Literary and Rhetorical
Terms
Collected from past
AP Multiple-choice and Essay
Tests
Abstract Diction

Language that denotes ideas, emotions,
conditions, or concepts that are intangibleimpenetrable, incredible, inscrutable,
inconceivable, unfathomable
ad hominem
Latin for “against the man.”
 Attacking the person instead of the argument
proposed by that individual.
 An argument directed to the personality,
prejudices, previous words and actions of an
opponent rather than an appeal to pure reason.
 Example: “Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot,”
writes left-wing comedian Al Franken.

adverbial phrases
First, let’s define an adverb: word that
modifies a verb, verb form, adjective or
another adverb.
 Thus, an adverbial phrases is a group of
words that modifies, as a single unit, a
verb, verb form, adjective or another
adverb.
 Example: He lost the first game due to
carelessness.

allegory
A fiction or nonfiction narrative, in which
characters, things, and events represent
qualities, moral values, or concepts.
 Playing out of the narrative is designed to reveal
an abstraction or truth.
 Characters and other elements may be symbolic
of the ideas referred to in the allegory.
 Example: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
or A Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant
sound, especially at the beginning of
words. For example, “Five miles
meandering with a mazy motion” Kubla
Khan by S.T. Coleridge
allusion
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A reference, explicit or indirect, to a person,
place, or event, or to another literary work or
passage.
Generally speaking, the writer assumes the
educated reader will recognize the reference.
Often humorous, but not always.
Establishes a connection between writer and
reader, or to make a subtle point.
Example: “In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren
sings.”
Ambiguity

Use of language where the meaning is
unclear or has two or more possible
interpretations or meanings. It could be
created through a weakness in the way
the writer has expressed himself or
herself, but often it is used by writers
quite deliberately to create layers of
meaning in the mind of the reader.
Ambivalence

This indicates more than one possible
attitude is being displayed by the writer
towards a character, theme, or idea, etc.
Anachronism

Something that is historically inaccurate,
for example the reference to a clock
chiming in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Anadiplosis

Last word of one line is the first word of
the next line
analogy
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A comparison to a directly parallel case, arguing that a
claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the
analogous case.
A comparison made between two things that may
initially seem to have little in common but can offer
fresh insights when compared.
Used for illustration and/or argument.
Example: “We advance in years somewhat in the
manner of an invading army in a barren land; the age
that we have reached, as the phrase goes, we but hold
with an outpost, and still keep open our
communications with the extreme rear and first
beginnings of the march.” –Robert Louis Stevenson,
“On Marriage.”
anaphora
Repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the
beginning of two or more sentences in a row.
 Deliberate form of repetition to reinforce point
or to make it more coherent.
 Example: In the Declaration of Independence,
Thomas Jefferson places the subject, “He,” at
the beginning of twenty accusations in a row,
each as a single paragraph, to put the weight of
responsibility for the problems with King George
III, whom Jefferson refers to in the third person.

Anastrophe (Inversion)

Inversion of the normal syntactical
structure of a sentence. Ex. “Ready are
you?”
Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by
a pronoun
Anthropomorphism

The endowment of something that is not
human with human characteristics.
anticlimax
In writing, denotes a writer’s intentional
drop from the serious and elevated to the
trivial and lowly, in order to achieve a
comic or satiric effect.
 An event (as at the end of a series) that is
strikingly less important than what has
preceded it.
 The transition towards this ending.

Antimetabole

A sentence strategy in which the
arrangement of ideas in the second clause
is a reversal o the first; it adds power to
the sentence.
antithesis
A balancing of two opposite or contrasting
words, phrases or clauses.
 Example: “. . .one seeing more where the other
sees less, one seeing black where the other sees
white, one seeing big where the other sees
small. . . .”
 Example: Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act I, Scene I,
Line 11: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
 Oxymoron: rhetorical antithesis, juxtaposing two
contradictory terms like “wise fool” or “eloquent
silent.”

anecdote
A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
 Used in fiction and nonfiction.
 Develops point or injects humor.
 Commonly used as an illustration for an
abstract point being made.
 Example: Mark Twain is famous for his
short anecdotes about growing up in
Missouri intertwined with humor and an
abstract truth about human nature.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship
that expresses a general truth or moral
principle
Apostrophe

An interruption in a poem or narrative so
that the speaker or writer can address a
dead or absent person or particular
audience or notion directly. “Oh Time thou
must untangle this not I” Viola in Twelfth
Night
appositive
Nonessential word groups (phrases and clauses) that
follow nouns and identify or explain them.
 Example: My aunt, who lives in Montana, is taking
surfing lessons in Hawaii.
 The sentence above is a “nonrestrictive clause,” because
it is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence and it
can easily be put in another sentence and still make
sense. Thus, it is set off by commas.
 A restrictive clause also follows a noun but is necessary
to the meaning of the sentence. It is not an appositive.
Thus, no commas. “That” always signals restrictive.
 Example: People who can speak more than one
language are multilingual.
 Example: Please repair all the windows that are broken.

