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ALBRIGHT AP Lit Term
Literary terms for AP Lit and Comp
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| absolute | a word free from limitations or quali fications (“best,” “all,” “unique,” “perfect”) |
| adage | a familiar proverb or wise saying |
| ad hominem argument | n argument attacking an individual’s character rather than his or her position on an issue |
| allegory | a literary work in which characters, object s, or actions represent abstractions |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words |
| allusion | a reference to something literary, mythol ogical, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize |
| analogy | a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way |
| anaphora | the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences |
| anecdote | a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event |
| antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers |
| antithesis | a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced |
| aphorism | a concise statement that expresses succi nctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction |
| archetype | a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a univer sal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response |
| argument | a statement of the meaning or ma in point of a literary work |
| asyndeton | a construction in which elements ar e presented in a series without conjunctions |
| balanced sentence | a sentence in which words, phrases , or clauses are set off against each other to emphasize a contrast |
| bathos | insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity |
| chiasmus | a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (“Susan wa lked in, and out rushed Mary”) |
| cliché | an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off |
| climax | the point of highest intere st in a literary work |
| colloquialism | informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing |
| complex sentence | a sentence with one independent cl ause and at least one dependent clause |
| compound sentence | a sentence with two or more coor dinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions |
| conceit | a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor |
| concrete details | details that relate to or describe actual, specific things or events |
| connotation | the implied or associative meaning of a word |
| cumulative sentence | a sentence in which the main inde pendent clause is elaborated by the successive addition of m odifying clauses or phrases |
| declarative sentence | a sentence that makes a st atement or declaration |
| deductive reasoning | reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) |
| denotation | the literal meaning of a word |
| dialect | a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associ ated with a particul ar geographical region |
| dialogue | conversation between two or more people |
| diction | the word choices made by a writer |
| didactic | having the primary purpose of teaching or instructing |
| dilemma | a situation that requires a person to d ecide between two equally attractive or equally unattractive alternatives |
| dissonance | harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds |
| elegy | a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme |
| ellipsis | the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context (“Some people prefer cats; others, dogs”). |
| epic | a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation. |
| epigram | a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying |
| epigraph | a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work |
| epiphany | a moment of sudden revelation or insight |
| epitaph | an inscription on a tombstone or burial place |
| epithet | a term used to point out a characterist ic of a person. |
| eulogy | a formal speech praising a person who has died |
| euphemism | an indirect, less offensive way of sa ying something that is considered unpleasant |
| exclamatory sentence | a sentence expressing strong fee ling, usually punctuated with an exclamation mark |
| expletive | an interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes, a profanity |
| fable | a brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters |
| fantasy | a story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal ch aracters; a fantasy may be merely whimsical, or it may present a serious point |
| figurative language | anguage employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor, imagery, etc.) |
| flashback | the insertion of an earlier event in to the normal chronological order of a narrative |
| flat character | a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story |
| foreshadowing | the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work |
| frame device | a story within a story. An example is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the “frame story” of the pilgrimage to Canterbury |
| genre | a major category or type of literature |
| homily | a sermon, or a moralistic lecture |
| hubris | excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of th e protagonist of a tragedy |
| hyperbole | intentional exaggeration to create an effect |
| hypothetical question | question that raises a hypothesi s, conjecture, or supposition |
| idiom | an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect |
| imagery | the use of figures of speech to create vi vid images that appeal to one of the senses |
| implication | a suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies) without stating it directly. NOTE: the author/sender implies ; the reader/audience infers . |
| inductive reasoning | deriving general principles from particular facts or instances (“Every cat I have ever seen has f our legs; cats are f our-legged animals). |
| inference | a conclusion one draws (infers) based on premises or evidence |
| invective | an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack |
| irony | the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs |
| jargon | the specialized language or vocabulary of a particul ar group or profession |
| juxtaposition | placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast |
