AP LIT YELLOW TERMS
AP Lit Yellow Terms with Test-Ready Examples
1. Abstract
Definition: A general idea or concept, not a physical object.
Example: Love in Never Let Me Go — Kathy reflects on love without it being a physical thing.
2. Allegory
Definition: A story where characters represent abstract ideas.
Example: The Memory Police as an allegory for government control and censorship.
3. Analogy
Definition: A comparison used to explain an idea.
Example: A question comparing memory loss in The Memory Police to “forgetting lyrics to a song you once knew by heart.”
4. Assonance
Definition: Repetition of vowel sounds.
Example: Dua Lipa lyric: “I got new rules, I count ‘em” (long oo sound).
5. Blank Verse
Definition: Unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Example: Macbeth speaking:
“Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
6. Catharsis
Definition: Emotional release at the end of a tragedy.
Example: Audience reaction after learning the truth about the students’ fate in Never Let Me Go.
7. Climax
Definition: Moment of greatest tension.
Example: When Macbeth begins seriously considering murdering Duncan (Act 1).
8. Colloquialism
Definition: Informal, everyday language.
Example: Dialogue in Pipeline that sounds like real speech, not poetic language.
9. Complex Sentence
Definition: Independent clause + subordinate clause.
Example: “Macbeth hesitates because he fears the consequences.”
10. Compound Sentence
Definition: Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction.
Example: “Macbeth is ambitious, and Lady Macbeth encourages him.”
11. Compound-Complex Sentence
Definition: At least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.
Example: “Macbeth doubts himself, but he listens to the witches because their words tempt him.”
12. Concrete
Definition: A specific, physical thing.
Example: The crown in Macbeth.
13. Conflict
Definition: Struggle driving the plot.
Example: Internal conflict in Macbeth between ambition and morality.
14. Consonance
Definition: Repetition of consonant sounds.
Example: Dua Lipa: “Don’t show up, don’t come out” (repeated t sounds).
15. Dependent Clause
Definition: Has subject and verb but not a complete thought.
Example: “Because Macbeth wants power…”
16. Dialect
Definition: Speech reflecting regional or cultural patterns.
Example: Characters’ speech in Pipeline reflecting modern American dialect.
17. Dialogue
Definition: Written conversation between characters.
Example: Macbeth and Banquo discussing the witches.
18. Elegy
Definition: Poem about death or mourning.
Example: A poem mourning forgotten objects in The Memory Police.
19. End-Stopped Line
Definition: Line of poetry ending with punctuation.
Example:
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
20. Enjambment
Definition: Line continues without pause.
Example: A line in poetry that runs into the next without punctuation.
21. Epiphany
Definition: Sudden realization.
Example: Kathy realizing the truth about donations in Never Let Me Go.
22. Exposition
Definition: Background information.
Example: Opening scenes of Macbeth explaining the war and Macbeth’s status.
23. Form
Definition: Structure of a literary work.
Example: Macbeth being written as a play in acts and scenes.
24. Free Verse
Definition: Poetry without regular rhyme or rhythm.
Example: A modern poem without meter, like spoken-word style.
25. Hubris
Definition: Excessive pride.
Example: Macbeth believing he deserves the crown because of the prophecy.
26. Hyperbole
Definition: Exaggeration.
Example: Dua Lipa: “I should have stayed at home” — exaggerating regret.
27. Iambic
Definition: Unstressed syllable followed by stressed.
Example: “to BE or NOT to BE” style rhythm in Shakespeare.
28. In Media Res
Definition: Starting in the middle of action.
Example: Macbeth opening during a storm and battle aftermath.
29. Independent Clause
Definition: Complete sentence on its own.
Example: “Macbeth wins the battle.”
30. Motif
Definition: Repeating image or idea.
Example: Memory and forgetting in The Memory Police.
31. Narrative
Definition: The story itself.
Example: Kathy’s life story in Never Let Me Go.
32. Narrator
Definition: Voice telling the story.
Example: Kathy as narrator in Never Let Me Go.
33. Narrative Frame
Definition: Story within a story.
Example: Kathy narrating past events from adulthood.
34. Ode
Definition: Poem addressing an object or idea.
Example: An ode praising love or memory.
35. Overstatement
Definition: Exaggeration for effect.
Example: “This silence will last forever.”
36. Oxymoron
Definition: Contradictory terms together.
Example: “Fair is foul” in Macbeth.
37. Parallelism
Definition: Repeated grammatical structure.
Example: “You lie, you cheat, you pretend.”
38. Pastoral
Definition: Idealized rural life.
Example: Calm countryside descriptions at Hailsham.
39. Passive Voice
Definition: Subject is acted upon.
Example: “The crown was given to Duncan.”
40. Persona
Definition: Voice adopted by author.
Example: Kathy’s calm, reflective storytelling voice.
41. Plot
Definition: Sequence of events.
Example: Prophecy → temptation → ambition in Macbeth.
42. Point of View
Definition: Perspective of narration.
Example: First-person POV in Never Let Me Go.
43. First Person POV
Definition: Uses “I”.
Example: “I remember when we were at Hailsham.”
44. Second Person POV
Definition: Uses “you”.
Example: “You walk into the room.”
45. Third Person Limited
Definition: Focuses on one character.
Example: Play focusing mainly on Macbeth’s thoughts.
46. Third Person Omniscient
Definition: Knows all characters’ thoughts.
Example: Narrator explaining multiple characters’ motives.
47. Pun
Definition: Wordplay.
Example: “Done” meaning both finished and killed in Shakespeare.
48. Refrain
Definition: Repeated line.
Example: Chorus repeated in a Dua Lipa song.
49. Reversal
Definition: Sudden change in fortune.
Example: Macbeth going from honored hero to morally conflicted.
50. Rhetorical Question
Definition: Asked for effect.
Example: “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me?”
51. Rhyme
Definition: Repeated sounds.
Example: “Fair / air” in the witches’ speech.
52. Rhyme Royal
Definition: Seven-line stanza, iambic pentameter.
Example: Identifying the form on a poetry excerpt.
53. Rhyme Scheme
Definition: Pattern of rhyme.
Example: AABB in a song chorus.
54. Satire
Definition: Criticism using irony.
Example: Trifles critiquing gender roles.
55. Sarcasm
Definition: Saying opposite of what is meant.
Example: A character saying “Great idea” when angry.
56. Second Person POV
Definition: Uses “you”.
Example: “You feel the loss even before you understand it.”
57. Simple Sentence
Definition: One independent clause.
Example: “Macbeth hesitates.”
58. Slant Rhyme
Definition: Near rhyme.
Example: “Home” and “alone” in song lyrics.