Here are 140 literary terms every AP 11 student should know!
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| 4896817851 | Ethos | Appeals to an audience's sense of morality/trust; Achieved by projecting an image of credibility which supports the speaker's position | 0 | |
| 4896817852 | Pathos | Appeals to an audience's sense of emotion; Achieved by evoking a passionate response which supports the speaker's position | 1 | |
| 4896817853 | Logos | Appeals to an audience's sense of intellect; Achieved by providing valid and relevant facts which support the speaker's position | 2 | |
| 4896817854 | Classicism | Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures | 3 | |
| 4896817855 | Antecedent | The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. | 4 | |
| 4896817856 | Active Voice | The subject of the sentence performs the action | 5 | |
| 4896817857 | Denotation | The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations | 6 | |
| 4896817858 | Connotation | Implied meaning rather than literal meaning | 7 | |
| 4896817859 | Diction | Word choice, particularly as an element of style | 8 | |
| 4896817860 | Abstract Language | Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people or places. | 9 | |
| 4896817861 | Analogy | A comparison to a directly parallel case | 10 | |
| 4896817862 | Aphorism | A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle | 11 | |
| 4896817863 | Allusion | An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar | 12 | |
| 4896817864 | Ambiguity | An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way | 13 | |
| 4896817865 | Concrete Language | Language that describes specific, observable things, peoples or places, rather than ideas or qualities | 14 | |
| 4896817866 | Colloquial | Ordinary or familiar type of conversation; vernacular | 15 | |
| 4896817867 | Allegory | A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts | 16 | |
| 4896817868 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. | 17 | |
| 4896817869 | Anecdote | A brief recounting of a relevant episode | 18 | |
| 4896817870 | Adage: | A folk saying with a lesson | 19 | |
| 4896817871 | Attitude | Revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization | 20 | |
| 4896817872 | Annotation | Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, clarify, or prompt further thought. | 21 | |
| 4896817873 | Appositive | A word or group or words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning | 22 | |
| 4896817874 | Didactic | A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking | 23 | |
| 4896817875 | Hyperbole | Exaggeration | 24 | |
| 4896817876 | Epigram | A short poem with a clever twist at the end, or a concise and witty statement | 25 | |
| 4896817877 | Figurative Language | The opposite of "literal language"; writing that is not meant to be taken literally | 26 | |
| 4896817878 | Epigraph | A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of theme. | 27 | |
| 4896817879 | Homily | This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice. | 28 | |
| 4896817880 | Genre | The major category into which a literary work fits. | 29 | |
| 4896817881 | Imagery | Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. | 30 | |
| 4896817882 | Verbal Irony | When you say something and mean the opposite/something different | 31 | |
| 4896817883 | Jargon | The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity | 32 | |
| 4896817884 | Vernacular | Language or dialect of a particular country, language or dialect of a regional clan or group, plain everyday speech. | 33 | |
| 4896817885 | Simile | Using words such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two very different things. | 34 | |
| 4896817886 | Irony | When the opposite of what you expect to happen does | 35 | |
| 4896817887 | Idiom | A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally. | 36 | |
| 4896817888 | Explication | The act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. | 37 | |
| 4896817889 | Ellipsis | The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author. | 38 | |
| 4896817890 | Euphemism | A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. | 39 | |
| 4896817891 | Metaphor | Making an implied comparison, not using "like," "as," or other such words. | 40 | |
| 4896817892 | Gothic | Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death. | 41 | |
| 4896817893 | Invective | An emotional violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language. | 42 | |
| 4896817894 | Situational Irony | Found in the plot of a book, story, or movie | 43 | |
| 4896817895 | Suspension of disbelief | The demand made that the reader accept the incidents recounted in the literary work | 44 | |
| 4896817896 | Objectivity | An author's stance that distances himself from personal involvement. | 45 | |
| 4896817897 | Oxymoron | When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox. | 46 | |
| 4896817898 | Paradox | A seemingly contradictory statement which is actually true. | 47 | |
| 4896817899 | Rhetoric | The art of effective communication. | 48 | |
| 4896817900 | Antithesis | Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure. | 49 | |
| 4896817901 | Parody | An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. | 50 | |
| 4896817902 | Passive Voice | The subject of the sentence receives the action. | 51 | |
| 4896817903 | Pedantic | Observing strict adherence to formal rules or literal meaning at the expense of a wider view. | 52 | |
| 4896817904 | Sarcasm | A generally bitter comment that is ironically worded | 53 | |
