Literary Terms - 1St Set

Front 1

allegory

Back 1

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to
represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for
example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or
freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization
about human existence.

Front 2

alliteration

Back 2

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more
neighboring words (as in “she sells sea shells”). Although the term is not frequently in the
multiple choice section, you can look for alliteration in any essay passage. The
repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the
sense of the passage.

Front 3

allusion

Back 3

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly
known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical,
literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may
simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.

Front 4

ambiguity

Back 4

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word,
phrase, sentence, or passage.

Front 5

analogy

Back 5

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship
between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or
pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing
more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.

Front 6

anaphora

Back 6

A sub-type of parallelism, when the exact repetition of words or phrases at
the beginning of successive lines or sentences. MLK used anaphora in his famous “I
Have a Dream” speech (1963).

Front 7

antagonist

Back 7

A character or force against which another character struggles. Victor
Frankenstein’s antagonist is the monster (and also death itself).

Front 8

anapest

Back 8

Two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one, as in com-pre-
HEND or in-ter-VENE. An anapestic meter rises to the accented beat as in Byron's lines
from "The Destruction of Sennacherib" (p 482, T500).

Front 9

assonance

Back 9

The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry or
prose.

Front 10

antecedent

Back 10

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. The AP language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences. A question from the 2001 AP test as an example follows: “But it is the grandeur of all truth which can occupy a very high place in human interests that it is never absolutely novel to the meanest of minds; it exists eternally, by way of germ of latent principle, in the lowest
as in the highest, needing to be developed but never to be planted.” The antecedent of “it” (bolded) is...? [answer: “all truth”]

Front 11

antithesis

Back 11

the opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite.

Front 12

aphorism

Back 12

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a
moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to
be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author’s point.

Front 13

apostrophe

Back 13

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person
or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or
something that cannot answer. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity.
William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, “Milton, thou shouldst be living
at this hour: / England hath need of thee.” Another example is Keats’ “Ode to a
Grecian Urn,” in which Keats addresses the urn itself: “Thou still unravished bride of
quietness.” Many apostrophes imply a personification of the object addressed.

Front 14

assonance

Back 14

A type of rhyme; repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds.

Front 15

atmosphere

Back 15

The emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work, established
partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described.
Even such elements as a description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere.
Frequently atmosphere foreshadows events. Perhaps it can create a mood.