AP Terms
Allusion – a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.
Antagonist - a person or force in conflict with the protagonist
Details - are the facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of
poetry or prose
Diction - word choice intended to convey a certain effect, helps establish tone
Connotation –the feelings and attitudes associated with a word
Denotation—the dictionary definition of a word
Euphemism - is the use of a word or phrase that is less expressive or direct but considered less
distasteful or offensive than another
Flashback – is a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.
Foreshadowing – is the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.
Hyperbole – exaggeration
Idiom—an accepted phrase or expression having a meaning different from the literal (“There’s nothing
about me that breaks out of the ordinary mold.” Or “You’re always being called up on the carpet.”)
Imagery – descriptive writing which appeals to all five senses
Dramatic Irony:–occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has a different meaning
from what he thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of
the speech or action. When the audience knows more than the characters within the story. (ie a character
in a movie breaks a mirror and says, “I guess I’ll have seven years of bad luck,” not actually expecting to
have bad luck at all, but scoffing at the idea, while we as the audience know, but he doesn’t that he is
about to get fired from his job, his girlfriend is about to leave him, and his favorite aunt just died.)
Situational Irony –when a situation has the opposite outcome of the intended purpose (ie a watch dog
who was purchased to keep its owner safe, instead, mauls its owner.)
Verbal Irony– when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite
Metaphor - a direct comparison of two unlike things
Mood - the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work; it is the emotional response of the
reader to the text
Motivation - a reason that explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior.
Personification - attributing human characteristics to a nonhuman object
Protagonist - main character; the focus of the reader’s attention
Simile - a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”
Style –the writer’s characteristic manner of employing language
Suspense - the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience
uncertain or tense about the outcome of events.
Symbolism – the use of any object, person, place, or action that has a meaning in itself while representing
something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value (something concrete that stands for
something abstract)
Theme –the central message of a literary work. Theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about the
subject. It is expressed as a general statement about life or human nature. (Theme is the subject of the
story + what the author has to say about the subject.) Subject: love; Theme: “Love can sometimes conquer
the greatest evil.”)
Tone - the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience; can be described as
serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective
Sound Devices
Alliteration—words beginning with the same consonant sound that are used in close proximity to each
other
Assonance –repetition of similar vowel sounds within words
Consonance –repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words
Meter –is the measured, patterned arrangement of syllables according to the stress and length in a poem
Onomatopoeia—words that sound like their meaning
Rhyme –two words having the same ending sound
Rhythm – the varying speed, intensity, elevation, pitch, loudness, and expressiveness of speech,
especially in poetry