AP LITERARY TERMS

1. ALLEGORY: A story or poem in which the events and characters can reveal a
hidden meaning. George Orwells Animal Farm constitutes an allegory to the
Russian Revolution of 1917.
2. ALLITERATION: The repetition of same letter or sound at the beginning of
words that are closely connected. In Shakespeares All the Worlds a Stage,
alliteration is seen in the 23rd line with the use of the words turning, toward, and
treble.
3. ALLUSION: The reference of someone or something known from history,
literature, or any other branch of culture. The poem The Unknown Citizen
represents an allusion to Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which recognizes people
whose bodies are found after war.
4. AMBIGUITY: Suggesting two or more conflicting meanings in a story or poem.
Ambiguity occurs in the poem O Captain, My Captain when it is unclear
whether the speaker is referring to the captain or President Lincoln.
5. ANALOGY: A comparison made between two things to show how they are alike.
In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon the pig serves as an analogy for Joseph
Stalin due to the fact that they both use military force to achieve their needs.
6. ANAPHORA: The repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the beginning of two
or more sentences in a row. In the poem Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy
Evening, the phrase miles to go before I sleep serves as an anaphora since it is
repeated in the last two lines.
7. ANASTROPHE: An inversion of the usual parts of a sentence. In the poem
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, the phrase Whose woods these
are I think I know, represents an anastrophe since the order of the sentence is not
logical.
8. ANECDOTE: A brief story that shows the character of an individual. The novel
Their Eyes Were Watching God demonstrates an anecdote of Janies life when she
describes her time with Tea Cake before the events leading to his death.
9. ANTAGONIST: An opponent who goes against the protagonist in a story. In the
novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Bob Ewell represents an antagonist because he files
a case against the innocent Tom Robinson and nearly kills Scout.
10. ANTIMETABOLE: Repetition of words in adjacent clauses, except in reverse
grammatical order. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare highlights
antimetabole through Mercutio. Mercutio mentions, And as soon to be moved
moody, and as soon moody to be moved.
11. ANTITHESIS: Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted,
often by means of grammatical structure. Shakespeare uses antithesis in Romeo
and Juliet by mentioning, Heres how much to do with hate, but more to do with
love.
12. ANTIHERO: The central character who lacks typical qualities associated with
heroes. In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon is depicted as an antihero for gaining
power through corrupt and selfish methods.
13. ANTHROPOMORPHISM: The act of attributing human-like qualities to
animals. In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell gives the pigs
anthropomorphism as shown by their human-like actions such as sleeping on beds
and walking on hind legs.

14. APHORISM: A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes an observation

about life, or of a principle. In the novel Siddhartha, Herman Hesse conveys a
wide variety of aphorisms in his story such as, gentleness is stronger than
severity, water is stronger than rock, and love is stronger than force.
15. APOSTROPHE: Calling out to an imaginary or dead character. In the poem O
Captain, My Captain, the author uses apostrophe by displaying the narrator
mourning over the death of Lincoln.
16. APPOSITION: Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more
coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or
modification of the first. In the poem O Captain, My Captain, we witness
apposition through the quote Her captain, dear father.
17. ASSONANCE: The repetition of vowel sounds followed by similar consonance
sounds. Shakespeare demonstrates an accurate use of assonance through this
quote from Romeo and Juliet, For men so old as week to keep the peace.
18. ASYNDETON: Commas used without conjunctions to emphasize a series of
words. The nurse from the play Romeo and Juliet demonstrates asyndeton
through the quote These grieves, these woes, these sorrows make me old.
19. Balance: constructing sentences so that each half is given equal importance in
length and weight. In The Life of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell utilizes the
following balanced sentence: Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth
and every other man has a right to knock him down for it.
20. Characterization: a method used by the author to reveal personality and
emotions of characters. In the novel The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck signifies that
Wang Lung is a dynamic character since at first he lives a banal life as a farmer,
but at the end of the novel he becomes opulent and purchases Lotus and other
slaves. In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell demonstrates that Benjamin the
Donkey is a flat character as the only trait about him is his cynicism. In the novel
To Kill a Mockingbird, Bob Ewell exhibits the behavior of a static character as he
remains the same dangerous man throughout the novel.
21. Chiasmus: Similar to an antimetabole, a chiasmus is a poetical term where the
second half of the sentence is balanced with the first half, except the second half
is reversed. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde uses the
following sentences to demonstrate chiasmus: Nothing can cure the soul but the
senses, similarly nothing can cure the senses but the soul (21).
22. Clich: a word or phrase that remains lifeless due to overuse. In William
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, an example of clich is seen through the quote,
the faultis not in our stars but in ourselves.
23. Colloquialism: a word or phrase used in informal setting such as everyday
conversations. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates
colloquialism through the use of words in southern dialects such as reckin,
yonder, and moseyin.
24. Comedy: a story that ends with a happy resolution of conflict faced by the
protagonists. Shakespeares sonnet number 18 is an example of comedy in which
Shakespeare ridicules his friend.
25. Conceit: an extended metaphor that compares two things which are startlingly
different. In the poem Valediction: Forbidding Morning, John Donne
demonstrates conceit by comparing his soul and Annes soul to the way a
compass moves.

