AP Lit Terms

an act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong (having a cell phone in Macbeth)

• anachronism

• chronological

• anarchy

• allusion

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings. (hear and here)

• villenelle

• satire

• consonance

• pun

when a speaker breaks off from addressing one party and instead addresses a third party.

• allusion

• apostrophe

• alliteration

• assonance

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.

• Deus ex machina

• plot twist

• satire

• narrative structure

a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel (from ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’) or brunch (from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’)

• pun

• personification

• parallelism

• portmanteau

a lyric poem which treats a serious subject thoughtfully and emotionally; dignified style and complex metrical pattern

• vlllenelle

• sonnet

• ode

• pastoral

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa ("The Crown" for a queen or king)

• synonym

• siblilance

• satire

• Synecdoche

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing

• syntax

• punctuation

• diction

• enjambment

The placement of two contrasting ideas or images near one another in order to provoke comparison

• imagery

• setting

• allusion

• juxtaposition

A reference to another work of literature, art, history, or current events.

• juxtaposition

• metaphor

• simile

• allusion