Archaic
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Language that is old-fashioned –not
completely obsolete but no longer in
current use.
archetype
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Meaning: model, example, standard, original, classic.
Elemental patterns of ritual, mythology and folklore that
recur in the legends, ceremonies and stories of the most
diverse cultures.
In literature, applies to narrative designs, character
types, or images which are said to be identifiable in a
wide variety of works of literature, as well as myths, and
even ritualized modes of social behavior.
Example: Over 300 different versions of the Cinderella
tale exist from around the world, and all of them have
certain archetypal characteristics: wicked step-mother,
mean sisters, handsome prince who rescues the girl.
These common characteristics are qualities that strike a
strong emotional reaction in all who own the story.
assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more
words, usually with different consonant sounds
either before or after the same vowel sounds.
 Example: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I
pondered, weak and weary,” Edgar Allan Poe’s
“The Raven.”
 Example: “Thou foster child of silence and slow
time,” John Keat’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”

asyndeton
Sentence where commas are used with no
conjunctions to separate a series of
words.
 Gives equal weight to each part.
 Speeds up the flow of the sentence.
 Formula: X, Y, Z. As opposed to X, Y, and
Z.
 See polysyndeton for variation.

Atmosphere

The prevailing mood created by a piece of
writing.
Balanced Sentence

The phrases or clauses balance each other
by virtue of their likeness or structure,
meaning, or length. Ex. “He maketh me to
lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me
beside the still waters.”
Ballad

A narrative poem that tells a story
(traditional ballads were songs) usually in
a straightforward way. The theme is often
tragic or contains a whimsical,
supernatural, or fantastical element.
bathos
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Noun.
Etymology: Greek.
A sudden drop from the sublime or elevated to
the ludicrous.
An anticlimax.
Example: Within the last decade, the Catholic
community in North America has faced its
greatest bathos as they wrestle with the dozens
of arrests and convictions of priests for child
molestation.
Blank Verse

Unrhymed poetry that adheres to a strict
pattern in that each line is an iambic
pentameter (a ten-syllable line with five
stresses). It is close to the natural rhythm
of English speech or prose, and is used a
great deal by many writers including
Shakespeare and Milton.
bombast
Originally meant “cotton stuffing.”
 Adopted to signify verbose and inflated diction
that is disproportionate to the matter it
expresses.
 Popular with the heroic drama of the late
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
 Although a century after the height of this style,
James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Sagas
(Last of the Mohicans for example) are typical of
bombastic speeches.

bowdlerize
Named after Thomas Bowdler, who tidied
up his Family Shakespeare in 1815 by
omitting whatever is unfit to be read by a
gentleman in the presence of a lady.
 Means to expurgate from a work any
passages considered indecent or
indelicate.
 High school and some college texts are
guilty of this censuring.

Cacaphony

Harsh clashing, or dissonant sounds, often
produced by combinations of words that
require a clipped, explosive delivery or
words that contain a number of plosive
consonants. Opposite of Euphony.
Caesura

A conscious break in a line of poetry.
Caricature

A character described through the
exaggeration of a small number of
features that he or she possesses.
Catharsis

A purging of the emotions which takes
place at the end of a tragedy.
Chiasmus/Antimetabole
Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the
pattern of X Y Y X.
 Usually short and summarizes the main
idea.
 Example: From Yeats’ “An Irish Airman
Foresees His Death,” the poet writes:

“The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind.”
Cliché

A phrase, idea, or image that has been
used so much that it has lost much of its
original meaning, impact, and freshness.
Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a
subject and a verb
coin a verb
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This is not a literary term, but it confused more than one
student. So, I am including it here.
coin (intransitive verb) means “to invent.”
Thus, to “coin a verb” is to “invent a verb.”
Shakespeare “coined” more than 1,700 words by
changing nouns to verbs, making verbs adjectives,
making new combination of words paired together, etc.
Example: Olivia: “There lies your way, due west.”
Viola: “Then westward ho!”
From Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene I, Line 135.

