
Literary Argument | Making a claim about a text and supporting it with evidence |
Narrator | The one who tells the story in prose |
Shift | A change in tone, mood, or perspective |
Speaker | The voice in a poem |
Thesis | Your main claim or argument in an essay |