| 4896817905 | Persona | The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story. | 54 | |
| 4896817906 | Juxtaposition | Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. | 55 | |
| 4896817907 | Romanticism | Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature. | 56 | |
| 4896817908 | Parallelism | Sentence construction which places equal grammatical construction near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. | 57 | |
| 4896817909 | Mood | The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice. | 58 | |
| 4896817910 | Anaphora | Repetition or a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row | 59 | |
| 4896817911 | Semantics | The study of actual meaning in languages--especially the meanings of individual words and word combinations in phrases and sentences | 60 | |
| 4896817912 | Rhetorical Question | A question not asked for information but for effect. | 61 | |
| 4896817913 | Satire | A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. | 62 | |
| 4896817914 | Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. | 63 | |
| 4896817915 | Compound Sentence | Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses. | 64 | |
| 4896817916 | Complex Sentence | Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. | 65 | |
| 4896817917 | Balanced Sentence | One in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. | 66 | |
| 4896817918 | Interrogative Sentence | Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns. | 67 | |
| 4896817919 | Theme | The central idea or message of a work. | 68 | |
| 4896817920 | Sentence | A group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought. | 69 | |
| 4896817921 | Simple Sentence | Contains one independent clause. | 70 | |
| 4896817922 | Loose Sentence | A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows. | 71 | |
| 4896817923 | Compound - Complex Sentence | Contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. | 72 | |
| 4896817924 | Declarative Sentence | States an idea | 73 | |
| 4896817925 | Periodic Sentence | When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence. | 74 | |
| 4896817926 | Imperative Sentence | Issues a command | 75 | |
| 4896817927 | Litotes | A particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used. | 76 | |
| 4896817928 | Transition | Smooth movement from one paragraph (or idea) to another. | 77 | |
| 4896817929 | Understatement | The ironic minimizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is. | 78 | |
| 4896817930 | Syntax | Grammatical arrangement of words. | 79 | |
| 4896817931 | Thesis | The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition. | 80 | |
| 4896817932 | Style | The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes | 81 | |
| 4896817933 | Symbol | Anything that represents or stands for something else. | 82 | |
| 4896817934 | Claim | A statement or assertion that is open to challenge and that requires support | 83 | |
| 4896817935 | Parenthetical phrase/idea | Interrupts the flow of a sentence with some commentary or added detail. | 84 | |
| 4896817936 | Rhetorical modes | Describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. Four of the most common are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration. | 85 | |
| 4896817937 | Kairos | The opportune time and/or place, the right or appropriate time to say or do the right or appropriate thing. | 86 | |
| 4896817938 | Argumentation | The interdisciplinary study of how conclusions can be reached through logical reasoning; that is, claims based, soundly or not, on premises. It includes the arts and sciences of civil debate, dialogue, conversation, and persuasion. | 87 | |
| 4896817939 | Caricature | The exaggeration of specific features of appearance or personality | 88 | |
| 4896817940 | Conceit | A comparison of two unlikely things that is drawn out within a piece of literature, in particular an extended metaphor within a piece of literature. | 89 | |
| 4896817941 | Description | The picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of discourse. | 90 | |
| 4896817942 | Metonymy | A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. | 91 | |
| 4896817943 | Narration | The act of telling a story, whether in prose or in verse, and the means by which that telling is accomplished. | 92 | |
| 4896817944 | Prose | The ordinary form of spoken and written language whose unit is the sentence, rather than the line as it is in poetry. The term applies to all expressions in language that do not have a regular rhythmic pattern. | 93 | |
| 4896817945 | Inference | Interpreting or drawing a conclusion. | 94 | |
| 4896817946 | Generic conventions | Traditions for each genre. These help to define each genre; they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing; the unique feature of a writer's work from those dictated by convention. | 95 | |
| 4896817947 | Extended metaphor | A sustained comparison, often referred to as a conceit, developed throughout a piece of writing. | 96 | |
| 4896817948 | Exposition | The immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse. | 97 | |
| 4896817949 | Independent clause | A clause that can stand by itself, also known as a simple sentence; contains a subject and a predicate; it makes sense by itself. | 98 | |
| 4896817950 | Subordinate clause | Also called a dependent clause—will begin with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought. | 99 | |
| 4896817951 | Asyndeton | A figure of speech in which one or several conjunctions are omitted from a series of related clauses. | 100 | |