| legend | a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements |
| limerick | light verse consisting of five lines of re gular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each consisting of three f eet) rhyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet) rhyme |
| limited narrator | a narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that one character |
| literary license | deviating from normal rules or met hods in order to achieve a certain effect (intentional sentence fragments, for example). |
| litotes | a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, “It was not a pretty picture.”) |
| malapropism | the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar (“The doctor wrote a subscription”). |
| maxim | a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage |
| metaphor | a direct comparison of two different things |
| metonymy | substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it (“The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]”) |
| mood | the emotional atmosphere of a work |
| motif | a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works |
| motivation | a character’s incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a character to act |
| myth | a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events |
| narrative | a story or narrated account |
| narrator | the one who tells the story; may be first- or third-person, limited or omniscient |
| non sequitur | an inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, “does not follow”). |
| omniscient narrator | a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelin gs of the characters |
| onomatopoeia | a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds |
| oxymoron | an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined |
| parable | a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson |
| paradox | an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains some truth |
| parallelism | the use of corresponding gramma tical or syntactical forms |
| paraphrase | a restatement of a text in a different form or in different words, often for the purpose of clarity |
| parody | a humorous imitation of a serious work |
| parenthetical | a comment that interrupts the immedi ate subject, often to qualify or explain |
| pathos | he quality in a work that prom pts the reader to feel pity |
| pedantic | characterized by an excessive disp lay of learning or scholarship |
| personification | endowing non-human objects or crea tures with human qualities or characteristics |
| philippic | a strong verbal denunciation. The te rm comes from the orations of Demosthenes against Philip of Macedonia in the fourth century. |
| plot | the action of a narrative or drama |
| point of view | he vantage point from which a story is told |
| polysyndeton | the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural |
| pun | a play on words, often achieved through th e use of words with similar sounds but different meanings |
| resolution | the falling action of a narrative; the events following the climax |
| rhetoric | the art of presenting ideas in a clear , effective, and persuasive manner |
| rhetorical question | a question asked merely for rhetor ical effect and not requiring an answer |
| rhetorical devices | iterary techniques used to heighten the effectiveness of expression |
| riddle | a question requiring thought to answer or understand; a puzzle or conundrum |
| romantic | a term describing a character or literary work that reflects the characteristics of Romanticism, the literary movement beginning in the late 18 th century that stressed emotion, imagin ation, and individualism. |
| round character | a character who demonstrates some complexity and who develops or changes in the course of a work |
| sarcasm | harsh, cutting language or tone intended to ridicule |
| satire | satire |
| scapegoat | a person or group that bears the blame for another |
| scene | a real or fictional episode; a division of an act in a play |
| setting | he time, place, and environment in which action takes place |
| simile | a comparison of two things using “like,” “as,” or other specifically comparative words. |
| simple sentence | a sentence consisting of one indepe ndent clause and no dependent clause |
| solecism | nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules |
| structure | the arrangement or framework of a se ntence, paragraph, or entire work |
| style | the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work |
| surrealism | an artistic movement emphasizing th e imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of conscious control |
| syllepsis | a construction in which one word is used in two different senses (“After he threw the ball, he threw a fit.”) |
| syllogism | three-part deductive argu ment in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise (“All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal”). |
| symbol | an object that is used to represent something else |
| synecdoche | using one part of an ob ject to represent the entire object (for example, referring to a car simply as “wheels”) |
| synesthesia | describing one kind of sensati on in terms of another (“a loud color,” “a sweet sound”) |
| syntax | the manner in which words are arranged into sentences |
| tautology | needless repetition which adds no m eaning or understanding (“widow woman,” “free gift”) |
| theme | a central idea of a work |
| thesis | the primary position taken by a writer or speaker |
| tone | the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience |
| topic | the subject treated in a paragraph or work |
| tragedy | a work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction. |
| trilogy | a work in three parts, each of whic h is a complete work in itself |
| trite | overused and hackneyed |
| turning point | the point in a work in which a ve ry significant change occurs |
| understatement | the deliberate representation of some thing as lesser in magnitude than it actually is; a deliberate under-emphasis. |
| usage | the customary way language or its elements are used |
| vernacular | the everyday speech of a particular country or region, often involving nonstandard usage |
Created by:
albrighs
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