AP Literature Summer Vocabulary
Terms
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- Analogy
- a comparison of two things, often for the purpose of explanation
- Assonance
- repeating a vowel sound
- Tone
- mood, attitude, atmosphere
- Angst
- feeling of anxiety, accompanied by depression
- Alliteration
- multiple words in a sentence starting with the same letter or sound
- Figurative Language
- a metaphorical expression, non-literal
- Imagery
- using words to create a visual image or sensory experience
- Allusion
- indirect or passing reference to something that is widely known (like Martin Luther King or the Titanic)
- Elegy
- praise for the dead
- Metaphor
- comparison without the words 'like' or 'as'
- Paradox
- a seemingly-contradictory statement: (For example: "Sometimes, too much freedom can lead to imprisonment."
- Ballad
- song or poem that tells a story
- Repetition
- repeating a sound, syllable, word, phrase, line or stanza
- Epic
- a long poem about a hero and his/her adventures.
- Parallelism
- using the same sentence construction in corresponding clauses or phrases
- Polysyndeton
- using multiple conjunctions repeatedly
- Allegory
- a story where all of the major elements are symbolic
- Diction
- word choice
- Denotation
- literal meaning of a word
- Hyperbole
- extreme exaggeration
- Parable
- a short simple story teaching a lesson or moral - often religious
- Lyric
- a rhythmic, rhyming, euphonious piece
- Syntax
- how words are arranged, their relationship; sentence structure
- Farce
- exaggerated comedy
- Apostrophe
- formal address of a person or thing
- Simile
- comparing things using 'like' or 'as'
- Symbolism
- when physical objects are used to represent abstract ideas
- Onomatopoeia
- imitating sounds with words
- Irony
- when the meaning of a text contradicts the literal words written.
- Motif
- a main theme or recurring image running through a text
- Consonance
- repetition of consonant sounds
- Personification
- to give human qualities to something inanimate
- Narrative
- story
- Bildungsroman
- a novel about education, development and maturing of a protagonist
- Metonymy
- a figure of speech where one word is used in place of another with the same meaning (Saying "Washington" when you are referring to the administration that resides in Washington.)
- Inverted Sentence
- a sentence where the normal word order is reversed
- Oxymoron
- figure of speech where two adjacent words seem to contradict each other
- Connotation
- the feeling that accompanies a word: "home" has positive connotations, while "house" is more neutral.
- Point of View
- First Person/Second Person/Third Person
- Synaesthesia
- using one sense to convey the experience of another