Some words Shakespeare coined: advertising, alligator,
anchovy, countless, gust, investment, obscene, puke,
puppy dog, tranquil, zany.
Colloquial
Ordinary, everyday speech and language
 Colloquial expressions are non-standard,
often regional, ways of using language
appropriate to informal or conversational
speech and writing. Ex. “ya’ll”

Comedy

Originally simply a play or other work
which ended happily. Now we use this
term to describe something that is funny
and which makes us laugh. In literature
the comedy is not necessarily a
lightweight form. A play like Shakespeare’s
Measure for Measure, for example, is, for
the most part a serious and dark play but
as it ends happily, it is often described as
a comedy.
common knowledge
Shared beliefs or assumptions between
the reader and the audience.
 Used to argue that if something is widely
believed, readers should accept it.
 A self-evident, obvious truth, especially
one too obvious to mention is a truism.

Complex Sentence

Contains an independent clause and one
or more subordinate clause “Because the
singer was tired, she went straight to bed
after the concert”
Compound Sentence

Contains two independent clauses joined
by a coordinating conjunction or a
semicolon
Compound-Complex Sentence

Contains two or more independent clauses
and one or more subordinate clauses. Ex.
The singer bowed while the audience
applauded, but she sang no encores.”
Conceit

An elaborate, extended, and sometimes
surprising comparison between things
that, at first sight, do not have much in
common.
Concrete Diction

Specific words that describe physical
qualities or conditions
Connotation

An implication or association attached to a
word or phrase. A connotation is
suggested or felt rather than being
explicit.
Contrast

A traditional rhetorical strategy based on
the assumption that a subject may be
shown more clearly by pointing out ways
in which it is unlike another subject.
consonance
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Repetition of a consonant sound within two or
more words in close proximity.
Sometimes refers to repetition of consonant
sounds in the middle or at the end of words.
Example: “And all the air a solemn stillness
holds.” from Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a
Country Churchyard.”
Sometimes refers to slant rhyme or partial
rhyme: Initial and final consonants are the same
but the vowels are different.
Example: litter and letter, or green and groan.
conventional
Following certain conventions, or
traditional techniques of writing.
 Over-reliance on conventions may result in
a lack of originality.
 Example: Five-paragraph theme is a
conventional format of argument.

Couplet
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Two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme
Declarative Sentence

Makes a statement
deconstruction
A critical approach that debunks single
definitions of meaning based upon the
instability of language.
 Deconstructionist: reexamines literary
conventions in light of the belief that
because of the instability of language, the
text has already dismantled itself.

Denotation

Exact, literal definition of a word
independent of any emotional association
or secondary meaning
Denouement

The ending of a play, novel, or drama
where “all is revealed” and the plot is
unraveled
Dialect

Nonstandard subgroup of a language with
its own vocabulary and grammatical
features; writers often use regional
dialects or dialects that reveal a person’s
economic or social class
diatribe
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From Latin diatriba meaning “to spend time,” or
“to wear away.”
Archaic meaning: a prolonged discourse.
A bitter and abusive speech or writing.
Ironical or satirical criticism.
Example: The challenging candidate shouted his
diatribe against the incumbent platform to
several thousand supporters in attendance.
diction
Means “word choice.”
 Refers to word choice as a reflection of
style.
 Different types and arrangements of
words have significant effects on meaning.
 Purpose, tone, point of view, persona,
verve, color, all are affected by diction.

didactic
Fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific
lesson or moral or provides a model of correct
behavior or thinking.
 Designed to expound a branch of theoretical,
moral, or practical knowledge, or else to
instantiate, in an impressive and persuasive
imaginative or fictional form, a moral, religious,
or philosophical theme or doctrine.
 Example: “On the Nature of Things” by
Lucretius; “Essay on Man” by Pope; “Faerie
Queene” by Spencer; “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by
Bunyan.

Dramatic Monologue

A poem or prose piece in which a
character addresses an audience. Often
the monologue is complete in itself, as in
Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.
double entendre
A corruption of a French phrase meaning
"double meaning."
 The term is used to indicate a word or
phrase that is deliberately ambiguous,
especially when one of the meanings is
risqué or improper.
 Example: The Elizabethan usage of the
verb "die," which refers both to death and
to orgasm.

either-or reasoning

Reducing an argument or issue to two
polar opposites and ignoring any
alternatives.
Elegy

A meditative poem, usually sad and
reflective in nature. Sometimes, though
not always, it is concerned with the theme
of death.
Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or
words that are readily implied by the
context; it creates and elegant or daring
economy of words.
Empathy

A feeling on the part of the reader of
sharing the particular experience being
described by the character or writer.
emotional appeal
Appealing to the emotions of the reader in
order to excite and involve them in the
argument.
 Makes use of pathos: the quality in an
experience, narrative, literary work, etc.,
which arouses profound feelings of
compassion or sorrow.
 Pathos is Greek for “suffering.”

