Ap English Literature & Composition Literary Terms

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Alliteration

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Repetition of accented consonant sounds at the beginning of wards

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Allusion

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Reference to previous literature, history, mythology, Bible...

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Ambiguity

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Quality of being intentionally unclear

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Anachronism

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Element in a story that is out of its time frame

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Analogy

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clarifies or explain unfamiliar concept or object which cannot be put into words by comparing it with something that is familiar

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Analysis

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process of examining the components of literary work

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Anapest

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poetic foot (measure) that follows the pattern unaccented, unaccented, accented

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Anecdote

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short personal story used to emphasize a point, develop theme or character, or inject humor

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Antagonist

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character who functions as a resisting force to the goals of protagonist

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Antecedent

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word or phrase to with a pronoun refers

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Anticlimax

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an often disappointing, sudden end to an intense situation

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Antihero

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protagonist who carries the actions of the literary piece but does not embody the classic characteristics of courage, strength, and nobility

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Antithesis

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concept that is directly opposed to a previously presented idea

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aphorism

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terse statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle

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apostrophe

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rhetorical figure of direct address to a person, object, or abstract entity

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apotheosis

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elevating someone to the level of a god

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archetype

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character, situation, or symbol that is familiar to people from all cultures because it occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore

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aside

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speech or remark made by actor to audience rather than to the characters, who do not hear

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assonance

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repeated use of a vowel sound

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attitude

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the author's feelings toward the topic he or she is writing about

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aubade

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a poem or song about lovers who must leave one another in the early hours of the morning

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ballad

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folk song or poem passed down orally that tells story which may be derived from actual incident or legend

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blank verse

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unrhymed poetry of iambic pentameter

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cacophony

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harsh, discordant sounds, unpleasant to ear

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carpe diem

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"sieze the day". expresses idea that you only go around once

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catharsis

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emotional cleansing or feeling of relief

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chiasmus

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inverting the second of two phrases that would otherwise be in parallel form

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colloquial

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slang or regional dialect, used in familiar everyday conversation

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comic relief

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humor that provides a release of tension and breaks up a more serious episode

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conceit

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a far-fetched comparison between two seemingly unlike things

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connotation

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associations a word calls to mind

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consonance

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same consonant sound in words

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conventional character

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character with traits that are expected or traditional

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couplet

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two successive rhyming lines

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dactyl

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foot of poetry with 3 syllables, one stressed and 2 short or unstressed

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denotation

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dictionary or literal meaning of a word or phrase

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denouement

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outcome or clarification at the end of a story or play. winding down from the climax to ending

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deus ex machina

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when gods intervene at the story's end to resolve impossible conflict. Unlikely or improbably coincidence or cop-out ending

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Diction

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the deliberate choice of a style of language for a desired effect or tone

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didactic

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primary purpose is to instruct, teach, or moralize

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distortion

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exaggeration or stretching of the truth to achieve a desired effect

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enjambment

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in poetry, the running over of a sentence from one verse or stranza into the next without stopping at the end of the first

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epigram

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a short, clever poem with a witty turn of thought

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epigraph

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brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of theme

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epiphany

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sudden flash of insight. startling discovery or appearance, dramatic realization

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epistolary novel

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novel in letter form written by one or more characters

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essay

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short composition on a single topic expressing the view or interpretation of the writer on that topic

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euphemism

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substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for another that would be harsh, offensive, or embarrassing

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euphony

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pleasant or harmonious sound of a word or group of words

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farce

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kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or improbable situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience

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figurative language

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uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, hyperbole...

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first person

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character in the story tells the story

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flashback

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interruption by introduction of an earlier event or image of a past experience

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flat character

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simple, one-dimensional character who remains the same and whom little or nothing is revealed

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foil

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contrasting character draws attention to characteristics of main character

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foreshadowing

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hints at what is to come

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free verse

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poetry without regular rhyme or meter

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genre

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category into which a piece of writing can be classified

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heroic couplet

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rhymed couplet written in iambic pentameter

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hubris

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excessive pride

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hyperbole

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an extreme exaggeration for literary effect that is not meant to be interpreted literally

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iambic pentameter

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five-foot line made up of an unaccented followed by an accented syllable

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imagery

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anything that affects or appeals to the reader's senses

