AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
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The NUTS AND BOLTS for the AP Classroom
A Canon for ANY AP Classroom, by sj Miller, IUP
Stylistic Techniques
DICTION
a. monosyllabic/polysyllabic
b. colloquial/informal/formal/old fashioned/slang
c. denotative/connotative
d. concrete/abstract
e. euphonious/cacophonous
f. jargon/dialect
SYNTAX
a. sentence length
b. sentence pattern
o declarative/imperative/exclamatory/interrogative
o simple/compound/complex/compound complex
o loose/periodic
o balanced
o order: nat’l, inverted, split
o juxtaposition
o parallel structure
o repetition
o rhetorical questioning
c. arrangement of ideas in a sentence
d. arrangement of ideas in a paragraph
TREATMENT OF SUBJECT MATTER
a. subjectivity
b. objectivity
c. support of main idea
o opinion, experiences, observation, reading, expert, witness, statistical data
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
a. alliteration
b. assonance
c. consonance
d. simile
e. metaphor
f. personification
g. onomatopoeia
h. hyperbole
i. understatement (meiosis, litotes)
j. paradox
k. oxymoron
l. pun
AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
m. irony
n. sarcasm
o. antithesis
p. apostrophe
q. allusion
r. synecdoche
s. metonymy
t. details
u. figures of speech
v. flashback
w. foreshadowing
x. imagery
y. mood
z. motivation
aa. narration
bb. plot
cc. point of view
dd. prosody
ee. protagonist
ff. rhyme (end/slant/internal/rhyme scheme)
gg. setting
hh. shift or turn
ii. sound devices
jj. structure
kk. style
ll. suspense
mm.
symbol
nn. theme
oo. understatement
pp. allegory
POINT OF VIEW
a. first person (participant)
o I, me, my, we, us, our
o Narrator as major character
o Narrator as minor character
o Innocent-eye narrator
o Stream of consciousness
b. third person (nonparticipant)
o He, him, her, she, they, them
o Omniscient narrator
o Selective (limited) narrator
o Objective narrator
c. second person (participant or nonparticipant)
o you, your, yourself
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AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
ARCHETYPES
Character:
hero
young man from the provinces
initiates
mentors
mentor-pupil
father-son conflict
hunting group of companions
loyal retainers
friendly beast
civil figure with good heart
scapegoat
outcast
devil figure
creature of nightmare
woman figure
o earth mother
o temptress
o platonic ideal
o unfaithful wife
o damsel in distress
Symbolic:
light vs. darkness
water vs. desert
heaven vs. hell
innate wisdom vs. educated stupidity
haven vs. wilderness
supernatural intervention
magic weapon
Situational:
quest-journey
task
initiation
journey-search for truth
fall
death and resurrection
nature vs. mechanistic world
battle between good and evil
unhealable wound
ritual
ALLUSION
a. personal
b. biblical
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AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
c. mythological
d. historical
e. literary to literary
IMAGERY
mythological
biblical
historical
colors
nature
animals
positions
buildings
names
vehicles
pictures
books/magazines
films/TV/video
CHARACTERIZATION
what or where characters…say, do, think, have, wear, are; with whom they associate, what
others say about them
ANALYZING TRAGEDY and TRAGIC FICTION
Aristotelian Theory:
unity of action
catharsis
tragedy (hamartia/hubris)
o peripeteia
o anagnorisis
scene of suffering
COMEDIC LADDER
Comedy of ideas
o Characters argue about ideas like politics, religion, sex, marriage
o Use their wit, clever language to mock their opponent in an argument
o Subtle way to satirize people and institutions like political parties, governments,
churches, war, marriage
Comedy of manners
o Amorous intrigues among the upper classes
o Focus is on witty language, clever speech; insults and putdowns are traded between
characters
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AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
o Society is often made up of cliques that are exclusive with certain groups as the incrowd, other groups, the would-be-wits, desiring to be part of the witty crowd, and
some, the witness on the outside
Farce
