AP Literature & Composition Terms

When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.

Writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, and organization.

When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”

Adjective/descriptive phrase expressing a characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

Poem written in a song-like stanza form

Describing something out of its place in time/history

Term describing prose or poetry teaching a lesson, moral or provides a model of behavior

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.

The best way to organize the FRQ2 (prose) is by...

Vivid description that appeals to reader's five senses.

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.

Pause for effect in the middle of a poetry line

Word choice, particularly as an element of style.

Example: She didn’t love often, but when she loved, she loved ferociously.

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

Expression of an idea which gives more than one meaning, leaves uncertainty.

For FRQ1 (poetry) essay you should plan your essay...

When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox

An 8 line stanza (in a poem)

Long speech made by character alone on stage revealing innermost thoughts/feelings

Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.

A concrete object, actions, character...representing abstract ideas or emotions.

Defensible claim? The speaker's word choice and syntax contrasts in the volta, or turn, of the sonnet.

The AP Lit exam consists of...

A very typical example of a certain person or thing, acting as a symbol/motif in literature.

Story in which characters, things, and events symbolically represent qualities or concepts.

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work or person for humorous purposes.

Pair of rhyming lines written in the same meter.

BONUS:Substituting a word naming an object for another word associated with it. (White House)

Statement delivered by actor that other actors probably don't hear

Literary work having to do with shepherds and rustic, rural settings (nature)

BONUS:Figure of speech where part of something stands for the whole: wheels to refer to an automobile

a short story to prove a point with a moral basis

For the FRQ3 (open response) your concluding commentary of each body paragraph should include...

When the audience of a drama, movie, story knows something that the character doesn't.

The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

The ironic minimizing of fact, this presents something as less significant than it is.

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning of a word.

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.

Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.

Defensible claim? The author uses diction to create tone.

Involving circumstances in which actions have an opposite effect from what was intended.

When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.

A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.

The 4 basics of poetry analysis are...

The best way to organize the FRQ3 (open response) is by

When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar

A harsh discordant mixture of sounds.

A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into 2 quatrains and a couplet.

When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within the same single line.

A comparison including extreme exaggeration

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction/syntax).

An extended metaphor two unlike things being consistently compared throughout a text

A character providing contrast of another character's qualities

Character of the 1st-person narrator in verse/prose narratives

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.

Aristotle's word for pity & fear the audience experiences when tragic hero falls

Addressing someone/thing, usually not present or unable to respond

Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.

Imagery appealing to the audience's sense of smell

Interpretation of the work as a whole; meaning of the work as a whole; expression of human experience all refer to

A recurring idea, symbol, theme in a piece of literature.

Combination of harsh unpleasant sounds which create effect of discordance.

A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

Defensible claim? The shift from celebratory to damning word choice in the last stanza emphasizes that love doesn't last

BONUS:A quality of style marked by pleasing, harmonious sounds

Reference to something outside of the text with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

A poem usually personal of grief or mourning