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in media res

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work that begins in the middle of the story

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interior monologue

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reveals character;s unspoken thoughts and feelings

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internal rhyme

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rhyme within lines

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inversion

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switch in the normal word order

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italian sonnet

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fourteen-line poem divided into two parts, first is eight lines (abbaabba) then six (cdcdcd or cdecde)

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petrarchan sonnet

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fourteen-line poem divided into two parts, first is eight lines (abbaabba) then six (cdcdcd or cdecde)

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litotes

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affirmation of an idea by using negative understatement. opposite hyperbole

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lyric poem

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fairly short, emotionally expressive poem that expresses the feelings and observations of a single speaker

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metamorphosis

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radical change in a character, either physical or emotional

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metaphor

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figure of speech which compares two dissimilar things, asserting that one this is another thing

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meter

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rhythmical pattern of a poem.

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metonymy

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replaces name of something with a word of phrase closely associated with it

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myth

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story that explains the origins of gods, heroes, or natural phenomena

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narrative poem

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a poem that tells a story

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near, off, or slant rhyme

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rhyme based on an imperfect or incomplete correspondence of end syllable sounds

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onomatopoeia

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words that imitate sound

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oxymoron

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figure of speech that combines two contradictory words

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parable

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short story illustrating a moral or religious lesson

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paradox

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statement or situation that at first seems impossible or oxymoronic, but which solves itself and reveals meaning

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parallelism

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repeated use of the same grammatical structure in a sentence or series of sentences.

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parody

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comical imitation of a serious piece with the intent of ridiculing the author or work

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pastoral

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poem, play, or story that celebrates and idealizes the simple life of shepherds and shepherdesses

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pathos

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the quality of a literary work or passage which appeals to the reader's or viewer's emotions - especially pity, compassion and sympathy

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periodic sentence

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sentence that delivers its point at the end

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personification

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human qualities put onto animals or objects

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point of view

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perspective of the speaker or narrator

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protagonist

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main character

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pun

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play on words, humorous

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quatrain

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four-line stanza

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refrain

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repetition of a line, stanza, or phrase

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repetition

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word or phrase used more than once to emphasize an idea

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rhetorical question

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question with an obvious answer and isn't expected to be answered

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satire

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use of humor to ridicule and expose the shortcomings and failings of society, individuals, and institutions, often in the hope that change are possible

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sestet

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six-line stanza of poetry

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shift

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movement from one thought or idea to another, change

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simile

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comparison of unlike things using like or as

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soliloquy

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character's speech to audience in which ideas or emotions are revealed

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english sonnet

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14-line poem in iambic pentameter. abab, cdcd, efef, gg. couplet sums up or resolves conflict

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shakespearean sonnet

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14-line poem in iambic pentameter. abab, cdcd, efef, gg. couplet sums up or resolves conflict

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stanza

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grouping of poetic lines, deliberate arrangement of lines of poetry

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stock character

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stereotypical character

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stream of consciousness

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replicated the way the human mind works. ideas presented in random order, thoughts often unfinished

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structure

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particular way in which parts of a written work are combined

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style

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the way a writer used language. takes into account word choice, diction, figures of speech... "voice"

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symbol

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concrete object, scene, or action which has deeper significance because it is associated with something else

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synecdoche

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one part represents the entire object

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syntax

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the way in which words, phrases, and sentences are ordered and connected

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theme

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the central idea of a literary work

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tone

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author's attitude toward subject, sets mood of piece

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tongue in cheek

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expressing a thought in a way that appears to be sincere, but it actually joking

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tragic flaw

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defect in a hero that leads to downfall

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transition

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means to get from one portion of a poem to another

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segue

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means to get from one portion of a poem to another

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local color

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a type of writing particularly attentive to the dialect and customs of regional cultures thought to be vanishing in the face of the modern corporation

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motivation

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reason or reasons behind a character’s actions; what induces a character to do what he does; motives

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moral

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a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event.

