AP Lit Vocabulary Review

Any artificial device or coincidence used to bring about a simple solution to a plot.

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

A story in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or ideas.

Excessive pride or ambition that leads to a character's downfall.

A serious poem upon the death of a particular person, usually ending in consolation.

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

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole.

The choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language in a literary work.

Harmony or beauty of sound, pleasing to hear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect.

Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words.

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

Language that is lofty, dignified, and impersonal.

Usually ironic language meant to hurt or mock someone or something and also amuse the audience.

An idealized model of something from which similar instances are derived or patterned.

The particular phrasings, tone, diction, and manner a writer uses that is distinctive to them.

Using fancy diction to describe the ordinary, or fast transition from a significant to trivial.

The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene.

A poem that celebrates, in a continuous narrative, the deeds of mighty heroes and heroines

Rhymes that occur near each other within a line of poetry, instead of at the end of a line.

When a speaker says something that is the opposite, or nearly the opposite, of what is meant.

The order of words when writing phrases, clauses, and sentences.

A "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or similar sounding words.

A short and interesting or amusing story often proposed to demonstrate some point.

A pithy/brief observation that contains a general truth. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds.

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

The direct, specific, and literal meaning of a word.

When unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to each other, creating surprise.

When a character's words or actions convey a meaning to the audience but not the character.

Combining opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Ex: "Jumbo shrimp" "Hot ice"

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

A word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse.

Writing that depicts the thoughts inside a character's head as if they were talking.

Unpleasant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables in poetry.

The repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase, like pitter-patter.

Words/phrases in a sentence that are similar in grammar, construction, sound, meaning or meter.

Words that have similar but not identical sounds, as in chill and doll, or bridge and grudge.

Poetry written without rhymes, but which retains a set metrical pattern.

Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, place. thing, or personified idea.

An expression or phrase not meant literally but still understood. "It's raining cats and dogs."

A form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized by saying the opposite.

A poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.

The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action.

A retrospection where an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the plot.

The substitution of an inoffensive expression for one that might offend or embarrass.

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

A story within a story, as in, for example, Heart of Darkness.

A pause in a line of verse, indicated by speech patterns or punctuation, not meter.

A novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist. A coming of age.

In a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine which leads to his or her downfall.

A compound poetic phrase substituted for the usual name of a person or thing.

Making an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like or as.

An idea suggested by a word, apart from what it explicitly describes.

Something that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself.

The use of words whose sounds echo their sense. The words sounds like what it means.

A work that uses mockery, humor, and wit to criticize and cause societal/personal change.

Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes.

A comparison through the use of similes and metaphors of two unalike things in a written work.

A word or phrase that is not formal, typically used in ordinary, familiar conversation.

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

A recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, used in a work, relating to theme.

The continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line of poetry.

A detailed and complex metaphor that extends over a long section of a work.

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

Latin for "in the middle of things." When a story begins somewhere in the middle of the plot.

A character who contrasts against another, in order to show more clearly their traits.

A reference to a person, event, or work of art in literature.

The attitude a writer takes toward the subject, revealed through diction, devices, and syntax.

The narrator in a non-first person novel. The voice "through which the author speaks."

A poem that is somewhat serious in subject and tone, and elevated in style.

A huge difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant.

An emotional poem or form of verse, often a narrative, set to music.

A metrical pattern that consists of two syllables in an unstressed - stressed pattern.

The use of language to evoke the five senses, a picture or a concrete sensation.

A sudden emotional breakdown/climax,that consists of overwhelming feelings of pity or sorrow.

Opponent or force that struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

A willingness of a reader or viewer to ignore minor inconsistencies or unbelievable behavior.

Repetition of same/similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together.

The repetition of sound patterns that creates a rhythm in poetry.

A statement which seems contradictory or contrary to common sense, yet can be seen as true.

Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and maybe conflicting, meanings in a work

A short poem with 14 fourteen lines, in iambic pentameter, a rhyme scheme and a volta or turn.

A short poem where the speaker expresses intense personal emotion, not a narrative.

A work describing the simple life of country folk who live a life of beauty, music, and love.

When a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it.

A kind of poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

The error in judgment as a result of a tragic flaw, which causes their downfall.

A poetic rhetorical balance where the second part is balanced against the first, but reversed.

A repeated stanza or line(s) in a poem or song.

Language that is more conversational and colloquial, and similar to everyday speech.

Sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series.

A comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT the use of words of comparison as like or as

When an object or animal is given human qualities, feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.

The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced, phrases, grammar, or ideas.

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

Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.

A type of comedy in which ridiculous and characters are involved in silly, crazy situations.

A category of literary work, like tragedy, comedy, or drama.

A comment made by a stage performer that is heard by the audience but not by other characters.

Presentation of essential information about what happened prior to the beginning of the play.