26. Confessional Poetry: This is a type of a poetry which uses intimate objects from
the poets life, Sylvia Plath demonstrates the use of confessional poetry
throughout the poem Daddy. In this poem, Plath utilizes intimate objects from
her past to paint a vivid picture in the readers mind of descriptions of her dad.
27. Conflict: This is the struggle between opposing forces in a novel. External
conflict involves two things. It can be man vs. man, or man vs. nature. In the
novel The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck demonstrates external conflict when Wang
Lung battles the weather conditions of a drought causing him to lose harvests.
Internal conflict is conflict between opposing forces in a persons mind. In the
novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, we see an internal conflict in Dorians mind
when he debates about doing the right thing or continuing his hedonistic path by
listening to Lord Henrys advice.
28. Connotation: feelings or emotions associated with a word or phrase in addition
to its strict dictionary definition. In the poem A Poison Tree, William Blake
utilizes the word wrath to signify a negative correlation as the word is associated
with strong anger leading to the death of the protagonists foe.
29. Couplet: two rhyming lines in poetry that are adjacent to each other. The poem
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, demonstrates a couplet from the
following lines, My horse must think it queer, the darkest evening of the year.
30. Dialect: A way of speaking that is characterized by the social group based on its
inhabitants of a certain geographical area. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching
God, a southern dialect is present among the Negro community of Eatonville.
31. Diction: a speaker or writers choice of words. In the poem I Wandered Lonely
as a Cloud, William Wordsworth carefully selects diction that resembles a tone
of joyfulness and bliss.
32. Didactic: a form of writing that serves to provide a basic moral or a model of
correct behavior/thinking. Mother to Son by Langston Hughes exemplifies
didactic poetry because the moral is to persevere in life despite the struggles that
hold you back.
33. Elegy: a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. The poem O
Captain, My Captain is an example of an elegy in which the speaker mourns the
death of President Abraham Lincoln.
34. Epanalepsis: A device of repetition where the same expression is repeated both at
the beginning and the end of a line, clause, or sentence. In William Shakespeares
Julius Caesar, Epanalepsis is demonstrated in the following quote from Brutus,
Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you
may hear: believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor, that you
may believe.
35. Epic: a long narrative poem which recounts the deed of a heroic character who
embodies the value of a particular society. The Odyssey is an epic which recounts
the journey of Odysseus after the Trojan War.
36. Epigraph: a quotation at the beginning of a literary work suggesting the theme of
the literary work. In the novel The Daughter of Time, Josephine Trey uses the
proverb, Truth is the daughter of time to suggest the theme of her novel.
37. Epistrophe: A device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at
the end of two or more lines. It is the opposite of anaphora. In the novel The
Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck demonstrates epistrophe through the following
quote: Then Ill be all aroun in the dark, Ill be everwhere theys a cop beatin