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oral tradition

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a community's cultural and historical traditions passed down by word of mouth or example from one generation to another without written instruction

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irony

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(1) saying the opposite of what is meant (2) result or ending that is the opposite (3) situation in which the audience attending a dramatic presentation grasps the incongruity of a situation before the actors do

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image

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a literal and concrete representation of a sensory experience or of an object that can be known by one or more of the senses; a portion of the essence of meaning of the literary work, not just decoration; may be either literal or figurative, (a literal image being one that involves no necessary change or extension in the obvious meaning of the words, one in which the words call up a sensory representation of the literal object or sensation)

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round character

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a character in fiction whose personality, background, motives, and other features are fully delineated by the author

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anagnoresis

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the critical moment of recognition or discovery; precedes peripetia

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prose

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the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse

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legend

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an unverified story handed down from earlier times, esp. one popularly believed to be historical, or a romanticized/popularized myth of modern times

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epic

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long narrative on a serious subject chronicling heroic deeds and important events

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ode

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a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of exalted or enthusiastic emotion; lyric poem of some length, usually of a serious or meditative nature and having an elevated style and formal stanzaic structure

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conflict

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opposition between characters or forces in a work of drama or fiction, esp. opposition that motivates or shapes the action of the plot

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haiku

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a mode of Japanese poetry following a strict format of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables; traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons

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circular novel

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when the plot of a novel begins in the present and goes back in time working back up to the present, making a full circle, such as in Kite Runner

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frame story

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tale with a plot structure wherein an author uses two or more characters to present the action (like in Frankenstein)

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exposition

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the part of a story’s plot that introduces the setting and characters and presents the events and situations that it will focus on. It can also be an essay that informs but does not argue

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atmosphere

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the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art

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Freytag's pyramid

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analysis of drama dividing it into five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement

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external conflict

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in literature, a struggle between the protagonist and another character against nature or some outside force

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allegory

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a story or narrative that teaches a moral or truth by using people, animals, events, etc. as symbols of that moral or truth

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dynamic character

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(also called developing character) in literature or drama, a character who undergoes a permanent change in outlook or character during the story

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octave

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a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse

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extended metaphor

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also called a conceit, these are a figure of speech found commonly in metaphysical poetry. An extended metaphor is a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work

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motif

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any recurring element that has symbolic significance

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idyll

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poem focusing on the simplicity and tranquility or rural life, or prose work with a similar focus

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fable

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story that teaches a lesson or a rule of living; the characters are usually animals that speak and act like humans

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climax

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(in a dramatic or literary work) a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot

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static character

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a literary character who remains basically unchanged throughout a work

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development

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the dynamic process of improvement, which implies a change, an evolution, growth and advancement, frequently of a theme or character over the course of a literary work

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internal conflict

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in literature and drama, a struggle which takes place in the protagonist’s mind and through which the character reaches a new understanding or dynamic change

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harmartia

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tragic flaw

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epitaph

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an inscription on a tomb or a written work praising a dead person; a commemoration, eulogy, or remembrance

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elegy

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a somber poem or song that praises or laments the dead

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falling action

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point after the climax of a story that shows the climax’s effects and leads up to the denouement; frequently a characteristic of tragedies and short stories

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dramatic irony

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when the audience of a play knows more than the characters within the play, making the plot suspenseful and dramatic

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abstract

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Complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, seldom uses examples to support its points.

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Aesthetic

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Appealing to the senses; a coherent sense of taste.

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Archaism

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The use of deliberately old-fashioned language

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Ambibranch

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A poetic foot -- light, heavy, light

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bathos

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Writing strains for grandeur it can't support and tries too hard to be a tear jerker.

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black humor

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The use of disturbing themes in comedy.

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Anapest

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A poetic foot -- light, light, heavy

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Bombast

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Pretentious, exaggeratedly learned language

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Burlesque

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Broad parody, one that takes a style or form and exaggerates it into ridiculousness.

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Anthropomorphism

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When inanimate objects are given human characteristics. Often confused with personification.

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Cadence

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The beat or rhythm or poetry in a general sense.

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canto

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The name for a section division in a long work of poetry.

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Caricature

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A portrait (verbal or otherwise) that exaggerates a facet of personality.

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Dramatic Monologue

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When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience.

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Coinage (neologism)

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A new word, usually one invented on the spot.

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Feminine rhyme

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Lines rhymed by their final two syllables. Properly, the penultimate syllables are stressed and the final syllables are unstressed.

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dirge

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A song for the dead. Its tone is typically slow, heavy, depressed, and melancholy