AP Literature Terms

repetition of the same or similar consonant at the beginning of words

• Assonance

• Alliteration

• Simile

• Metaphor

art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse

• rhetoric

• allusion

• style

• mood

a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things

• metonymy

• metaphor

• oxymoron

• pun

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but reveals a kind of truth

• paradox

• irony

• onomatopoeia

• simile

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

• satire

• farce

• parody

• fable

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit

• parallel structure

• rhetorical question

• simile

• juxtaposition

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles

• simile

• metaphor

• paradox

• juxtaposition

the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dress, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the characters private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people (showing how other characteristics feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature.

• irony

• dramatic irony

• indirect characterization

• direct characterization

in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters

• tragedy

• farce

• comedy

• satire

a speaker or writers choice of words

• diction

• tone

• mood

• style