Literary and Rhetorical Terms

Understanding literary and rhetorical terms is crucial for excelling on the AP exam, especially in multiple-choice questions and essay analysis.

Key Terms

Abstract: An abbreviated synopsis of a longer scholarly or research work.
Adage: A saying or proverb that contains a truth based on experience, often expressed metaphorically. Similar to aphorism and maxim.
Allegory: A story in which the narrative and characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or ethical meaning. Examples include Spenser's The Faerie Queen and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.
Alliteration: The repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines of poetry or prose. Used for ornamentation or emphasis. Examples: flim-flam, tittle-tattle, fickle fortune, bed and board, Look before you leap. Enhances aesthetic quality, as in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner": "The white foam flew, The furrow follows free."
Allusion: A reference to a person, place, or event designed to create an effect or enhance meaning.
Ambiguity: Vagueness of meaning, often intentional, to evoke multiple interpretations.
Anachronism: A person, scene, event, or element that does not correspond to the time or era in which the work is set.
Analogy: A comparison highlighting similarities between two dissimilar things.
Annotation: A brief explanation, summary, or evaluation of a text or literary work.
Antagonist: A character or force opposing the protagonist, creating tension or conflict.
Antithesis: A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas through grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences.
- Examples:
  - "They promised freedom but provided slavery."
  - "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
Aphorism: A short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment. Similar to adage and maxim.
Apollonian: Refers to the most noble and godlike qualities of human nature and behavior, in contrast to Dionysian.
Apostrophe: A rhetorical device where a speaker addresses a person or personified thing not present. Example: "Oh, you cruel streets of Manhattan, how I detest you!"
Archetype: An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example or original model.
Assonance: The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines in poetry and prose. Example: "Meet Pete Green; he's as mad as a hatter."
Ballad: A simple narrative verse that tells a story, often sung or recited. Examples: Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Keats's "La Belle Dame sans Merci," Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol."
Bard: A poet; in olden times, a performer who told heroic stories to musical accompaniment.
Bathos: The use of insincere or overdone sentimentality.
Bibliography: A list of works cited or relevant to a subject or work.
Bildungsroman: A German term for a novel structured as a series of events during the hero's quest for a goal.
Blank Verse: Poetry written in iambic pentameter that does not rhyme, commonly used by Shakespeare and Milton.
Bombast: Inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects.
Burlesque: A work meant to ridicule a subject; a grotesque imitation.
Cacophony: Grating, inharmonious sounds.
Caesura: A pause in the middle of a verse line, often marked by punctuation.
- Example (Yeats): "The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere"
Canon: Works considered most important in a national literature or period; works widely read and studied.
Caricature: A grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things.
Carpe diem: Latin for "seize the day"; a common literary theme encouraging readers to enjoy life while they can.
Catharsis: A cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy.
Classic: A highly regarded work that has withstood the test of time.
Classical, classicism: Qualities deriving from ancient Greek and Roman culture, implying formality, objectivity, simplicity, and restraint.
Climax: The high point or turning point of a story or play.
Coming-of-age story/novel: A tale where a young protagonist experiences an introduction to adulthood, often through disillusionment, education, or harsh realities. Examples: To Kill a Mockingbird, Look Homeward, Angel, All the Pretty Horses.
Conceit: A witty or ingenious thought; a diverting or fanciful idea, often figurative.
Connotation: The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase, contrasted with denotation.
Consonance: The repetition of two or more consonant sounds in a group of words or a line of poetry.
Couplet: A pair of rhyming lines in a poem. A heroic couplet consists of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter.
Denotation: The dictionary definition of a word, contrasted with connotation.
Dénouement: The resolution at the end of a play or work of fiction.
Deus ex machina: The use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem in literature.
Diction: The choice of words in oral and written discourse.
Dionysian: Refers to sensual, pleasure-seeking impulses, as distinguished from Apollonian.
Dramatic irony: A circumstance where the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character does. Example: Oedipus unknowingly kills his father.
Elegy: A poem or prose selection that laments or meditates on the death of someone or something of value.
Ellipsis: Three periods (…) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation.
Elliptical construction: A sentence containing a deliberate omission of words. Example: "May was hot and June the same."
Empathy: A feeling of association or identification with an object or person.
End-stopped: A line of poetry that ends with a natural pause, often indicated by punctuation.
- Example (T.S. Eliot): "In the mountains, there you feel free. I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter."
Enjambment: The use of successive lines in poetry with no punctuation or pause between them.
- Example (Dylan Thomas): "A springful of larks in a rolling Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling Blackbirds and the sun of October."
