AP Literary Terms List #1

“against the man.” When a writer personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their arguments

coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, an object, or an idea

indirect reference to something with which the reader is expected to be familiar.

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

both halves of the sentence are about the same length and importance, sometimes used to emphasize contrast

a broad parody that will take an entire style or form, such as myths, and exaggerate it into ridiculousness.

“primordial images” formed by repeated experiences in the lives of our ancestors; expressed thru myths, religion, etc

an ___ is one or a series of assertions presented and defended by the writer

A series of words separated by commas (with no conjunction), e.g. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

comparison to a directly parallel case

brief recounting of a relevant episode, inserted into texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor.

descriptive writing that exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or their personality

the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, or a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographic data

repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity; “lake and fate”

address to the dead as if living; inanimate as if animate; the absent as if present; unborn as if alive

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

trying to establish that something is true just because everyone believes it’s true

“to the crowd.” A fallacy of logic in which the widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make it true

Assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence, e.g. the watch Merlyn wore in The Once and Future King

a brief tale told to point out a moral in which characters are animals

support that draws on recognized experts or people with highly relevant experience

__ is the balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses

the relationship an author has toward his or her subject and/or his or her audience.

emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the choice of objects described

a short, often witty statement of a principal of a truth about life.

Exploring of a problem by investigating all sides of it; persuasion through reason.

this language describes ideas and qualities - NOT observable/specific things, people, or places.

A narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one.

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately to create an effect

alliteration

term used in existential criticism to describe both the individual and the collective anxiety