End stopping

A verse line with a pause or a stop at the
end of it.
Enjambment

A line of verse that flows on into the next
line without a pause.
Epanalepsis

The repetition at the end of a clause of
the word that occurred at the beginning of
the clause; it tends to make the sentence
or clause in which it occurs stand apart
from its surroundings.
Epic

A long narrative poem, written in an
elevated style and usually dealing with a
heroic theme or story. Homer’s The Iliad
and Milton’s Paradise Lost are examples of
this.
epic simile
Formal and sustained similes that are developed far
beyond its specific points of parallel to the primary
subject.
 Primary subject is called “tenor.”
 Secondary subject (the simile) is called “vehicle.”
 Homer (Iliad and Odyssey) invented the technique;
Virgil, Milton and other epic writers copied the style.
 Example: Milton in Paradise Lost I, lines 768-76
describes the fallen angels (tenor) thronging towards
their newly built palace of Pandemonium by an elaborate
comparison to swarming of bees (vehicle) that lasts an
entire stanza.

epigraph
A quotation or aphorism at the beginning
of a literary work suggestive of the theme
of the fiction or nonfiction text.
 An aphorism is a short clever saying
parting truth. Example: “waste not, want
not.”

epigram
Originally in Greek meant “an inscription.”
 Extended to encompass a very short poem whether
amorous (sexual love), elegiac (longing for the past),
meditative (contemplative), anecdotal (description,
story, episode), or satiric (witty, sarcasm).
 Poem is polished, condensed, and pointed, often with a
witty end.
 In his epigram “On a Volunteer Singer” Coleridge
explains:
Swans sing before they die—’twere no bad thing
Should certain people die before they sing!

epiphany
Literally means “a manifestation.”
 Traditionally, Christianity used the word to
signify a manifestation of God’s presence in the
world.
 Irishman James Joyce, in A Portrait of the Artist
as a Young Man, first adapted the word to a
secular meaning: a sudden radiance and
revelation while observing a commonplace
object.
 Joyce replaced what earlier writers had called
“the moment,” an instance or moment of
revelation.

Epistrophe

The repetition of the same word or group
of words at the ends of successive
clauses; it sets up a pronounced rhythm
and gains a special emphasis both by
repeating the word and by putting the
words in the final position.
Epithet

An adjective or adjective phrase applied to
a person or thing to emphasize a
characteristic quality or attribute, such as
“lily-livered coward”
equivoque
Special type of pun that makes use of a
single word or phrase which has two
disparate meanings, in a context which
makes both meanings equally relevant.
 The art of writing this pun is equivocation.
 As an example, an epitaph for a bank
teller might read:
He checked his cash, cashed in his checks,
And left his window. Who is next?

ethical appeal
When a writer tries to persuade the
audience to respect him or her based
upon a presentation of self through the
text.
 Reputation of the author is often a factor
in ethical appeals.
 Regardless of the topic or over-all purpose
of the essay, the ethical appeal is always
done to gain the audience’s confidence.

ethos
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Etymology: Greek.
A person’s character or disposition.
The characteristic spirit or prevalent tone of a
people or a community.
The essential identity of an institution or system.
Ideal excellence; nobler than reality.
Example: “The real is preferred to the ideal,
transient emotions to permanent lineaments,
pathos to ethos.”
euphemism
Originally in Greek meant “to speak well.”
 Has come to mean: to speak well in the
place of the blunt, disagreeable, terrifying
or offensive term.
 Example: death becomes “to pass away.”
 Example: “Damn it” becomes “Darn it!”
 Example: Victorians first used “limb” for
leg or “privates” for sexual organs.

Euphony

Use of pleasant or melodious sounds.
Exclamatory Sentence

Provides emphasis or expresses strong
emotion often indicated by punctuation
Exemplum

A story that contains or illustrates a moral
point put forward as an “example.”
exposition
Background information provided by
author to enhance the audience’s
understanding of the context of a fiction
or nonfiction story.
 Example: Robert Louis Stevenson gives
the reader plenty of cultural background
on the small seaside village of his youth in
hopes the audience will better appreciate
the context of “The Lantern-Bearers.”

