Ap Literary Terms

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Allegory

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story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities

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Alliteration

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repetition of the same or similar consonants in words that are close together

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Allusion

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reference to something or someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect refence to something.

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Ambiguity

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deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way- done on purpose by author, or vagueness which may detract from the work

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Analogy

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comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

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Anaphora

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Repetion of word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

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Anastrophe

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Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. Inversion.

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Anecdote

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Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual

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Antagonist

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Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story

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Chiasmus

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Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order in poetry

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Antithesis

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Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often means of grammatical structure

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Antihero

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Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. May lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples

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Anthropomorphism

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attributing human characteristics to an animal

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Aphorism

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brief, cleverly worded statements that make a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. maxim. epigram.

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Apostrophe

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calling out to the imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract answer. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.

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Invocation

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the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation.

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Apposition

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pacing in immediate succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first(often set off by a colon

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Assonance

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the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together

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Asyndeton

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ommas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: X,Y,Z; not X,Y, and Z

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Balance

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constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance. Sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well.

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Characterization

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the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character

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Indirect characterization

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the author reveals to the reader to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characterseffect on other people, or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature.

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Direct characterisation

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the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form.

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Static character

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is one who does not change much in the course of a story

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Dynamic character

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one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action

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Flat character

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has only on or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.

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Round character

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has more dimensions to their personalities-- they are comple, just the way real people are

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Cliche

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is aw ord of phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse. Avoid cliches like the plague

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Colloquialism

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A word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is innapropriate for formal writing

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Comedy

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in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters

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Conceit

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An elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor.

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Confessional Poetry

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A twentieth century term used to describe poetry that uses intimate material from the poet's life

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Conflict

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the struggle between opposing forces or characters in the story

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External conflict

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conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person and a whole society

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Internal Conflict

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a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind

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Connotation

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the association and emotional overtones that have become attached to a owrd or phrase, in addition to its trict dictionary definition

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Dialect

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A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitants of a certain geographical area

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Diction

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A speaker of writer's choice of words

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Didactic

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form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

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Elegy

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A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. A Eulogy is great praise or commendation, a laudatory speech, often about someone who has died

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Epanalepsis

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device of repetition in which the same expression(single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.

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Epic

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a long, narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society

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Epigraph

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a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

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Epistrophe

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Device of repetition in which the same expression(single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

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Epithet

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an adjective or adject phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality

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Essay

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a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject

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Argumentation essay

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one of the four terms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals(logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act a specific way

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Argumentation essay-Persuasion

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relies more on emotional appeals than on facts

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Argumentation essay-Argument

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form of persuasion that appeals to reason instead of emotion to convince an audience to think or act in a certain way

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Argumentation essay-causal relationship

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form of argumentation in which the writer claims that one thing results from another, often used as part of a logical argument

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Argumentation essay-description

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a form of discourse that uses language to create mood or emotion

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Argumentation essay-exposition

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one of the four major forms of discourse in which something is explained or "set forth"

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Argumentation essay-narrative

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the form of discourse that tells about a series of events

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Explication

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act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text, usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language

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Fable

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a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life

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Farce

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a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in sill, far-fetched situations

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Figurative language

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words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.

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Flashback

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A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time

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Foil

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A character who acts in contrast to another character. Often a funny side-kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero

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Foreshadowing

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the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

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Free verse

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poetry that does not conform to regular meter or rhyme scheme

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Hyperbole

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A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect

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Hypotactic

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sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationship between them

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Hypotaxis

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use of syntactical subordination of just one clause

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Imagery

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the use of language to evoke a picture or concrete sensation of a person,a thing, a place, or an experience

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Inversion

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the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase

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Irony

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A discrepancy between appearances and reality

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Verbal Irony

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Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else

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Situational irony

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takes place when there is a discrepancy between what i expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen

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Dramatic irony

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is so called because it is often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better

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Juxtaposition

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poetic and 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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Litotes

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a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form

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Local color

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a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect, and landscape

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Loose sentence

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one in which the main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units. Periodic sentence

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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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Metaphor

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a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words as like, as, than, or resembles

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Implied metaphors

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does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison

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Extended metaphors

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a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it

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Dead metaphor

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a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid

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Mixed metaphor

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a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible

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Metonymy

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a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it

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Mood

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an atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected

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Motif

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a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work(or in severalworks of one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme

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Motivation

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the reason for a character's behaviour

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Onomonopoeia

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the use of words whose sounds echo their sense

