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AP literary terms
vocabulary
| term | definition |
|---|---|
| alliteration | several consecutive/neighboring words with the same sound |
| allusion | refrence to mythological, literary, or historical person, place or clause for the purpose of contrast. ex: "he met his Waterloo" |
| antithesis | a direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases or clauses for the purpose of contrast; ex: "sink or swim" |
| apostrophe | form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate |
| assonance | repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words |
| consonance | repetition of a constant sound within a series of words to produce harmonious effect |
| diction | word choice intended to convey a certain effect |
| epiphora | ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word(s) |
| figures of speech | words/phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else; involve some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not taken literally; used to produce images in mind; most common: simile, metaphor, personification |
| flashback | a scene that interrupst the action of a work to show a previous event |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action |
| hyperbole | a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for special effects |
| imagery | consists of words/phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing senses |
| verbal irony | narrator says one thing but means the opposite "it's easy to quit smoking. i've done it many times" |
| situational irony | occurs when in a situation turns out differently than what you would normally expect - though after the twist is oddly appropriate; ex: a deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub |
| dramatic irony | occurs when a character says or does something that has different meanings from what he thinks it means, though audience understands full implications of speech/actions |
| metaphor | a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. |
| metonymy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. ("the white house issued a statement today") |
| mood | atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work |
| narration | telling of story |
| onomatopoeia | use of words that mimic the sounds they describe |
| oxymoron | form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression |
| paradox | a statement that appears contradictory or absurd but which really expresses the truth |
| personification | kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects human characteristics |
| plot | sequence of events/actions in literature |
| point of view | perspective from which narritive is told |
| protagonist | main character |
| antagonist | stands directly opposed to main character |
| pun | play on words that are identical or similar in sound byt have sharply diverse meanings.ex; " A pun is its own reword." |
| repetition | the deliberate use of any element of language more than once |
| rhyme | repetition of sounds in 2 or more words that appear clost to eacher in a poem |
| setting | time and place where it happens |
| simile | a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects |
| style | writers characteristic manner of employing language |
| suspense | quality of literature that makes reader uncertain/tense about outcome of events |
| syntax | arrangement of words and order of grammatical elements in a sentence |
| juxtaposition | a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally associated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to each other |
| anachronism | Something out of its normal time |
| analogy | a comparison that explains or describes one subject by pointing out its similarities to another subject |
| anaphora | repetition of beginning clauses |
| anecdote | Brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event. It is told to entertain or make a point |
| aphorism | A general truth or observation about life. |
| colloquialism | an expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing |
| dialect | the form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group. Refers to pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Also known as "local color." |
| epiphany | a sudden understanding or realization, which prior to this was not thought of or understood |
| epithet | an adjective or other descriptive phrase that is generally used to characterize a person, place, or thing |
| euphemism | a device where being indirect replaces directness to avoid unpleasantness |
| Idiom | a use of words, a grammatical construction peculiar to a given language or an expression that cannot be literally translated |
| pun | play on words based on different meanings of words that sound alike |
| rhetoric | the art of using words effectively in speech or writing |
| rhetorical shift | a change from one tone, attitude, ect. Look for key words like but, however, even though, although, yet, and so on. |
| synecdoche | a form of metaphor in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole thing. (IE stars and strips = flag) |
| tone | the writer or speaker's attitude toward his audience and/or subject. Tone can often be described by a single adjective. |
| understatement/litotes | saying less than is actually meant, generally in an ironic way. |
| voice | a language style adopted bt an author to create the effect of a particular speaker |
Created by:
heretolearn
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