| 4896817952 | Alliteration | Sequential repetition of similar sounds | 101 | |
| 4896817953 | Assonance | Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds | 102 | |
| 4896817954 | Begging the question | Ploy where the arguer sidesteps questions or conflicts, evading or ignoring the question | 103 | |
| 4896817955 | Canon | That which has been accepted as authentic | 104 | |
| 4896817956 | Consonance | Repetition of two or more consonants | 105 | |
| 4896817957 | Convention | Accepted manner, model, or tradition | 106 | |
| 4896817958 | Deductive reasoning | Argument in which specific statements/conclusions are drawn from general principles: movement from general to specific | 107 | |
| 4896817959 | Dialect | Language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific area, region, or group of people | 108 | |
| 4896817960 | Elegy | Poetic lamentation upon a death of a particular person | 109 | |
| 4896817961 | Epistrophe | Repetition of a phrase at the end of a sentence "Where now? Who now? When now?" by Samuel Beckett | 110 | |
| 4896817962 | Eulogy | Speech in prose in praise of a deceased person | 111 | |
| 4896817963 | Inductive reasoning | Argument in which general conclusions are drawn from specific facts | 112 | |
| 4896817964 | Onomatopoeia | Words that sound like what it desscribes The rustling leaves kept me awake. | 113 | |
| 4896817965 | Personification | Giving human qualities to abstract idea/nonhuman object | 114 | |
| 4896817966 | Point of view | Relation of narrator/author to the subject | 115 | |
| 4896817967 | Realism | Describing nature/life without idealization | 116 | |
| 4896817968 | Rebuttal/refutation | Countering of anticipated arguments | 117 | |
| 4896817969 | Synecdoche | When part is used to signify a whole "gray beard" refers to an old man. | 118 | |
| 4896817970 | Anachronism | An event, object, custom, person, or thing that is out of order in time Act 2 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar": "Brutus: Peace! Count the clock. Cassius: The clock has stricken three." The time in this play dates back to 44 AD. Mechanical clocks mentioned in dialogue had not been invented yet but were present in Shakespeare's time. | 119 | |
| 4896817971 | Authority | Support for an argument that is based on recognized experts in the field | 120 | |
| 4896817972 | Burlesque | Broad parody; whereas parody will imitate and exaggerate a specific work, this will take an entire style or form (such as myth) and exaggerate it into ridiculousness | 121 | |
| 4896817973 | Cacophony | Harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose | 122 | |
| 4896817974 | Coherence | Quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle | 123 | |
| 4896817975 | Conundrum | A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem | 124 | |
| 4896817976 | Discourse | Spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion | 125 | |
| 4896817977 | Dissonance | Deliberate use of inharmonious words, phrases or syllables intended to create harsh sounding effects, which makes the reading uncomfortable and it adds emotional depth to a situation or moment. | 126 | |
| 4896817978 | Euphony | A succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose | 127 | |
| 4896817979 | Exemplum | A brief tale used in medieval times to illustrate a sermon or teach a lesson | 128 | |
| 4896817980 | Figures of speech | Expressions, such as similes, metaphors, and personification, that make imaginative, rather than literal, comparisons or associations | 129 | |
| 4896817981 | Folklore | Traditional stories, songs, dances, and customs that are preserved among a people; usually precedes literature, being passed down orally from generation to generation until recorded by scholars | 130 | |
| 4896817982 | Ad hominem argument | From the Latin meaning "to or against the man," this appeals to emotion rather than reason, to feeling rather than intellect | 131 | |
| 4896817983 | Hubris | The excessive pride or ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom, eventually causing his or her downfall | 132 | |
| 4896817984 | Motif | Main theme or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; a repeated pattern or idea | 133 | |
| 4896817985 | Parable | A short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory | 134 | |
| 4896817986 | Persuasion | A form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion | 135 | |
| 4896817987 | Regionalism | An element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographic locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot | 136 | |
| 4896817988 | Stereotype | A character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality | 137 | |
| 4896817989 | Subjectivity | A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions | 138 | |
| 4896817990 | Zeugma | Using a single verb to refer to two different objects in an ungrammatical but striking way, or artfully using an adjective to refer to two separate nouns, even though the adjective would logically only be appropriate for one of the two. Also exploiting multiple shades of meaning in a single word or phrase. "It was the knife that, a moment later, cut off her scream. And her head." (Robert Bloch, Psycho) "Where the washing is not put out, nor the fire, nor the mistress". (Henry David Thoreau, Walden) | 139 | |
| 4897345867 | Diazeugma | A zeugma whose only subject governs multiple verbs. "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." John F. Kennedy | 140 |
