AP LITERARY TERMS

Page 1: Literary Terms

Allegory

• Definition: A story or poem where characters, settings, and events symbolize other concepts or events.

• Example: Animal Farm, Dante’s Inferno, Lord of the Flies.

Alliteration

• Definition: Repetition of similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

• Example: Stephen Crane's sentence where regiment and remnant emphasize the loss of soldiers.

Allusion

• Definition: An indirect reference to a known figure or event from various fields such as history or literature.

Ambiguity

• Definition: The intentional suggestion of multiple meanings in a work, creating complexity. If unintentional, it detracts from clarity.

Analogy

• Definition: A comparison made between two things to highlight their similarities.

Anaphora

• Definition: Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of successive sentences for emphasis.

Anastrophe

• Definition: Inversion of normal sentence order, used for rhythm or emphasis.

Anecdote

• Definition: A brief narrative used to illustrate a point or provide an example.

Antagonist

• Definition: The character who opposes the protagonist in a story.

Antimetabole

• Definition: Repetition of words in reverse grammatical order in successive clauses.

• Example: Molière's quote about eating and living.

Antithesis

• Definition: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas or phrases within a balanced structure.