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lit midterm vocab
Literature terminology that will be seen on the AP Lit exam.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Antithesis | A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences. Ex: "They promised freedom but provided slavery" / "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" |
| Aphorism | A short, pithy statement of a generally accepted truth or sentiment. |
| Apollonian | In contrast to Dionysian, it refers to the most godlike, noble qualities of human nature and behavior. |
| Apostrophe | Speaker addresses a person or thing that is not present. |
| Archetype | An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form. |
| Bathos | The use of insincere or overdone sentimentality. "Bad pathos" |
| Allegory | A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning. |
| Ambiguity | A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings of explanation. |
| Anachronism | A person, scene, event, or other element of literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work was set. |
| Bildungsroman | A German word referring to a novel structured as a series of events that take place as the hero travels in quest of a goal. |
| Bombast | Inflated, pretentious language used for trivial subjects. |
| Cacophony | Grating, inharmonious sounds. |
| Caesura | A pause somewhere in the middle of the verse, often (but not always) marked by punctuation. |
| Canon | The works considered most important in national literature or period; works widely read and studied. |
| Catharsis | A cleansing of the spirits brought about by the pity and terror of a dramatic tragedy. |
| Conceit | A witty or ingenious thought |
| Deus ex machina | In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem. |
| Elegy | Poem that laments on death. |
| Enjambment | The use of successive lines without break or punctuation in between them. |
| Euphony | Pleasing, harmonious sounds. |
| Eponymous | The word for the title character. |
| Exegesis | A detailed analysis of a work of literature. |
| Explication | The interpretation or analysis of a text. |
| Frame | Structure that provides premise or setting for a narrative. |
| Hubris | Excessive pride that leads to character's downfall. |
| Image | A word or phrase that represents something that can be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or felt. |
| Invective | A direct verbal assault. |
| Litotes | A form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis or intensity. |
| Metaphysical poetry | The work of 17th century poets that uses elaborate conceits, is highly intellectual, and expresses the complexities of love and life. |
| Metonymy | A figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated. |
| Motif | A phrase, idea, or even that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature. |
| Ode | A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject. |
| Synecdoche | A figure of speech in which a art signifies the whole, or the whole signifies the part. Pig skin = football is also applicable. |
| Trope | The generic name for a figure of speech such as an image, symbol, simile, and metaphor. |
| Verisimilitude | Similar to the truth; the quality of realism that persuades the readers that they are getting a vision of life as it is. |
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