up a guy, Ill be there. An when our folk eat the stuff they raise and live in
houses, Ill be there.
38. Epithet: an adjective applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to
emphasize a characteristic quality. In the poem O Captain, My Captain,
Whitman addresses Lincoln with the epithet of my captain and my father.
39. Essay: a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect
of the subject. John Lockes The Treatise of Government serves as an example
of an exposition since Locke specifically explains characteristics of government
and how people must consent to be governed.
40. Explication: act of interpreting the meaning of a text. An example of explication
could involve analyzing poetry through DDITTS. For example, the poem
Annabel Lee has a mournful towards the death of Annabel Lee.
41. FABLE: a short story that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.
Shirley Jacksons The Lottery represents a fable that teaches the reader about
potential cruelty if one submits to the mass will.
42. FARCE: a type of comedy in which ridiculous characters are involved in silly
situations. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sibyl Vane is an actress who
partakes in various farces such as the play A Midsummers Night Dream.
43. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: Words which are inaccurate if interpreted
literally, but are used to describe things. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Capulet
describes Juliets death figuratively to an untimely frost with the words, Death
lies on her like an untimely frost (Act IV Scene V).
44. FLASHBACK: a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of
events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time. In the novel
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee utilizes a flashback told by Scout to highlight
events in the past such as encounters with Boo Radley and Atticuss court case.
45. FOIL: A character who acts as contrast to another character. In Shakespeares
play Hamlet, Laertes acts as a foil to Hamlet since he is a contrasting villain and
they are the same age and gender.
46. FORESHADOWING: the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen
later in a plot. Edgar Allan Poe uses this literary device in his poem The Cask of
Amontillado, with Montresors family crest. The family crest foreshadows
Fortunatos death.
47. FREE VERSE: poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme
scheme. The poem Love Poem with Toast by Miller Williams is an example of
a free verse poem that does not conform to a regular meter nor a regular rhyme
scheme.
48. HYPERBOLE: A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or
overstatement, for effect. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses this
device by making Jem tell Dill that Your name is longer than you are ( 7 Lee).
49. HYPOTACTIC: sentence marked by the use of connecting words between
clauses or sentences. William Blakes The Clod and the Pebble uses a
hypotactic sentence. Blake uses the sentence So sang a little clod, trodden with
the cattles feet.
50. IMAGERY the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a
person, a thing, a place, or an experience. The five types of imagery include
auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory imagery. William Shakespeare

utilizes this literary device in the play Romeo and Juliet by making Romeo praise
Juliet for her radiant face that is brighter than a torch-lit hallway.
51. INVERSION the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase. In
the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses inversion in the following line And
a lady is she, wise and virtuous (Act 1 Scene 5).
52. IRONY: A discrepancy between appearances and reality. One form of irony is
verbal irony, when someone says something but means another thing. An example
of verbal irony is in Romeo and Juliet when Shakespeare calls the two households
alike in dignity, when they are violent and undignified in reality. Situational irony
is when there is a discrepancy between what is supposed to happen and what
really happens. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses situational irony
by making Romeo find Juliet sleeping so that he kills himself. Dramatic irony
occurs when the character thinks one thing is true, but the reader knows the
reality. In the play Hamlet, we are aware that Hamlet is not truly mad, while the
other characters think he is.
53. JUXTAPOSITION: poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated
ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another. When looking at Yoricks
skull, Hamlet utilizes juxtaposition to contrast the living and dying.
54. LITOTES: a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized
through the negation of a negative form. Shakespeare uses litotes in his play
Romeo and Juliet through the quote Nothing can be ill (Act 5 Scene 1).
55. LOCAL COLOR: a term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place
special emphasis on a particular setting. In the novel Their Eyes were Watching
God, a southern dialect is used to indicate a local color.
56. LOOSE SENTENCE: one in which the main clause comes first, followed by
further dependent grammatical units. An example is seen in chapter 1 of The
Great Gatsby when Nick says, Halfway between West Egg and New York City
sprawls a desolate plain, a gray valley where New Yorks ashes are dumped.
57. LYRIC POEM: a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal
feelings or thoughts of the speaker. An example of this occurs when
Shakespeares Sonnet 18which reveals his inner feelings towards his lover.
58. METAPHOR: a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two
unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as,
than, or resembles. One type of metaphor is an implied metaphor which does
not explicitly state the two terms of comparison. In the play Hamlet, an
implied metaphor occurs when Hamlet says Borrowing dulls the edge of
husbandry (Act 1 Scene 3). An extended metaphor is developed as far as the
writer wants it. In his poem All the Worlds a Stage, Shakespeare uses an
extended metaphor to compare a theater stage to life. A dead metaphor is a
comparison used so much that it is no longer vivid. In the novel To Kill a
Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses a dead metaphor to compare Atticus to the head
of the household. A mixed metaphor is one that is visually imaginative.
59. METONYMY: a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is
referred to by something closely associated with it. An example occurs in
Romeo and Juliet when Mercutio says A plague on both your houses (Act 3
Scene 1). Both of the houses refer to the families associated with them.
60. MOOD: An atmosphere created by a writers diction and the details selected.