Extendend Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length,
occurring frequently in or throughout a
work.
Fable

A short story that presents a clear moral
lesson.
Fabliau

A short comic tale with a bawdy element,
akin to the “dirty story.” Chaucer’s The
Miller’s Tale contains elements of the
fabliau.
Farce

A play that aims to entertain the audience
through absurd and ridiculous characters
and actions.
Feminine Ending

An extra unstressed syllable at the end of
a line of poetry. (Contrast with a stressed
syllable, a masculine ending).
Figurative Language

Language that is symbolic or metaphorical
and not meant to be taken literally.
Figure of Speech

A device used to produce figurative
language
Flat Character

Forester’s term for a character with a
single quality
Foil

Usually a character who by contrast points
up the qualities or characteristics of
another character.
Foot
A group of syllables forming a unit of
verse
 The basic unit of “metre”

Frame Device

Overall unifying story within which one or
more tales are related. Ex. Frankenstein.
Free Verse

Verse written without any fixed structure
(either in metre or rhyme)
freight-train

Sentence consisting three or more very
short independent clauses joined by
conjunctions.
Generic Conventions

Refers to traditions for each genre
Genre
A particular type of writing
 e.g. prose, poetry, drama

Heptameter

A verse line containing seven feet
Hexameter

A verse line containing six feet
High/Formal Diction

Contains language that creates an
elevated tone; free of slang, idioms,
colloquialisms, and contractions; contains
polysyllabic words, sophisticated syntax,
and elegant word choice
Homily

Literally “sermon.” A usually short sermon.
A lecture or discourse on a moral theme
hyperbole
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Originally in Greek meant “overshooting.”
A bold overstatement or extravagant expression of fact,
used for serious or comic effect.
Easily recognized as exaggeration for effect.
Example: There must have been ten million people at
our Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving.
Or, Shakespeare’s, Othello, Act III, Scene III, Lines 33033 reads:
Not poppy nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou ow ‘dst yesterday.
Iamb

The most common metrical foot in English
poetry, consisting of an unstressed
syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Idyll
A story, often written in verse, usually
concerning innocent and rustic characters
in rural, idealized surrounds
 This form can also deal with more heroic
subjects

– Tennyson’s Idylls of the King

Similar to Pastoral
imagery
Use of images, especially in a pattern of
related images, often figurative, to create
a strong, unified sensory impression.
 Use of sensory details to create images
that support the theme of the essay.

Imperative Sentence

Gives a Command
Infer (inference)

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the
information presented
Informal/low diction

The language of everyday use; relaxed
and conversational; common and simple
words, idioms, slang, jargon
Internal Rhyme

Rhyming words within a line rather than at
the end of lines
Interrogative Sentence

Asks a question
Inter-textual

Having clear links with other texts through
the themes, ideas, or issues which are
explored
irony
Originated in Greek comedy with the character
eiron, who was a “dissembler.” Appeared less
intelligent than he was, spoke in
understatement, and triumphed over the
alazon—the self-deceiving and stupid braggart.
 Greek dramatist Sophocles developed the
“tragic” or “dramatic” irony in his 100-plus
tragedies, including Antigone and Oedipus Rex.
 Four kinds of irony: verbal, structural, dramatic,
and situational.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal
denunciation or attack using strong,
abusive language.
Inversion/ Inverted order of a
sentence
Variation of the normal word order
(subject, verb, complement) which puts
the verb or complement at the head of the
sentence.
 The sentence element appearing first is
emphasized more than the subject that is
buried in the sentence.

irony (verbal)
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Verbal irony: demands the most audience sophistication. This
requires “reading between the lines.”
Also, this irony takes the greatest risks with the audience who might
misinterpret what is irony and what is literal.
Might be simple reversal of literal meanings of words spoken or
more complex, subtle, indirect and unobtrusive messages that
require the collection of hints from within the text.
Compliments the intelligence of the reader, who, by perceiving the
irony, is in partnership with the author and the minority of
characters who understand, too.
Example: “It is truth universally acknowledged that a single man in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Jane
Austen Pride and Prejudice). The subtle irony is that a single
woman is in want of a rich husband as manifested by the evidence
in the novel that follows this opening line.
Sarcasm: a type of verbal irony that is crude and blatant praise or
dispraise. Example: “Oh, you’re God’s great gift to women, you
are!”
irony (structural)
Structural irony: some works show sustained irony
throughout the text.
 Instead of using occasional verbal irony, the author
introduces a structural feature which serves to sustain
duplicity of meaning.
 Common device: naïve hero or naïve narrator.
 Example: Jonathan Swift’s well-meaning but insanely
rational economist who is the naïve narrator in “A
Modest Proposal.” The reader perceives the irony of one
who, though well meaning, proposes the conversion of
the excess children of the oppressed and povertystricken Irish into financial and gastronomical assets.

irony (dramatic)
Involves a situation in a play or narrative in
which the audience shares with the author
knowledge of which the character is ignorant.
 The character expects the opposite of what is
destined, or says something that anticipates the
outcome, but not in a way that is meant when
said.
 Example: In Macbeth, by Act I, Scene I, the
audience knows that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
have already planned out Duncan’s murder—yet
King Duncan never suspects that he is walking
into a trap.

irony (situational)
When the writer shows a discrepancy between
the expected results of some action or situation
and it actual results.
 The work has a surprise ending, that, although a
“surprise,” still fits the purpose, point of view,
evidence and tone of the text.
 Example: In Thomas Hardy’s “The Three
Strangers,” it is a surprise to the characters and
the audience when the two strangers at the
chimney corner turn out to be the hangman and
his intended victim.

