AP Language Literary Terms

opposed to concrete, not quantifiable

the study of beauty in art, literature, and nature

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

repetition of initial consonant sounds

reference to historical figure, literary figure, event, or object

having more than one meaning; used in verbal, written, and nonverbal communication

placing something in time where it does not belong

comparison of two things, alike in some respects

to separate into parts for inspection and evaluation

a short narrative detailing the particulars of an event

• the
• force against the protagonist; a person, nature,

or the person’s psyche

a protagonist who is graceless, inept, stupid, or dishonest

figure of speech; uses strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas

short witty statement

• a
• written or spoken defense

someone (usually but not always absent), some abstract quality, or some nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present

• brought to literary criticism from Carl Jung; blocked off memory of a past or pre-human experience; type
• of struggle or character to which a culture relates without prior knowledge

same or similar vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with different consonant sounds (“lake” and “fate”)

prevailing mood of a work; particularly when established in part by setting or landscape (mood)

author’s or speaker’s feeling toward the subject; attend to distance when discussing attitude (tone)

intended receiver for a speaker’s or writer’s message

a coming of age novel; the story of a person’s development (aspects seen in The Catcher In The Rye and Huck Finn)

• accepted
• list; religious canon: Matthew, Mark,
• Luke, John

literally “seize the day”; the philosophy of living for the day and not thinking of tomorrow

moral and spiritual cleansing received when watching a protagonist overcome great odds to survive

• person described as a individual with reference to characterization; making an imaginary
• person seem life-like
• --static character: a character changes little if at all
• --dynamic character: a character develops and changes throughout the plot

in the order of time; simplest way to structure a narrative

informal conversation; differs from formal language in grammar, vocabulary, syntax, imagery, or connotation

a type of metaphor that is strikingly odd and thoughtful (love compared to a motorcycle)

opposed to abstract; quantifiable

personwho partakes little in the action; is close to the protagonist; hears all the intimate secrets of the protagonist

clash between the protagonist and antagonist; anytime these two come into the same arena there is some form of conflict

emotional implications and associations that words carry

• relation between words in which the final consonants
• in the stressed syllables agree but the vowels that precede them differ (“add” and “read”)

point of highest clash; usually pertains to plot

the analysis, study, and evaluation of individual works of literature

reasoning from the general to the specific (students are bad drivers, aaron drives recklessly, aaron hits small animals daily)

• specific items placed in a work for effect and meaning
• --descriptive detail: used in sensory description
• --concrete detail: used in a persuasive paper to attempt to convince a reader (evidence)

the basic meaning of a word independent of its emotional coloration or associations

• literally “god in the machine”; greek idea from when the gods would come on stage to rescue the hero; now it
• applies to any time a hero is saved by a miraculous
• or improbable event

• stylistic elements (speech, syntax, diction)
• --narrative device: ordering of events, withholding
• information, tools of the storyteller
• --persuasive device: strong connotations and logic of argument
• --stylistic device:
• a combination of the elements of language
• (connotation, tone, etc.)

word choice; know “denotation” and “connotation”

a teaching type of tone; usually lesson-like or boring in nature (a driver education film)

insertion of material not closely related to work or subject

• there are several modes or types of discourse; each mode uses its own devicesand techniques
• --expositive
• --descriptive
• --narrative
• --persuasive

literally “double goer”; mysterious twin or double fighting against good work

literally “bad place”; an imaginary world which was constructed to be perfect yet failed; present tendencies are carried out to their intensely unpleasant end

techniques, features, devices

• the
• omission of one or more words

sudden understanding or realization which previously was not thought of or understood

emotions of the writer reflected in speech or in writing; character of the writer reflected in speech or in writing

device where being indirect replaces being direct in order to avoid unpleasantness

from “fancy”; usually breaking away from reality

parts of tone (diction, imagery, details, language, sentence structure, etc.)

• use of language which departs from customary construction (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification,
• etc.)

device by which a work presents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work

presentation of literary material in such a way that readers are prepared for later events in the work

• organization of the elementary parts of a work of art in
• relation to its total effect

particular type or category of writing (tragedy, comedy, epic, short story, historical fiction, didactic, etc.)

from greek; translated in New Testament as “sin”; literally means an error, mistake, frailty, or misstep; a protagonist’s hamartia will cause his or her downfall

oral religious instruction given by a minister to a church; gives practical moral counsel rather than discussion of doctrine

to overstate an issue, exaggeration

• literally a collection of images within a work; specifically, descriptive details which use figures of speech to explain a concept, person, or thing
• --controlling image: an image that runs throughout the entire work

literally “in the midst of things”; starting a story in the middle of the action; later the first part will be revealed (the first scene of Star Wars)

reasoning from the specific to the general

to conclude by reason an idea, attitude, or tone which is not directly stated by the author

violent verbal attack; used to describe tone

• a recognition of reality different from the appearance; unexpected
• --verbal irony: actual intent is opposite of what is said; not as harsh as sarcasm

