Ap English Lit Terms

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accent

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the emphasis , or stress, given a syllable in pronounciation

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act

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a major division in the action of a play

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allegory

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a narration or description usually restricted to a single meaning because its events, actions, characters, settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas

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alliteration

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the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sqequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable

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allusion

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a brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

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ambiguity

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allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work

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anagram

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a word or phrase made from the letters of another word or phrase, as "heart" is an anagram of "earth"

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anapestic meter

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the metrical unit by which a line of poem is measured

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antagonist

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the character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist, and gives rise to the conflict of the story

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antihero

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a protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of hero. He or she may be bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely pathetic

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apostrophe

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an address either to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend.

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approximate rhyme

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rhyme is almost but not exactly alike

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archetype

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a term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader

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aside

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in drama, a speech directed to the audience that supposedly is not audible to the other characters onstage at the time

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assonance

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the repetition of internal vowel sounds in nearby words that do not end the same

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ballad

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traditionally, a ballad is a song, transmitted orally from generation to generation, that tells a story and that eventually is written down

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ballad stanza

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a four-line stanza, known as a quatrain, consisting of alternating eight- and six-syllable lines

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biographical criticism

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an approach to literature which suggest that knowledge of the author's life experiences can aid in the understanding of his or her work

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blank verse

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unrhymed iambic pentameter

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cacophony

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language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce

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caesura

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a pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line

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canon

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those works generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study, which collectively constitute the "masterpieces" of literature

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carpe diem

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the Latin phrase meaning "seize the day". This is a very common literary theme, especially in lyric poetry, which emphasizes that life is short, time is fleeting, and that one should make the most of present pleasures

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catharsis

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meaning "purgation" catharsis describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy

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Character, characterization

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a character is a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, and characterization is the process by which a writer makes the character seem real to the reader

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Chorus

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In Greek tragedies, a group of people who serve mainly as commentators on the characters and events

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cliche

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an idea or expression that has become tired and trite from overuse, its freshness and clarity having worn off

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climax

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the moment of greatest emotional tension in a narrative, usually marking a turning point in the plot at which the rising action reverses to become the falling action

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closet drama

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a play that is written to be read rather than performed onstage

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colloquial

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refers to a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions

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comedy

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A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and that ends happily for the ain characters

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comic relief

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a humorous incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise serious work

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conflict

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the struggle within the plot between opposing forces

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connotation

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associations and implications that go beyond the literal meaning of a word, which derive from how the word has been commonly used and the associations people make with it

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consonance

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A common type of near rhyme that consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds

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contextual symbol

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a setting, character, action, object, name, or anything else in a work that maintains its literal significance while suggesting other meanings

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controlling metaphor

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a metaphor that runs through an entire work and determines the form or nature of that work

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convention

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a characteristic of a literary genre that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique

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conventional symbol

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symbols that have meanings that are widely recognized by a society or culture

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cosmic irony

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irony that occurs when a writer uses God, destiny or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character or of human kind in general

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couplet

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two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter

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crisis

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a turning point in the action of a story that has a powerful effect on the protagonist

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cultural criticism

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an approach to literature that focuses on the historical as well as social, political, and economic contexts of a work

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dactylic meter

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one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones

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deconstructionism

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an approach to literature which suggests that literary works do not yield fixed, single meanings, because language can never say exactly what we intend it to mean

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Denotation

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the dictionary meaning of a word

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denouement

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A French term meaning "unraveling" or "unknotting" used to describe the resolution of the plot following the climax

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dialect

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a type of informational diction. dialects are spoken by definable groups of people from a particular geographic region, economic group, or social class

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dialogue

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the verbal exchanges between characters

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diction

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a writer's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning

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didactic poetry

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poetry designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson

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Doggerel

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A derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed

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drama

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derived from the Greek word dram, meaning "to do" or "to perform," the term drama may refer to a single play, a group of plays, or to all plays

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dramatic irony

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creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true

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dramatic monologue

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a type of lyric poem in which a character addresses a distinct but silent audience imagined to be present in the poem in such a way as to reveal a dramatic situation and, often unintentionally, some aspect of his or her temperament or personality

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dynamic character

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a character that undergoes some kind of change because of action in the plot

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editorial omniscience

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refers to an intrusion by the narrator in order to evaluate a character for a reader

