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AP lit terms final
The literary terms and definitions for semester one
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Allegory | narrative in which the characters, behavior, and setting demonstrate multiple levels of meaning and significance. |
| Alliteration | The sequential repetition of a similar initial sound. Usually applied to consonants EX: She sells sea shells by the sea shore |
| Allusion | historical, religious, or mythological reference |
| Anaphora | repetition of the same words or phrases at the beginning of successive phrases of clauses or sentences. |
| antithesis | the juxtaposition (two things being placed close together with contrasting effect) of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases or ideas. |
| Aphorism | concise statement created to make a point of a commonly held belief or principle. |
| Apostrophe | address to something inanimate |
| appeals of logos, ethos, pathos | logos=logic pathos=emotion ethos=credibility |
| assonance | the repetition of similar or identical vowels usually in successive words |
| asyndeton | syntactical structure which conjunctions are omitted in a series Ex: Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) |
| attitude | the sense expressed by the tone of the voice of a piece of writing, the authors feelings for their subject, characters, events and theme. |
| begging the question | where the arguer evades or ignores the real question |
| cannon | that which has been accepted as authentic (ex cannon law) |
| chiasmus | the syntactical structure where the order of terms in the first half of a parallel clause is reversed in the second. |
| claim | Assertion of something as a fact. |
| colloquial | Diction of a specific region or area. |
| comparison and contrast | Two or more things are being compared, contrasted or both. |
| connotation | The implied meaning of something. |
| conceit | a comparison of two unlikely things drawn within a piece of literature. AKA an extended metaphor |
| consonance | the repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels. EX: Pitter-patter |
| convention | an accepted model or tradition |
| critique | an assessment or analysis of something |
| deductive reasoning | method where statements and conclusions are drawn from general statements to specific ones |
| dialect | the language and speck idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region or group |
| diction | Specific word choice an author uses to persuade or convey tone, effect and purpose. |
| didactic | has a instructive purpose or lesson. (didactic is greek for good teaching) |
| Elegy | a poem or prose work that laments upon the death of a perosn |
| epistrophe | repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences |
| epitaph | writing in praise of a dead person, usually inscribed on a head stone |
| euphemism | in indirect, kinder way of expressing unpleasant information |
| exposition | interpretation or analysis of a text |
| eulogy | speech or written passage in praise se of a person, on oration to honor the dead person |
| extended metaphor | A series of comparisons within a piece. If only one large comparison then it is a conceit. |
| figurative language | language that has levels of meaning expressed through language |
| flash back | an earlier event is inserted into normal chronology of the narration |
| genre | class or type of literature Ex: narrative, history, biography, etc. |
| homily | a sermon or serious talk/lecture about moral or spiritual life |
| hyperbole | overstatement |
| imagery | when the author uses details to paint a picture in the readers mind. Also using figurative language to evoke an emotion or call to an idea. |
| inductive reasoning | method of reasoning or argument in which general statements and conclusions are drawn from specific to general. |
| inference | conclusion based on facts and observations. |
| Irony | contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant |
| verbal irony | what the author says is actually opposite of what is meant |
| situational irony | what events end up the opposite of what is expected |
| dramatic irony | We know that something is about to happen but the characters don't know |
| isocolon | parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure but in length. Ex: many are called, but few are chosen |
| jargon | specialized or technical language of a trade or profession |
| juxtaposition | the location of one thing adjacent with another to create an effect or reveal attitude |
| litote | a conscious understatement |
| loose sentence | a long sentence that starts with its main clause followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases |
| metaphor | comparison between two things WITHOUT like or as |
| metonymy | a figure in speech in which an attribute or associated feature is used to name of designate something. Ex: Buckingham Palace announced today... |
| mode of discourse | the way in which information is presented in written or spoken form |
| Mood | the feeling of a piece derived form the tone |
| narrative | a mode of discourse that tells a story of some sort and based on connected events |
| onomatopeoia | a word capturing a sound ex: POP or BUZZZ |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech that combines two contradictory elements EX: jumbo shrimp |
| paradox | a statement that seems contradictory but probs true. ex: fight for peace |
| parallel structure | use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs phrases or thoughts |
| periodic sentence | a long sentence in which that main clause is not completed until the end |
| personification | giving an inanimate object human characteristics EX: the tree danced |
| point of view | the relation in which the narrator or author stands on a subject |
| prose | ordinary form without metrical structure in contrast to verse and poetry |
| realism | attempting to describe nature and life without idealization and with attention to detail |
| rebuttal | opposing arguments are anticipated and countered |
| rhetoric | using words to persuade in writing or speaking |
| rhetoric question | question for style not necessarily to be answered |
| sarcasm | in which apparent praise is actually criticism |
| satire | literary works that hold up human failings to ridicule and censure |
| simile | comparing two things with like or as |
| style | manner in which a writer combines and arranges words, shapes ideas and syntax. |
| symbolism | WHAT IS THE DEEPER MEANING? ON THE SURFACE....BELOW THE SURFACE....(using of a person, place or thing to represent something else.) |
| synecdoche | part signifies the whole. EX 50 masts is really 50 ships |
| syntax | way that words are put together to form phrases, clauses and sentences |
| theme | central or dominant idea |
| tone | how the narrator or author feels about a subject |
| voice | acknowledged or words of the story |
| zeugma | a grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated. EX: The thief took my wallet and the fifth avenue bus. |
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