AP Lit Terms

1.Allegory- a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point
2.Alliteration- the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words
3.Allusion- a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize
4.Ambiguity- something uncertain as to interpretation
5.Anachronism- something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time
6.Analogy- a comparison made between two things to show similarities between them
7.Analysis- a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts and those parts are given rigorous and detailed scrutiny
8.Anaphora- a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses or sentences
9.Anecdote- a very short story used to illustrate a point
10.Antagonist- a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative
11.Antithesis- a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness
12.Aphorism- a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life
13.Apologia- a defense or justification of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action
14.Apostrophe- a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly
15.Argument(ation)- process of convincing a reader by providing either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition
16.Assumption- the art of supposing or taking for granted that a thing is true
17.Audience- the intended listener(s)
18.Characterization- the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality
19.Chiasmus- a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order
20.Circumlocution- a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served
21.Classicism- art, literature, and music reflecting the principle of ancient Greece and Rome
22.Cliche- a phrase or situation overused within society
23.Climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered
24.Colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words, or phrases usually used in formal conversation
25.Comedy- originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending
26.Conflict- struggle or problem in a story causing tension
27.Connotation- implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition
28.Contrast- a rhetorical device by which one element is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity
29.Denotation- plain dictionary definition
30.Denouement- loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion
 31.Dialect- the language of a particular district, class or groups of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others
32.Dialectics- formal debates usually over the nature of truth
33.Dichotomy- split or break between two opposing things
34.Diction- the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words
35.Didactic- having to do with the transmission of information; education
36.Dogmatic- rigid in beliefs and principles
37.Elegy- a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral
38.Epic- a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time
39.Epigram- witty aphorism
40.Epitaph- any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone
41.Epithet- a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone's character, characteristics
42.Euphemism- the use of an indirect, mind or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt
43.Evocative- a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality
44.Exposition- beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and or characters, in a detailed explanation
45.Expressionism- movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling
46.Fable- a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth
47.Fallacy- from Latin word "to deceive", a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound
48.Falling Action- part of the narrative or drama after the climax
49.Farce- a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue
50.Figurative Language- apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech
51.Flashback- a narrative device that flashes back to prior events
52.Foil- a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent
53.Folk Tale- story passed on by word of mouth
54.Foreshadowing- in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; "planning" to make the outcome convincing though not to give it away
55.Free Verse- verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme
56.Genre- a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content 57.Gothic Tale- a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay
58.Hyperbole- an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point
59.Imagery- figures of speech or vivid descriptions conveying images through any of the senses
60.Implication- a meaning or understanding that's to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author
61.Incongruity- The deliberate joining of opposite or of elements that aren't appropriate to each other
62.Inference- a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available
63.Irony- a contrast between what's said and what's meant or what's expected to happen and what actually happens or what's thought to be happening and what's actually happening
64.Interior Monologue- a form of writing that represents inner thoughts of a character, recording of internal, emotional experiences of an individual
65.Inversion- words out of order for emphasis
66.Juxtaposition- the intentional placement of a word, phrase or sentences of paragraph to contrast with another
66.Lyric- a poem having musical form and quality; short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings
67.Magical Realism- a genre developed in Latin American which juxtaposes the everyday with the magical
68.Metaphor- an analogy that compares two different things imaginatively
69.Extended- a metaphor that's extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it
70.Controlling- a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work
71.Mixed- a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies
72.Metonymy- literally name changing a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute is substituted for the usual name of a thing
73.Mode of Discourse- argument, narration, description, and exposition
74.Modernism- literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology
75.Monologue- an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel or narrative poem
76.Mood- the predominating atmosphere evoke by a literary piece
77.Motif- a recurring feature in a piece of literature
78.Myth- a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world
79.Narrative- a story or description of events
80.Narrator- one who narrates or tells a story
81.Naturalism- an extreme form of realism
82.Novelette/Novella- short story; short prose narrative, often satirical
83.Omniscient Point of View- knowing all things, usually the third person
84.Onomatopoeia- whose of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning
85.Oxymoron- a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox
86.Pacing- rate of movement; tempo
87.Parable- a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth
88.Paradox- a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas
89.Parallelism- the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form
90.Parody- an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist
91.Pathos- the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness
92.Pedantry- a display of learning for its own sake
93.Personification- a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas
94.Plot- a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose
95.Poignant- eliciting sorrow or sentiment
96.Point of View- the attitude unifying any oral or written argument; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing
97.Postmodernism- literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary
98.Prose- the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that doesn't have a regular rhyme pattern
99.Protagonist- the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist
100.Pun- play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications
101.Purpose- the intended result wished by an author
102.Realism- writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightforward manner to reflect life as it actually is
103.Refrain- a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus
104.Requiem- any chant, dirge, hymn or musical service for the dead
105.Resolution- point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out
106.Restatement- idea repeated for emphasis
107.Rhetoric-  use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade
108.Rhetorical Question- question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion
109.Rising Action- plot build up, caused by conflict and complication, advancement towards climax
110. Romanticism-  movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact
111.Satire-ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general
112.Scansion- the analysis of verse in terms of meter
113. Setting- the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur  114.Simile- a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison 
115.Soliloquy- an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage 
116.Spiritual- a folk song, usually on a religious theme
117.Speaker- a narrator, the one speaking 
118.Stereotype- cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story
119.Stream of Consciousness- the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural
flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as
the character experiences them 
120.Structure- the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization 
121.Style-  the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking
122.Subordination- the couching of less important ideas in less important  structures of language 
123.Surrealism- a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal 
124.Suspension of Disbelief- suspend not believing in order to enjoy it 
125.Symbol- something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own
126.Synesthesia- the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense
127.Synecdoche- another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole 
128.Syntax- the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence 
129.Theme-  main idea of the story; its message(s) 
130.Thesis- a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or disproved; the main idea
131.Tone- the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the         
author’s perceived point of view
132.Tongue in Cheek- a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a.
“dry” or “dead pan”
133.Tragedy- in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed 
134.Understatement- opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis 
135.Vernacular- everyday speech 
136.Voice- The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a
writer’s or speaker’s pesona.
137.Zeitgeist- the feeling of a particular era in history