Due to the various conflicts present in The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck utilizes a
solemn mood when writing this novel.
61. MOTIF: A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation
used throughout a work. Religion is a motif present in The Good Earth as we
repeatedly witness Wang Lung worship the Earth Gods.
62. MOTIVATION: The reasons for a characters behavior. In the novel The Great
Gatsby, the motivation for Daisy marrying Tom occurs due to her fascination for
wealth.
63. ONOMATOPOEIA: the use of words whose sounds echo their sense. Edgar
Allan Poe uses this literary device in his poem The Raven by using the word
tapping to indicate a certain sound.
64. OXYMORON: a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms
in a brief phrase. In Act 1 Scene 1, Shakespeare uses an oxymoron in Romeo and
Juliet by saying brawling love.
65. PARADOX: a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of
truth. This is used in The Picture of Dorian Gray when the narrator states that
Sibyl is free in her prison of passions.
66. KOAN: a paradox used in Zen Buddhism to gain intuitive knowledge. This is
used by Herman Hesse in Siddhartha when he makes Siddhartha compare his life
to the flowing river.
67. PARALLEL STRUCTURE: The repetition of words or phrases that have
similar grammatical structures. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scouts
flashback contains parallel structure so that all the words are in past tense.
68. PARATACTIC SENTENCE: simply juxtaposes clauses or sentences. Plutarchs
Life of Caesar uses this by saying I came, I saw, and I conquered.
69. PARODY: a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some
aspect of the writers style. George Orwells Animal Farm represents a
parody of Communist Russia by mimicking the events that occurred in this
era.
70. PERIODIC: sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at
the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements. Shakespeare uses this in
the play Romeo and Juliet with the words What is her burying grave that is her
womb (Act 2 Scene 3).
71. PERSONIFICATION: a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given
human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. The poem Because I Could Not Stop for
Death personifies death as a suitor.
72. PLOT: the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the
storyline. Exposition is the first stage of plot in which the characters and setting is
introduced. To Kill a Mockingbird uses this to introduce the town of Maycomb
and the events going on in the novel. Rising action is when conflict is first
introduced in the story. This occurs when Scout encounters Boo Radley and when
the issue of Tom Robinsons case is mentioned. Climax is the turning point of the
story. The climax occurs when Tom Robinson is put in jail and Bob Ewell chases
the kids. The resolution concludes the story. An example is when Boo Radley
saves the kids from Bob Ewell.
73. POINT OF VIEW: the vantage point from which the writer tells the story. First
person is when one character tells the story in his view. An example of this is
when Nick tells the story in first person in the novel The Great Gatsby. Third

person is when an unknown narrator tells story and focuses upon one persons
thoughts. George Orwell uses this style in his novel 1984. Omniscient is when an
all knowing narrator tells the story. This type of style is used by Pearl S. Buck in
her novel The Good Earth. Objective point of view is when an impersonal
narrator tells the story. Shirley Jackson uses this in her short story The Lottery.
74. POLYSYNDETON: sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to
separate the items in a series. An example of this occurs in Act 1 scene 2 of
Hamlet when Hamlet is talking to Gertrude and uses nor to separate items in his
list rather than commas.
75. PROTAGONIST: the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives
the action. Dorian Gray serves as the protagonist in the novel The Picture of
Dorian Gray.
76. PUN: A play on words based on the multiple meanings of a single word or
on words that sound alike but mean different things. Shakespeare uses a pun
in his play Hamlet by saying A little more than kin, and less than kind (Act
1 Scene 2 Page 65).
77. QUATRAIN: A poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem
that can be considered as a unit. This is used in Robert Frosts Stopping
by the Woods on a Snowing Evening.
78. REFRAIN: A word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect,
several times in a poem. Edgar Allan Poe utilizes this literary device in his poem
Annabel Lee by repeating the words In a kingdom by a sea in the second line
of each stanza.
79. RHYTHM: A rise and fall in the voice produced by an alternation of stressed and
unstressed syllables. Shakespeare uses rhythm in his work Romeo and Juliet by
creating an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables known as iambic
pentameter.
80. RHETORIC: Art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. In
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde uses rhetorical devices to convey the motif of
sins and the effect they have on ones lifestyle.
81. RHETORICAL QUESTION: A question asked for an effect, and not requiring
an actual answer. Shakespeare uses a rhetoric question in the play Romeo and
Juliet by making Juliet say Whats in a name? That which we call a rose by
another name would smell as sweet (Act 2 Scene 2).
82. ROMANCE: A story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest
and is successful. The Great Gatsby portrays characteristics of a romance novel
since the hero, Jay Gatsby, undertakes a quest to make Daisy love him and he is
successful in gaining her love.
83. SATIRE: A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or
institutions in an attempt to bring about a change. George Orwells Animal Farm
represents a satire because Orwell uses humor to communicate the problem that
power cannot be divided equally.
84. SIMILE: A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two
unlike things by using words such as like, than, as, or resembles. Pearl S. Buck
uses a simile in her novel The Good Earth by saying "He passed into an animal
satisfaction, like a child fixed upon its feeding (Buck 4).