Jargon

A characteristic language of a particular
group (as among thieves); "they don't
speak our lingo”
Juxtaposition

A poetic and rhetorical device in which
normally unassociated ideas, words, or
phrases are placed next to one another,
often creating an effect of surprise and
wit. Ex. “The apparition of these faces in
the crowd:/ Petals on a wet, black bough.”
(“In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra
Pound).
Lament

A poem expressing intense grief
litotes
Noun.
 From Greek lítōtēs for “plain” or “simple.”
 Assertion of an affirmative by negating its contrary.
Example: “He’s not the brightest man in the world,”
meaning “he is stupid.”
 It is a simple form of understatement, often in AngloSaxon poetry, like Beowulf, it is a statement of grim
irony. Example, in describing the dwelling place of the
monster Grendel, Hrothgar states, “That is not a
pleasant place.”
 General example: “He is two bricks shy of a full load,”
meaning his reasoning powers are not all there.

Long and Involved sentence

About 30 words in length.
Loose or Cumulative Sentence

Makes complete sense if brought to a
close before the actual ending. Ex. “We
reached Edmonton that morning after a
turbulent flight and some exciting
experiences, tired but exhilarated, full of
stories to tell our friends and neighbors.”
The sentence could end before the
modifying phrases without losing its
coherence.
Lyric

Originally a song performed to the
accompaniment of a lyre (an early harplike instrument) but now it can mean a
song-like poem or a short poem
expressing personal feeling
Medium Sentence

Approximately 18 words in length
melodramatic redundancy
This AP exam phrase incorporates two
terms: melodramatic and redundancy.
 Melodramatic: exaggerated, sensational,
overly dramatic.
 Redundancy: the state of being
unnecessarily repetitive or superfluous
 Thus, melodramatic redundancy means,
“unnecessary repetition that is
exaggerated, sensational and overly
dramatic.”

metaphor

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
A figure of speech that compares two things which are basically
dissimilar. (Example: The ship plowed the sea.)
Unlike a simile, metaphors do not have a connective word (like, as,
or than).
Many metaphors are implied or suggested. (Example: Anne
Bradstreet in “Upon the Burning of Our House” calls heaven “the
beautiful house” built by “the mightiest architect.”)
An “extended” or “controlling” metaphor is used throughout the
essay.
A dead metaphor is one that is overly used and is no longer
considered figurative, but rather literal. (Example: the leg of a
chair.)
A mixed metaphor is the use of two or more inconsistent metaphors
in one expression. Mixed metaphors make no sense upon
examination and are often used as humorous. (Example: To hold
the fort, he’d have to shake a leg.)
metonymy
Noun.
 From Greek metōnymía for “change of name.”
 A figure of speech where the term for one thing is
applied for another with which it has become closely
associated in experience, or where a part represents the
whole.
 Example: “the crown” is figuratively the king.
 Example: the word “petticoat” represents femininity;
whereas the word “pants” represents being in control.
 Reminder: This is not a synecdoche; the tools are
different. For one, a metonymy is used so much that it
has become a figure of speech.

Metre

The regular use of stressed and
unstressed syllables in poetry
Mock heroic
A poem that treats trivial subject matter in
the grand and elevated style of epic
poetry
 The effort produced is often satirical, as in
Pope’s The Rape of the Lock

monologue
From Greek monologos meaning “to speak
alone.”
 A long speech by one person; a dramatic
speech by one actor.
 Also known as a “soliloquy” if the
character speaks inner thoughts to the
audience and no other character hears.
 An “aside” is a short soliloquy.

