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AP Lit Terms: 225
5 Steps: page 225
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| allegory | A work that functions on a symbolic level. |
| alliteration | The repetition of initial consonant sounds. |
| allusion | A reference to another piece of literature, history, pop culture, etcetera contained in a work. |
| anapest | A metrical pattern of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllables. (--/) |
| antagonist | The force or character that opposes the main character, the protagonist. |
| apostrophe | Direct address in poetry. Yeat's line "Be with me Beauty, for the fire is dying" is a good example. |
| aside | Words spoken by an actor intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage. |
| aubade | A love poem set at dawn which bids farewell to the beloved. |
| ballad | A simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue that is written in quatrains, generally with a rhyme scheme of "a b c d" |
| blank verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Most of Shakespeare's plays are written this way. |
| cacophony | Harsh and discordant sounds in a line or passage of a literary work. |
| caesura | A break or pause within a line of poetry indicated by punctuation or extra spacing and used to emphasize meaning. |
| catharsis | According to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences. |
| character | One who carries out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types of characters |
| climax | The turning point of action or characer in a literary work, usually the highest point of tension. |
| comic relief | The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event. |
| conflict | A clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self. |
| connotation | The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal definition. |
| convention | A traditional aspect of a literary work, such as a soliloquy in a Shakespearean play or a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy. |
| couplet | Two lines of rhyming poetry; often used by Shakespeare to conclude a scene or important passage. |
| dactyl | A foot of poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. (/--) |
| denotation | The literal or dictionary meaning of a word. |
| denouement | The conclusion or tying up of loose ends in a literary work; the resolution of the conflict and plot. |
| deus ex machina | A Greek invention, literally "the god from the machine" who appears at the last moment and resolves the loose ends of a play. Today, the term refers to anyone , usually of some stature, who untangle, resolves, or reveals the key to the plot of a work. |
| diction | The author's choice of words. |
| dramatic monologue | A type of poem that presents a conversation between a speaker and an implied listener. Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a perfect example. |
| elegy | A poem that laments the dead or a loss. "Elegy for Jane" by Roethke is a specific example. Gray's "Elegy in a Country Church Yard" is a general example. |
| enjambment | A technique in poetry that involves the running on of a line or stanza.It enable the poem to move and to develop coherence as well as directing the reader with regard to form and meaning. Walt Whitman uses this continuously. |
| epic | A lenghthly,elevated poem that celebrates the exploits of a hero. "Beowulf" is a prime example. The term can also be applied to prose works. |
| epigram | A brief witty poem. Pope often utilizes this form for satiric commentary. |
| euphony | The pleasant, mellifluous presentation of sounds in a literary work. |
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dwilliamsRHS
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