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electra complex

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the female version of the Oedipus complex

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elegy

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a mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation

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end rhyme

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rhyme at the end of the lines

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end-stopped line

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a poetic line that has a pause at the end

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English sonnet

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also known as a Shakespearian sonnet, is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg

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enjambment

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in poetry, when one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning

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Envoy

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a three line concluding stanza

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epic

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A long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style, that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation

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epigram

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A brief, pointed, and witty poem that usually makes a satiric or humorous point

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epiphany

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In fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself; a truth which is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment

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escape literature

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also known as formula literature it follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations

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euphony

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refers to language that is smooth and musically pleasant to the ear

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exact rhyme

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rhymes that share the same stressed vowel sounds as well as sharing sounds that follow the vowel

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exposition

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a narrative device, often used at the beginning of the work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances

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extended metaphor

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a sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors

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eye rhyme

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words that are not spelled the same way or that look alike, but still rhyme

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falling action

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the third part of the plot, which is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts and complications

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falling meter

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refers to metrical feet which move from stressed to unstressed sounds, such as the trochaic foot and the dactylic foot

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farce

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A form of humor based on exaggerated, improbable incongruities.

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feminine rhyme

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s rhymed stressed syllable followed by one or more identical unstressed syllables, as in butter, clutter, gratitude, attitude, quivering, shivering

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feminist criticism

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an approach to literature that seeks to correct or supplement what may be regarded as a predominantly male-dominated crucial perspective with a feminist consciousness

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figures of speech

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ways of using language that deviate from the literal, denotative meanings of words in order to suggest additional meanings or effects

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first-person narrator

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the I in the story presents the point of view of only on echaracter

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fixed form

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A poem that may be categorized by the pattern of its lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas

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flashback

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A narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work

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flat character

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a character that embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary

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foil

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a character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of antoerh character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character

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foot

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the metrical unit by which a line of poetry is measured

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foreshadowing

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the introduction early in a story of verbal and dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later

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form

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the overall structure or shape of a work, which frequently follows an established design

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formal diction

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diction that consists of a dignified, impersonal, and elevate use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone

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formalist criticism

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an approach to literature that focuses on the formal elements of a work, such as its language, structure, and tone

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formula literature

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often characterized as "escape literature," formula literature follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations

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found poem

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An unintentional poem discovered in a nonpoetic context, such as a conversation, news story, or advertisement

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free verse

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also called open form poetry, free verse refers o poems characterized by their nonconformity to established patters of meter, rhyme, and stanza

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Gay and Lesbian criticism

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an approach to literature that focuses on how homosexuals are represented in literature, how they read literature, and whether sexuality, as well as gender, is culturally constructed or innate

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gender criticism

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an approach to literature that explores how ideas about men and women -- what is masculine and feminine -- can be regarded as socially constructed by particular cultures

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genre

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a French word meaning kind or type

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haiku

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a style of lyric poetry borrowed from the Japanese that typically presents an intense emotion or vivid image of nature, which, traditionally, is designed to lead to a spiritual insight

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hamartia

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a term coined by Aristotle to describe "some error frailty" that brings about misfortune for a tragic hero

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hero,heroine

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often called the protagonist, is the central character who engages the reader's interest and empathy

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heroic couplet

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a couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter

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high comedy

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refers to verbal wit, such as puns

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historical criticism

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An approach to literature that uses history as a means of understanding a literary work more clearly

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hubris or hybris

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excessive pride or self-confidence that leads a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or to violate an important moral law

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hyperbole

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A boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true

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iambic meter

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meter that consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, is the most common meter in English poetry

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iambic pentameter

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a metrical pattern in poetry which consists of five iambi feet per line. or one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

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image

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a word, phrase, or figure of speech that addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures or sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions

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implied metaphor

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a more subtle comparison; the terms being compared are not so specifically explained

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in media res

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a term used to describe the common strategy of beginning a story in the middle of the action

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informal diction

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diction that represents the plain language of everyday use, and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contractions, and many simple, common words

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internal rhyme

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rhyme that places at least one of the rhymed words within the line

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irony

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a literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true

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Italian sonnet

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also known as Petrarchan sonnet, is divided into an octave, which typically rhymes abbaabba, and sestet, which may have varying rhyme schemes