Epic: An extended narrative poem that tells of the adventures and exploits of a hero, often a legendary figure. Examples: Homer's Iliad and Vergil's Aeneid.
Epigram: A concise, ingenious, witty, and thoughtful statement.
Epithet: An adjective or phrase expressing a striking quality of a person or thing. Examples: sun-bright topaz, sun-lit lake, sun-bright lake.
Eponymous: A term for the title character of a work of literature.
Euphemism: A mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term. Example: "pass away" for "die."
Exposé: A piece of writing that reveals weaknesses, faults, frailties, or shortcomings.
Exposition: Background and events leading to the main idea or purpose of a work.
Explication: The interpretation or analysis of a text.
Extended metaphor: A series of comparisons between two unlike objects.
Fable: A short tale often featuring nonhuman characters acting as people, used to make observations or draw lessons about human behavior. Examples: Aesop's Fables, Orwell's Animal Farm.
Falling action: The action after the climax that leads to the conclusion and resolution.
Fantasy: A story with unreal, imaginary features.
Farce: A comedy with an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, sometimes with a serious purpose.
Figure of speech/figurative language: Language that implies meanings, including metaphors, similes, and personification.
First-person narrative: A narrative told by a character involved in the story, using first-person pronouns.
Flashback: A return to an earlier time to clarify present action or circumstances. This can be a statement, a character's account, a dream, or an association.
Foil: A minor character whose contrasting personality or attitude intensifies the qualities of the main character. Example: Lydia as a foil to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
Foot: A unit of stressed and unstressed syllables used to determine the meter of a poetic line. Unstressed syllables are marked with U and stressed with /. Example:
\frac{U}{She} \ \frac{/}{walks} \ \frac{U}{in} \ \frac{/}{beau} \ \frac{U}{ty,} \ \frac{/}{like} \ \frac{U}{the} \ \frac{/}{night}
\frac{U}{Of} \ \frac{/}{cloud} \ \frac{U}{less} \ \frac{/}{climes} \ \frac{U}{and} \ \frac{/}{star} \ \frac{U}{ry} \ \frac{/}{skies}…
Foreshadowing: Hints of things to come in a story or play.
Frame: A structure providing the premise or setting for a narrative.
Free verse: Poetry without rhyme, rhythm, or fixed metrical feet.
Genre: A term describing literary forms such as novel, play, and essay.
Gothic novel: A novel with supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terrors. Example: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Harangue: A forceful sermon, lecture, or tirade.
Heroic couplet: Two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter, common in eighteenth-century verse.
- Example (Alexander Pope): "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance. \'Tis not enough no harshness gives offence, The sound must seem an Echo of the sense."
Hubris: Excessive pride leading tragic heroes to their death.
Humanism: A belief emphasizing faith and optimism in human potential and creativity.
Hyperbole: Overstatement or gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect.
Idyll: A lyric poem or passage describing an ideal life or place.
Image: A word or phrase representing something seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or felt.
In medias res: Latin for a narrative starting not at the beginning but at a critical point.
Indirect quotation: A rendering of a quotation that approximates or paraphrases the original words.
Irony: Expression where the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, implying ridicule or sarcasm.
Kenning: Anglo-Saxon device replacing a thing's name with its functions or qualities. Examples: "ring-giver" for king, "whale-road" for ocean.
Lampoon: A mocking, satirical assault on a person or situation.
Light verse: Poetry meant to entertain or amuse, often with a satirical edge.
Litotes: Understatement using the negative of the contrary for emphasis. Example: "He is not a bad dancer."
Loose sentence: A sentence presenting the main idea first, followed by subordinate clauses.
Lyric poetry: Personal, reflective poetry revealing the speaker's thoughts and feelings.
Maxim: A saying or proverb expressing common wisdom or truth.
Melodrama: A literary form exaggerating events for extreme emotional response.
Metaphor: A figure of speech comparing unlike objects.
Metaphysical poetry: 17th-century poetry using elaborate conceits, intellectualism, and complexities. Example: work of John Donne.
Meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.
Metonymy: Using the name of one thing to represent something associated with it. Example: "The White House says…"
Middle English: Language spoken in England from approximately 1150 to 1500 A.D.
Mock epic: A parody of traditional epic form, treating a frivolous topic with seriousness. Example: Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock."
Mode: The general form, pattern, and manner of expression in a work of literature.
Montage: A quick succession of images or impressions to express an idea.
Mood: The emotional tone in a work of literature.
Moral: A brief, often simplistic lesson inferred from a work.
Motif: A recurring phrase, idea, or event unifying or conveying a theme. Examples: Tolstoy's use of nature, Hemingway's use of rain.
Muse: An ancient Greek goddess presiding over the arts; the source of inspiration.