o Plot is full of coincidences, mistiming, mistaken identities
o Characters are puppets of fate—they are twins, born to the wrong class, unable to
marry, too poor, too rich…
o Loss of identity because of birth or fate or accident
o Sometimes they are twins separated unaware of their double
Low Comedy
o Dirty jokes, dirty gestures, sex, and elimination
o Exaggeration or understatement are the extremes of humor with a focus on the
physical, i.e. long noses, cross eyes, humped back, and deformities
o Slapstick, pratfalls, loud noises, physical mishaps, collisions
Comedy is
based on irony
awareness of irony is an intellectual, not emotional process
lifts us out of emotional responses
makes us laugh
can make us feel superior to characters
can sense our own rigidity, which arouses laughter
THEMES
thematic statement = elevated diction + comment on the book
abuse/neglect/battered women’s syndrome
alienation/loneliness
ambition
appearance vs. reality
betrayal
bureaucracy
children
courage/cowardice
chance/fate/luck
cruelty/violence
custom/tradition
defeat/failure
despair/discontent/disillusionment
dreams/fantasies
domination/suppression
duty/allegiance/blind faith
escape/confinement
ethics vs. morality/right vs. wrong
exile/persecution
falsity/pretense/affectation
family/parenthood/deconstructed family
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AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
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gender evolution
the “ISMS” (prejudices: racism, sexism, classism, sizism, ageism, lookism, hetereosexism, ablebodied ism, anti-Semitism…)
freewill/will power
games/sports
greed
guilt
heaven/paradise/utopia
home
heart vs. reason
initiation
illusion/innocence
instinct
journey
law/justice/revenge
education/school
materialism
memory/past
mob psychology
music/dance
mysterious stranger
nature vs. mechanistic world
persistence/perseverance
patriotism
poverty/class
prophecy
redemption/salvation
repentance
resistance/rebellion
revenge/retribution
ritual/ceremony
scapegoat/victim/suicide
media
search for self
teen pregnancy
time
war
TONE (feeling/mood/attitude/emotion/effect)
lighthearted
confident
amused
complementary
hopeful
cherry
elated
passionate
exuberant
optimistic
AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
sympathetic
proud
enthusiastic
loving
compassionate
indignant
foreboding
reverent
irreverent
diffident
contemptuous
angry
furious
irritated
accusing
disgusted
condemnatory
outraged
bitter
threatening
inflammatory
disdainful
formal
ceremonial
restrained
detached
objective
informative
candid
clinical
objective
questioning
instructive
matter-of-fact
admonitory
learned factual
didactic
authoritative
incredulous
shocked
baffled
disbelieving
urgent
nostalgic
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reminiscent
sentimental
whimsical
fanciful
scornful
sarcastic
critical
satiric
bantering
taunting
ironic
amused
patronizing
pompous
disdainful
cynical
facetious
sardonic
insolent
flippant
contemptuous
condescending
mock-heroic
whimsical
melancholic
mournful
apprehensive
despairing
resigned
elegiac
sentimental
pedantic
disturbed
serious
fearful
sober
staid
somber
sad
solemn
concerned
gloomy
hopeless
AP Literature
Ms. Capuno
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TP-CASTT
A Way to Identify and Unpack Literary/Poetic Devices
T-TITLE: ponder the title before reading the poem, work
P-PARAPHRASE: translate the work/poem for meaning beyond the literal and into your own words
C-CONNOTATION: contemplate the work for meaning beyond the literal
A-ATTITUDE: observe both the speaker’s and author’s attitude (tone)
S-SHIFTS: note shifts in speaker’s and author’s attitude
TITLE: examine the title again—this time on an interpretive level
THEME: determine what the author is staying
DIDLS
A way to understand a work through the examination of the author’s tone or attitude towards the
subject
D-DICTION: the connotation of word choice
I-IMAGES: vivid appeals to understanding through the senses
D-DETAILS: facts included or omitted
L-LANGUAGE: overall use of language such as formal, jargon, clinical…
S-SENTENCE STRUCTURE: how structure affects the reader’s attitude