• placing two or more things side by side (particularly the
• contrasting scenes in The Great Gatsby)

• literally “gaudy trash”; shallow flashy art designed to
• have a mass appeal

• style of sentence and vocabulary used in conversation
• and written communication (slang, formal, parental, didactic, common, etc.)
• --resources of language: diction, syntax,sentence structure, figures of speech

• identifying one object with another and ascribing to the first object one or more of the qualitiesof the second;
• a special comparison

substitution of the name of an object with a word closely associated with it (“white house” for the presidency “crown” for the royal family or queen)

emotional and intellectual feelings of the author toward the subject (atmosphere)

simple device that serves as a basis for an expanded narrative; it is a recurring feature in the work

• tone of fairness and even discussion of a subject; usually
• suggests that there is distance between the author
• and the subject being discussed; this type of tone can be cold and impersonal

words that by their sound suggest their meaning (“hiss”, “buzz”, “whir”)

a self contradictory combination of words

statement that seems to be contradictory or absurd; however, on closer examination it is found to be true

coordination of sentence syntax, word order, and ideas; it is used for effect and emphasis (thesis statement)

writing which imitates another serious piece and pokes fun at the original (the rewritten movies in Mad Magazine)

greek for “feeling”; quality that stimulates pity, tenderness, sorrow

bookish and scholarly in tone; often boring and dull due to little interest on the part of the listener

• human-like
• qualities are given to inanimate objects

• literary theft; using someone’s ideas and style and passing
• them off as your own

• point from which an author presents a story (can be close, distant, within a character, etc.)
• --omniscient narrator: all-knowing
• --naive narrator: character does not comprehend implications which are plain to the reader
• --stream-of-consciousness: the total range of awareness and emotive-mental response
• of an individual

• framework upon which a story is placed; once story is finished, a definite beginning, middle, and end can be found (chronological, flashback, in media res, etc.)
• --subplot: secondary story within a story

“pro” means first, “agon” means contest; the main character of a work who has some type of contest to complete (mental, spiritual, physical, natural)

• a play on words based on the similarity of sound between
• two words with different meanings

• realistic works depict the reality of a harsh world and its
• effects upon the luckless protagonist

repeating a word, sound, phrase, or idea; used for emphasis; excellent in persuasive speeches

• art
• of persuasion and employing devices to persuade; clear
• language

• question
• used by the speaker or writer to achieve an awareness in the
• listener or reader; no reply is expected

• a
• bitter expression of disapproval, sometimes intended to be
• harsh and hurtful; levels of intensity exist

• a way of writing or speaking which censures things, activities, persons, or
• ideas; it is accomplished with

humor and wit

• study
• of meaning (sometimes linguistics, sometimes to discriminate between surface and
• substance)

• background against which action takes place
• --artificial setting: not natural; made by man
• --natural setting: all setting that is produced through nature (weather, light, darkness)

• metaphor;
• comparison of two things using “like” or “as”

• changing from one tone, attitude, or distance to another;
• look for little words (but, however, even though,
• although, yet)

• distance
• between characters, ideas, and things within a story; characters can be close physically, but
• emotionally distant; language explains distance

• planned
• framework of a piece of literature; to analyzerhetorical structure images,
• details, and arguments
• must be studied

• combines
• two elements: the idea to be expressed and the
• individuality of the author

• expressing
• in a personal manner convictions, beliefs, and ideas; when a subjective response occurs it is
• likely to be
• emotional

• formula
• for presenting a logical argument;
• demonstrates logic through analysis (assertion,
• proof, commentary)

• thing
• that in and of itself stands for something else; symbol will be in the form of objects, places, events, time,
• weather, and people; symbols use tenor and
• vehicle

--vehicle: the physical item (the flag . . .)

--tenor: the abstraction (. . . represents freedom)

• summary
• of the main points of a story

• physical
• arrangement of words in a sentence

• joining
• of at least two ideas, arguments, and abstracts to produce a new idea, argument, or
• abstract

• sum
• of working methods or special skills; refers to how something is done rather
• than to what is done
• --narrative technique: style of the story; the
• writer’s order of events and details

• central
• idea of a story or essay

• an attitude or position taken by the speaker or writer (thesis sentence details the
• main idea of a formal paper)

• the
• attitude of the author toward the audience (attitude)

• movement
• that believed in reliance upon conscience and
• intuition; a form of idealism; romanticism (Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau)

--anti-transcendental: opposite of transcendental;

• a negative
• outlook (Herman Melville and

• Nathaniel
• Hawthorne)

• a
• word or phrase that links different ideas

• an
• actual statement which falls under the magnitude Of the actual event

• perfect
• world; Utopias usually become Dystopias

Intellectual humor