Monometer

A verse line consisting of only one metrical
foot
mood
The atmosphere in the text created by the
author’s tone towards the subject.
 Sometimes called “atmosphere” or “ambience.”
 Tools used:
-Style (how sentences are combined)
-syntax (strength, length and complexity of each
sentence)
-diction (individual word choice)

Motif
A dominant theme, subject or idea which
runs through a piece of literature
 Often a “motif” can assume a symbolic
importance

Narrative

A piece of writing that tells a story
Natural Order of a Sentence

Involves constructing a sentence so the
subject comes before the predicate. Ex,
“Oranges grow in California.”
naturalistic novel
This AP exam phrase incorporates two literary
terms: naturalism and novel.
 Naturalism: centering upon nature and excluding
supernatural or spiritual elements, with special
attention to effects of environment and heredity
on human nature and action.
 Novel: extended fictional narrative that allows
greater complication of plot and more subtle
examinations of character.
 Example: Jack London’s Call of the Wind and
White Fang are naturalistic novels, where
premise of “survival of the fittest” is examined.

Neutral Diction

Uses standard language and vocabulary
without elaborate words and may include
contractions
new journalism

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Noun.
Became popular during the Modernism movement in
American culture following WWII, but is an earlier
phenomenon.
No longer objective; doesn’t make any pretense to being
objective.
Features author’s subjective responses to people and
events covered in essay.
Sometimes includes fictional elements meant to
illuminate and dramatize those responses of the author.
Example: “The Execution of Tropmann” by Ivan
Turgenev in which the author reacts subjectively to the
sights and sounds of attending his first public execution.
His opinion about such government events is clear by
the last paragraph of the essay. Persuasion is the key.
Non Sequitur

A fallacy of argument in which claims,
reasons or warrants fail to connect
logically; one point doesn’t follow from
another.
novel and forms thereof

Novel: extended fictional narrative that
allows greater complication of plot and
more subtle examinations of character.
 Novelette or Novella: fictional narrative of
middle length. Examples: Old Man and
the Sea by Ernest Hemingway or Heart of
Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
Octameter

A verse line consisting of eight feet
Octave

The first eight lines of a sonnet
Ode

A verse form similar to a lyric but often
more lengthy and containing more serious
and elevated thoughts
Omission
Onomatopoeia
The use of words whose sound copies the
sound of the thing or process that they
describe
 On a simple level, words like “bang”,
“hiss”, and “splash” are onomatopoeic, but
it also has more subtle uses

oxymoron

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



Noun.
From Greek: oxi means “sharp, keen, acute,
pungent, acid”; moron means “dull, stupid,
foolish.”
A figure of speech in which two contradictory
words are placed side-by-side for effect.
Words are obviously opposed or markedly
contradictory terms.
Casually reference: contradiction of terms.
Examples: “civil war,” “alone together,”
“deafening silence,” or “jumbo shrimp.”
paean




From Greek paian meaning “hymn to Apollo” (Paian or
Paion, being a name for Apollo).
Pronounced “pie-un.”
Any song of joy, praise or triumph.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the protagonist offers a paean to
man:
What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason,
how infinite his faculties, in form and moving how
express and admirable, in action how like an angel,
in apprehension, how like a god: the beauty of the
world, the paragon of animals . . . . (II, ii, 292-95)
paradox
A statement that reveals a kind of truth,
although it seems at first to be self-contradictory
and untrue.
 Rhymes with “in your socks”
 Examples: Books are a poor man’s wealth. Or,
as Emily Dickinson writes, “Much madness is
Divinest Sense.”
 In John Donne’s sonnet, “Death, Be Not Proud,”
he declares:

One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Parallelism/parallel structure

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
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
Sentence construction which places in close proximity
two or more equal grammatical constructions.
Might be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a
row to describe the same noun or verb.
Might be two or more of the same type of phrases
(prepositional, participial, gerund, appositive).
Might be two or more subordinate clauses that modify
the same noun or verb.
Might be a complex blend of single-word, phrase, and
clause parallelism all in the same sentence.
Simple Example: He lived well, and he died well.
parody
Imitates the serious materials and manner of a particular
work, or the characteristic style of a particular author,
and applies it to a lowly or grossly discordant subject.
 An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous
purposes.
 Sometimes called “burlesque” and “travesty.”
 An English essayist of the early twentieth century, Max
Beerbohm is known for his parody.
 James Thurber of The New Yorker magazine was an
American writer also known for parody.
 The cartoon series The Simpsons often does a parody of
a famous poem or novel.

Pastoral
Generally, literature concerning rural life
with idealized settings and rustic
characters
 Often pastorals are concerned with the
lives of shepherds and shepherdesses
presented in idyllic and unrealistic ways
 Similar to Idyll

pathos
Noun.
 Etymology: Greek.
 A quality in an experience, narrative, literary work, etc.,
which arouses profound feelings of compassion or
sorrow.
 Pathetic expression or emotion; transient or emotional.
 Example: For many audience members, the first time
viewing Braveheart in a darkened theatre produced a
profound pathos while watching William Wallace scream
out “Freedom!” in his last dying moments after suffering
a barbaric torture at the hands of the civilized English.

