AP Literature and Composition Terms
Allegory- coveys meaning other than literal.
Usually a story where almost every
detail is symbolic in some way.
Alliteration- repeating the same consonant
sound at the beginning of several words
Ex. The small ship sails swiftly through
the seemingly shimmering waves.
Allusion- a reference to a well-known piece
of literature, art, place, myth, or event
Ex. Public speaking has always been her
Achilles’ heel
Analogy- a comparison between two things.
Anaphora- emphasizing words by repeating
them at the beginnings of clauses
Ie. Mad world! Mad Kings! Mad
composition!
Aphorism- an original thought
spoken/written in a laconic and
memorable form
Ie. Life is short, [the] art long,
opportunity fleeting, experience
misleading, judgment difficult.
Apostrophe- directly speaking to an object
or abstract concept
Ie. Death, why have you left me so
bereft?
Archtype- an original model of a person or
ideal example upon which others are
copied, or patterned; a symbol
universally recognized by all.
Assonance- repetition of the same vowel
sound.
Blank Verse- a type of poetry, distinguished
by having a regular meter, but no rhyme
Caesura- denotes an audible pause that
breaks up a line of verse. (slashs,
periods, commas)
Ex. From the hag and hungry
goblin || that into rags would rend ye,
And the spirits that stand || by the naked
man || in the Book of Moons, defend ye!
Conceit- extended metaphor, usually an
unusual comparison,
Ex. wisdom to a carpet, love to a loom
Connotation- non-literal meaning associated
with a word (opposite of denotation)
Consonance- Repeating same consonant
sound (see assonance)
Couplet- a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It
usually consists of two lines that rhyme
and have the same meter
Denotation- literal meaning of a word
Diction- distinctive vocabulary of writer.
Also the way you talk.
Epic- a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily
containing details of heroic deeds and
events significant to a culture or nation
Epithet- a descriptive word or phrase
accompanying, or occurring in place of,
a name, and having entered common
usage; “a glorified nickname”
Ex. Richard the Lionheart, Man of Steel
Exposition- provides some background and
inform the readers about the plot,
character, setting, and theme
Hyperbole- figure of speech in which things
are greatly exaggerated
Ex. I have a million things to do! (I’m
busy)
Iambic Pentameter- Stressed syllable
followed by an unstressed syllable
(iambic), five times in a line
(pentameter)
daDUMdaDUMdaDUMdaDUMdaDUM
ex. And to this false plague are they now
transferred.
Imagery- descriptive language that evokes
the senses
Inverted Sentence- subject comes after verb
Ex. Never will I ever.
Kenning- a type of complex epithet common
in Old English, figurative language in
place of a more concrete single-
word noun, usually hyphenated
Ex. whale-road, meaning "sea".
Metaphor- comparison without using “like”
or “as”
Metonymy- calling something by the name
of a closely related thing/concept
Ex. The pub was full of pigs. (pig=man)
Mood- the emotional attitude the author
takes towards his or her subject
Narrative- the recounting of a succession of
events
Octave- a verse form consisting of eight
lines of iambic pentameter (in English)
or of hendecasyllables (in Italian); first
part of a Petrarchan sonnet
Onomatopoeia- word that described a sound.
Ex. Bam! Zoink, chug.
Oral Literature- literature passed down by
being told or recited. Often a very big
part of culture.
Oxymoron- a term or phrase that has two
contrasting terms.
Ie. Jumbo shrimp, modern history,
deafening silence
Parable- short story illuminating moral or
religious lessons. Similar to a fable,
except characters are humans, not
animals
Paradox- two opposing truths
Ex. “I can resist anything but
temptation,” “it was the best of times, it
was the worst of times”
Parallelism- to give two or more parts of a
sentence in similar form
Ex. "The inherent vice of capitalism is
the unequal sharing of blessing; the inherent
virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of
miseries."
Personification- ascribing human
characteristics to an inanimate object or
abstract concept
Point of View- (narrative modes)
encompasses not only who tells the
story, but also how the story is described
or expressed (using stream of
consciousness or unreliable narration).
Quatrain- a stanza consisting of four lines
Rhetoric*- art of using language as a means
to persuade. (argumentation)
Satire*- human or individual vices, or
shortcomings are ridiculed, ideally with
the intent of improvement. Often an
attack on something strongly
disapproved by the satirist
Scansion- a way to mark
the metrical patterns of a line of poetry;
n English poetry, they are based on the
different stresses placed on each syllable
Sestet- the second division of an
Italian sonnet, a stanza of six lines
Simile- comparison using “like” or “as”
Symbol- something that represents
something else by association,
resemblance, or convention.
Syncope- Sounds may be removed from the
interior of a word as a rhetorical or
poetic device, whether for
embellishment or for the sake of the
meter.
Ex. O’er, hast’ning, heav’n
Synecdoche- like metonymy.
Ex. Character might be described as a single
body part (eyes) that represent the
character.
Tone- the mood or feeling of a literary work,
as the author gives
Irony:
Verbal- disparity of expression and
intention (sarcasm)
Dramatic- Audience knows something
characters don’t
Situational- disparity of intention and
result
Rhetoric Modes
Exposition- explain and analyze
information (expository)
Argumentation- prove validity by
convincing reader (persuasion)
Description- recreation of an event
Narration- relating a story
Satire
Horatian- playfully criticizes some
social vice through gentle, mild, and
light-hearted humour. It directs wit
and exaggeration, toward what it
identifies as folly, rather than evil
Juvenalian- addresses social evil
through scorn, outrage, and savage
ridicule. This form is often
pessimistic, characterized by irony,
sarcasm, moral indignation and
personal invective, with less emphasis
on humour
Sentence Structures:
Simple- one independent clause
Compound- more than one
independent clause
Complex- one independent and at least
one dependent
Compound-Complex- more than one
independent and at least one
dependent.
Voice:
Active Voice- subject is actor of the
verb
Passive Voice- subject is target of the
verb