Ap Lit - Literary Terms

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antithesis

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contrasting relationship between 2 ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them often in parallel structure

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apostrophe

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direct address of a person or personified thing, either present or absent

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assonance

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the use of similar vowel sounds repeated in successive words

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conceit

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an elaborate metaphor that compares 2 things that are startlingly different

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consonance

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repetitions of a consonant sound

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dramatic monologue

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the occurrence of a single speaker saying something to silent audience

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elegy

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a poem of mourning

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heroic couplet

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2 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter

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invective

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an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

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lyric poem

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a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker

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metonymy

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closely associated object is substituted for the object or idea in mind

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ode

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a poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea

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stanza types

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synecdoche

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villanelle

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allegory

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a form of extended metaphor in which objects and persons in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself

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Ex: The Faerie Queene, Animal Farm, The Inferno, Lord of the Flies

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allusion

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a casual and brief reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event

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ambiguity

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deliberately suggesting 2 or more different and, sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work

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archetype

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a recurring symbol, character, landscape, or event found in myth and literature across different cultures and eras

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cacophony

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unpleasant combination of sounds

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connotation

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emotional content or common associations

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Ex: 'chick' - "woman"

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hyperbole

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exaggeration used for emphasis

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imagery

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consists of the words or phrases a writer used to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses

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irony

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a mode of expression through words (☆verbal irony☆) or events (☆situational irony☆) conveying a reality differ from and usually opposite to appearance or expectation. (☆Dramatic irony☆) is when the words and actions of the characters of a work literature have different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters

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juxtaposition

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poetic or rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit

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metaphor

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a comparison which identifies one thing with another dissimilar thing

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motif

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a term that describes a pattern of strand of imagery or symbolism in a work of literature

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mood

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the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work

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narrative poem

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a poem which tells a story

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onomatopoeia

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the use of words which in their pronunciation suggest their meaning
Ex: buzz, sizzle, crackle, bang, blam, zap, fizz

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oxymoron

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a paradox reduced to 2 words usually adjective-noun (eloquent silence), or adverb-adjective (inertly strong) relationship

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paradox

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occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other

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parody

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a satiric imitation of a work or of an authorized with the idea of ridiculing the author, his ideas, or work

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personification

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metaphorical representation of an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes

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understatement

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expressing am idea with less emphasis or in a lesser degree than is the actual case. opposite of hyperbole

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syntax

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the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence

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symbolism

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the use or any object, person, place, or action that both has meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value

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pun

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a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings

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satire

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a manner of writing to ridicule or irony or exaggeration

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simile

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direct comparison using like or as