85. SOLILOQUY: A long speech made by a character in which no other characters

are on stage. William Shakespeare uses a soliloquy in his play Hamlet when
Hamlet says his To Be or Not to Be speech.
86. STEREOTYPE: A fixed idea or conception of a character which does not allow
for individuality, often based on religious or social prejudices. Pearl S. Buck uses
stereotype in her novel The Good Earth by describing O-Lan, Wang Lungs uncle,
and Lotus because she uses social and racial prejudices to hinder the development
of their individuality in her novel.
87. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A style of writing that portrays the inner
workings of a characters mind. Fitzgerald uses this literary device in his novel
The Great Gatsby by portraying the inner thoughts of Nick Carraways mind as
the novel progresses.
88. STYLE: The distinctive way in which a writer uses language. Zora Neale
Hurston uses a specific style in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by using
diction that represented the southern dialect from which the setting of the novel
occurs.
89. SUSPENSE: A feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next
in a story. Shakespeare uses this literary device in his play Hamlet during the
scene when Hamlet is about to fight Laertes and this leaves the readers thinking
whether or not Hamlet can avenge his fathers death and kill Claudius.
90. SYMBOL: A person, place, or event that has meaning in itself and stands out to
mean something else. Harper Lee uses symbolism in her novel To Kill a
Mockingbird by describing the gifts that Boo Radley leaves in the tree as a
symbol for his desire to make connections and his perpetual childhood.
91. SYNECDOCHE: A literary device in which a part represents a whole.
Shakespeare uses a synecdoche in his play Hamlet by making the ghost tell
Hamlet that his death occurred due to his brothers hand. The hand is a
synecdoche for King Claudiuss whole body.
92. SYNTACTIC FLUENCY: Ability to create a variety of sentence structures.
Shakespeare utilizes this literary device in his play Romeo and Juliet through the
use of varying syntax.
93. SYNTACTIC PERMUTATION: Sentence structures that are extraordinarily
complex and involved. Fitzgerald uses this device in his novel The Great Gatsby
by making Nick create a long and complex sentence conveying his shock due to
Gatsbys death: At first I was surprised and confused; then, as he lay in his house
and didnt move or breathe or speak, hour upon hour, it grew upon me that I was
responsible, because no one else was interestedinterested, I mean, with that
intense personal interest to which everyone has some vague right at the end
(Fitzgerald 164).
94. TALL TALE: An outrageously exaggerated, yet humorous story. George
Orwells Animal Farm represents a tall tale because Orwell uses humor to make
his animals depict human-like characteristics, which makes the story outrageously
exaggerated.
95. TELEGRAPHIC SENTENCE: A sentence shorter than five words in length.
William Shakespeare uses a telegraphic sentence in his play Hamlet by saying
Frailty, thy name is woman (Act 1 Scene 2). This is a short sentence depicting
the flaws of woman

96. THEME: The insight of human life that is revealed in a literary work. Harper
Lee uses this device in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird to convey the existence of
social inequalities and that prejudice can harm human interaction.
97. TONE: The attitude the writer takes towards a subject or a work. Edgar Allan
Poes poem The Raven depicts a melancholy tone due to the ominous
atmosphere created when The Raven encounters the narrator.
98. TRAGEDY: A story in which the heroic character either dies or comes to some
other unfortunate end. Shakespeares play Romeo and Juliet represents a tragedy
since both Romeo and Juliet die in the last scene.
99. TRICOLON: A sentence of three parts of equal importance and length.
Shakespeare uses a tricolon in his play Hamlet through the phrase To die, to
sleep, no more (Act 3 Scene 1).
100.
UNDERSTATEMENT: A statement that says less than what is meant.
Shakespeare depicts an understatement in his play Romeo and Juliet when
Mercutio depicts his death wounds as a scratch.
101.
UNITY: Unified parts of writing are related to one central idea. Edgar
Allan Poe uses this device in his short story The Cask of Amontillado by
making each element relate to the conclusion of the story when Fortunato dies.
102.
VERNACULAR: The language spoken by the people who live in a
particular locality. Zora Neale Hurston uses this literary device by making the
diction represent the people who live in the local area from which the setting of
the novel occurs.

Prado Summer Assignment

Jay Talati
ENGLISH III - IB