Ap English Literature Definitions

Front 1

connotation

Back 1

a word with more than one meaning.

Front 2

denotation

Back 2

dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word.

Front 3

theme

Back 3

idea or point central to the story.

Front 4

anecdote

Back 4

short interesting story an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make the readers and listeners act.

Front 5

voice

Back 5

author's presence; particular qualities of author are manifested.

Front 6

tone

Back 6

attitude of author.

Front 7

satire

Back 7

literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous in hopes of provoking change.

Front 8

sarcasm

Back 8

use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Front 9

paradox

Back 9

statement which seems contradictory yet turns out to make good sense.

Front 10

personification

Back 10

animal or object is given human attributes.

Front 11

apostrophe

Back 11

form of personification.

*absent or dead are spoken to as if present.

*inanimate as if animate.

Front 12

allusion

Back 12

indirect reference to a person, place, or event.

Front 13

litotes

Back 13

an understatement.

Front 14

dramatic irony

Back 14

character is unaware of full meaning of what they

say.

Front 15

situational irony

Back 15

difference between expectation and reality.

Front 16

verbal irony

Back 16

when a person says one thing and means another.

Front 17

objective (p.o.v.)

Back 17

unbiased point of view.

Front 18

first person (p.o.v.)

Back 18

"I", person speaks for themselves.

Front 19

anticlimax

Back 19

everything is built-up and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens.

Front 20

parable

Back 20

simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.

Front 21

allegory

Back 21

a story with two levels of meaning.

Front 22

formal essay

Back 22

informs, persuades

Front 23

informal essay

Back 23

enjoyment, personal

Front 24

humorous essay

Back 24

elicits laughter

Front 25

exposistion

Back 25

used to make the audience aware of the topic of the discussion

Front 26

subplot

Back 26

secondary strand of plot that is a supporting side for any story or the main plot.

Front 27

third person (p.o.v.)

Back 27

uses "he" and "she"

Front 28

limited (p.o.v.)

Back 28

outsider that can report on everything

Front 29

verse

Back 29

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

Front 30

epigram

Back 30

very short poem.

ends with a surprising or very witty turn of thought.

Front 31

novella

Back 31

short novel or long short story.

Front 32

synecdoche

Back 32

a part is made to represent a whole or vice versa

Front 33

euphemism

Back 33

making something sound nicer or better than it would be if said bluntly.

Front 34

hyperbole

Back 34

big exaggeration to make a point.

Front 35

inversion

Back 35

predicate comes before the subject (little, not only, rarely).

Front 36

invective

Back 36

critical, offensive, abusive language.

Front 37

colloquial

Back 37

everyday language or phrase that is specific to a particular area.

Front 38

atmosphere

Back 38

feeling created through the description of setting (tone, mood, feeling).