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Oxymoron

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a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

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Parable

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a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life

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Paradox

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a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth

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Koan

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a paradox than is used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge

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Parallel structure

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the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures

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Paratactical sentence

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simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences

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Parody

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a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style

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Periodic

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sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought as the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements

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Personification

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a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

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Plot

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the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the story line

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Plot-exposition

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introduces characters, situation, and setting

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Plot-rising action

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complications in conflict and situations(may introduce new ones as well)

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Plot-climax

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that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. Also called turning point

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Plot-resolution

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the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled; often also the denouncement

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Point of view

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the vantage point from which the writer tells the story

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First person point of view

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one of the characters tells the story

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Third person point of view

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an unknown narrator tells the story, but the narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character

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Omniscient point of view

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an omniscient or all knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator, instead of focusing on one character, often tells us everything about many characters

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Objective point of view

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a narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events

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Polysyndeton

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sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series. X, Y, and Z turns to X and Y and Z

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Protagonist

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the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero;in a tragic hero there is always a hamartia, or tragic flaw in his character which will lead to his downfall

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Pun

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a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things

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Quatrain

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a poem consisitng of four lones, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit

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Refrain

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a word, phrase, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem

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Rhythm

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a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language

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Rhetoric

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art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse

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Rhetorical question

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a question asked for an effect, and not actually requiring an answer

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Romance

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in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful

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Satire

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a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt in an attempt to bring about change

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Simile

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a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike thins using words such as like, as, than, or resembles

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Soliloquy

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a long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage

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Stereotype

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a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on rleigious, social, or racial prejudices

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Stream of consciousness

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a style of writing that portrays the inner(often chaotic) workings of a character's mind

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Style

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the distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax

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Suspense

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a feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story

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Symbol

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a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself

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Synecdoche

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a figure of speech in which a part resembles the whole

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Syntactical fluency

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ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately compelex and/or simple and varied in length

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Syntactical permutation

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sentence structure that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow

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Tall tale

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an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable

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Telegraphic sentence

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a sentence shorter than five words in length

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Theme

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the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

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Tone

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the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization

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Tragedy

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in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end

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Tricolon

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sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses

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Understatement

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a statement that says less that what is meant

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Unity

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unified parts of th writing are related to one central idea or organizing principle. Unity is dependent upon coherence.

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Vernacular

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the language spoken by the people who live in a particular locality

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Impressionism

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a nineteenth-century movement in literature and art which advocatd a recording of the artist's personal impressions of the world, rather than a strict representation of reality

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Modernism

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1920's-1945, a term for the bold new experimentation styles and forms that swept the arts during the first third of the twentieth century

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Naturalism

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late 1800's-mid 1900's, s nineteenth century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was

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Plain style

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writing style that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression(but will still utilize allusions and metaphors), and was the main form of Puritan writers

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Puritanism

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1620's-1770's, writing style of America's early English-speaking colonists, emphasize obedience to God and consists mainly of journals, sermons, and poems

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Rationalism

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1770's- early 1800's,a movement that began in Europe in the seventeenth century, which held that we can arrive at truth by using our reason rather than relying on the authority of the past, rather than relying on the past, the authority of the Church, or an institution. Also Neoclassicism and the age of reason

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Realism

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1850's- early 1900's, a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or ramanticising

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Regionalism

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1884- early 1940's, literature that emphasizes a specific geographical setting and that reproduces speech, behaviour, and attitudes of the people that live in that region

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Romanticism

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early 1800's-1870's, a revolt against Rationalism that affected literature and the other arts, beginning in the late eighteenth century and remained strong throughout most of the nineteenth century

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Surrealism

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a movement in art and literature that started in Europe during the 1920's. Surealists wanted to replace conventional realism with the full expression of the unconscious mind, which they considered to be more than the "real" world of appearances

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Symbolism

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a literary movement that originated in late nineteenth century France, in which writes rearranged the world of appearance in order to reveal a more truthful version of reality

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Transcendentalism

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a nineteenth century movement in the Romantic tradition, which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reasons and sensory experience

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Puritanism time

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1620-1770's

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Neoclassic time

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1770'2-early 1800's

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Romanticism period

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early 1880's-1870's

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Realism period

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1850's-early 1900's

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Regionalism period

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1884-early 1900's

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Naturalism period

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late 1800's-mid 1900's

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Modernism period

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1920's-1945

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Post-Modernism period

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1945-now