Myth: An imaginary story part of a culture's tradition, often explaining natural phenomena.
Narrative: A form of verse or prose telling a story.
Naturalism: Often synonymous with realism, characterized by bleakness and characters struggling unsuccessfully to exercise free will. The Red Badge of Courage, Crane, McTeague(Norris) and Sister Carrie (Dreiser) are examples.
Non sequitur: A statement or idea that does not logically follow from the one before.
Novella: A work of fiction between 20,000 and 50,000 words; longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. Examples: Daisy Miller, Billy Budd, Heart of Darkness.
Novel of manners: A novel focusing on social customs and habits of a particular group. Examples: Pride and Prejudice, The Age of Innocence.
Ode: A lyric poem marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings. Examples: Keats's odes.
Old English: The Anglo-Saxon language spoken in England from approximately 450 to 1150 A.D.
Omniscient narrator: A narrator with unlimited awareness and insight.
Onomatopoeia: Words whose sounds suggest their meaning. Example: "bubbling, murmuring brooks."
Ottava rima: An eight-line rhyming stanza
Oxymoron: Contradictory elements juxtaposed for paradoxical effect. Examples: "loud silence," "jumbo shrimp."
Parable: A story with events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derived.
Paradox: A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true.
Parody: An imitation meant to ridicule style and subject.
Paraphrase: A version of a text in simpler, everyday words.
Pastoral: A work of literature dealing with rural life.
Pathetic fallacy: Faulty reasoning ascribing human feelings to nature or nonhuman objects.
Pathos: That element in literature stimulating pity or sorrow.
Pentameter: A verse with five poetic feet per line.
Periodic sentence: A sentence expressing its main thought at the end, after presenting particulars.
Persona: The role or facade a character assumes or depicts.
Personification: Giving objects and animals human characteristics.
Plot: The interrelationship among events in a story, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Picaresque novel: An episodic novel about a roguelike wanderer. Examples: Don Quixote, Moll Flanders, The Red and the Black.
Point of view: The relation of the narrator or speaker to the story or subject. First person is internal; an observer is external.
Protagonist: The main character.
Pseudonym: A false name or alias used by writers.
Pulp fiction: Novels written for mass consumption, often with exciting plots.
Pun: A humorous play on words.
Quatrain: A four-line poem or unit in a longer poem.
Realism: Depiction of people, things, and events as they are without idealization.
Rhetoric: The language and style of a work used to convince or sway an audience.
Rhetorical stance: Language conveying a speaker's attitude or opinion.
Rhyme: Repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals.
Rhyme scheme: The pattern of rhymes in a poem.
Rhythm: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables making up a line of poetry.
Roman à clef: A novel where historical events and actual people appear under the guise of fiction.
Romance: An extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people.
Sarcasm: Sharp, caustic expression; a bitter jibe; different from irony.
Satire: A literary style poking fun at or ridiculing an idea, vice, or foible to induce change.
Scan: Determining the meter of a poetic line.
Sentiment: A synonym for view or feeling; also refined and tender emotion.
Sentimental: Describes excessive emotional response; nauseatingly nostalgic.
Setting: The total environment for the action, including time, place, and social circumstances.
Simile: A figurative comparison using "like" or "as."
Sonnet: A fourteen-line verse form with a prescribed rhyme scheme.
Stanza: A group of two or more lines in poetry combined according to subject matter or rhyme.
Stream of consciousness: A style reproducing the random flow of thoughts.
Style: The manner in which an author uses and arranges words.
Subplot: A minor collection of events connected to the main plot.
Subtext: The implied meaning underlying the main meaning.
Symbolism: Using an object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of it.
Synecdoche: A figure of speech where a part signifies the whole or vice versa. Example: "fifty masts" for fifty ships. Example: "pigskin for football"
Syntax: The organization of language into meaningful structure.
Theme: The main idea or meaning of a work.
Title character: A character whose name appears in the title.
Tone: The author's attitude toward the subject.
Tragedy: A form where the hero is destroyed by a character flaw. Example: Macbeth ruined by ambition.
Trope: The generic name for a figure of speech.
Verbal irony: A discrepancy between the true meaning and the literal meaning.
Verse: A synonym for poetry; also a group of lines in a song or a single line of poetry.
Verisimilitude: The quality of realism persuading readers they are getting a vision of life as it is.
Versification: The structural form of a line of verse revealed by the number of feet it contains.
- monometer = 1 foot
- tetrameter = 4 feet
- pentameter = 5 feet
Villanelle: A French verse form with nineteen lines and a prescribed pattern of rhymes.
Voice: The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker.
Wit: Quickness of intellect and talent for saying brilliant things.