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AP Literature Terms
Important Terms to Know
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one |
| alliteration | repetition of the same consonant at the beginning of several words in close proximity |
| allusion | passing reference or indirect mention of a previously written text or historical event |
| analogy | a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. |
| anaphora | the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect |
| aphorism | a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner |
| apostrophe | a rhetorical device used by playwrights and authors whenever their characters address a character that isn’t present in the scene |
| assonance | two or more words, close to one another repeat the same vowel sound, but start with different consonant sounds |
| blank verse | unrhymed poetry, usually in iambic pentameter |
| caesura | a break or pause in the middle of a verse line |
| connotation | an idea that is implied or suggested by a word or phrase beyond its literal meaning |
| consonance | repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. This repetition often takes place in quick succession |
| couplet | a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse |
| denotation | the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression |
| dialect | language used by the people of a specific area, class, district, or any other group of people; involves the spelling, sounds, grammar and pronunciation used by a particular group of people and it distinguishes them from other people around them |
| diction | as style of speaking or writing, determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. |
| elegy | a mournful poem; a lament for the dead |
| epistrophe | a stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the ends of the clauses or sentences. It is also called “epiphora |
| euphemism | polite, indirect expressions that replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite, or which suggest something unpleasant |
| foil | a person or thing that serves to contrast with another |
| foot | a group of syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm |
| free verse | poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter |
| hyperbole | an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation |
| imagery | writing that represents object, action, and idea which appeal our senses |
| irony | incongruity between what is expected and what occurs |
| jargon | the use of specific phrases and words in a particular situation, profession, or trade. These specialized terms are used to convey hidden meanings accepted and understood in that field. |
| juxtaposition | a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem, for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts. |
| lyric | of or relating to poetry that expresses emotion |
| malapropism | use of an incorrect word in place of a similar-sounding word, which results in a nonsensical and humorous expression. |
| metaphor | a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common characteristics. |
| meter | a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse |
| metonymy | substituting the name of a feature for the name of the thing |
| ode | a lyric poem with complex stanza forms |
| onomatopoeia | using words that imitate the sound they denote |
| paradox | a statement that contradicts itself |
| parallelism | similarity by virtue of corresponding |
| panegyric | a formal expression of praise |
| pastoral | a literary work idealizing the rural life |
| personification | attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas |
| anthropomorphism | a technique in which a writer ascribes human traits, ambitions, emotions, or entire behaviors to animals, non-human beings, natural phenomena, or objects. |
| pathetic fallacy | a literary device that attributes human qualities and emotions to inanimate objects of nature |
| polyptoton | Repetition of words of the same root, with different endings. |
| point of view | a mental position from which things are perceived |
| pun | a humorous play on words |
| refrain | part of a song or poem that recurs at regular intervals |
| rhyme | correspondence in the final sounds of two or more lines |
| rhythm | alternation of stressed and unstressed elements in speech |
| satire | witty language used to convey insults or scorn |
| shift | move from one setting or context to another |
| simile | a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things using like or as to make the comparison |
| soliloquy | a dramatic speech giving the illusion of unspoken reflectiony |
| sonnet | a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme |
| stanza | a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem |
| symbol | something visible that represents something invisible |
| synecdoche | using part of something to refer to the whole thing |
| theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary work |
| enjambment | moving over from one line to another without a terminating punctuation mark |
| cacophony | loud confusing disagreeable sounds |
| litotes | a figure of speech that employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, a positive statement expressed by negating its opposite expressions. |
| didactic | instructive, especially excessively |
Created by:
DebIrwin
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