Pedantic

An adjective that describes words,
phrases, or general tone that is overly
scholarly, academic, or bookish
Pentameter

A line of verse containing five feet
Periodic sentence

Sentence that places the main idea or
central complete thought at the end of the
sentence, after all introductory elements.
Periphrasis

A round-about or long-winded way of
expressing something
Personification
The attribution of human feelings,
emotions, or sensations to an inanimate
object
 Personification is a kind of metaphor
where human qualities are given to things
or abstract ideas, and they are described
as if they were a person

Plot

The sequence of events in a poem, play,
novel, or short story that make up the
main storyline
Point of View
The perspective from which a narrative is
told. 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
 The perspective from which a story is told
(first person, third person omniscient, or
third person limited omniscient)

polysyndeton





Sentence that uses and or other conjunctions
multiple times with no commas to separate
items in a series.
Stresses equally each member of the series.
Slows the flow of the sentence for effect,
making items more emphatic than in the
asyndeton.
Formula: X and Y and Z.
See asyndeton for variation.
post hoc, egro propter hoc
Latin for “after this, therefore because of
this.”
 When a writer implies that because one
thing follows another, the first caused the
second.

Predicate adjective

One type of subject compliment, an
adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective
clause that follows a linking verb
Predicate nominative

Another type of subject complement, a
noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that
renames the subject
Prose

Any kind of writing which is not verse –
usually divided into fiction and non-fiction
Protagonist

The main character or speaker in a poem,
monologue, play, or story
pun

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
A play on words that are either identical in sound (homonyms) or
similar in sound, but are sharply diverse in meaning.
Example: “Thou art Peter (Petros) and upon this rock (petra) I will
build my church.”
Early puns had roots in serious literature, that like Shakespeare, can
also have a comical effect in a very serious situation.
Example: In Romeo and Juliet, while bleeding to death, Mercutio
says “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”
By the eighteenth century and after, the literary use of puns has
been almost exclusively comic.
Equivoque: the use of a single word or phrase which has two
disparate meanings, in a context which makes both meanings
equally relevant.
Example: An epitaph suggested for a bank teller, which states, “He
checked his cash, cashed in his checks. And left his window. Who
is next?”
purple patch





Translation of “purpureus . . . Pannus” from Horace’s Ars Poetica.
Signifies a sudden heightening of rhythm, diction, and figurative
language that makes a section of verse or prose—especially a
descriptive passage—stand out from its context.
Sometimes applied to a set piece, separable and quotable, in which
an author rises to an occasion.
Example: From the 1999 film Cider House Rules, in which Dr. Wilbur
Larch (Michael Caine) salutes the boy orphans crowded in the attic
bedroom with, “Goodnight, you princes of Maine. You kings of New
England,” thereby heightening just how precious these orphaned
lads and the struggling orphanage are to the doctor.
Example: Shakespeare’s eulogy of England by the dying John of
Gaunt in Shakespeare’s Richard II (Act II, Scene I, lines 40-43).
The dying John says:
This royal throne of kings, this scept’red isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise . . . .
Quatrain

A stanza of four lines which can have
various rhyme schemes
red herring

When a writer raises an irrelevant issue to
draw attention away from the real issue.
refrain





A line, or part of a line, or a group of lines which is
repeated in the course of a poem or an essay.
There might be slight variations within the repeated
refrain.
The repetition is done for effect.
Example: If an essay incorporated repeated phrases like
“I believe” or “This is love” each refrain focuses the
audience on a particular subject.
Perhaps the most famous refrain in American writing is
from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” which is simply
“Nevermore.” The audience is focused on the concept of
never will the narrator be able to forget his lost love,
find relief from the pain, or be able to hold her again.
refutation
The art of mustering relevant opposing
arguments.
 The author “refutes” through evidence
logical opposition.

Repetition

A device in which words, sounds, and
ideas are used more than once to enhance
rhythm and to create emphasis. Ex.
“…government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish
from the Earth.” (“Address at Gettysburg”
by Abraham Lincoln)
rhetoric
The art of effective communication, especially
persuasive discourse.
 Focuses on the interrelationship of invention,
arrangement, and style in order to create fitting
and appropriate discourse.
 Might also be used as an adjective to describe
the elements of effective communication
(rhetorical situation, rhetorical question,
rhetorical example, etc.).

Rhetorical Fragment

A sentence fragment used deliberately for
a persuasive purpose or to create a
desired effect. Ex. “Something to
consider.”
Rhetorical Modes

The variety, conventions, and purposes of
the major kinds of writing (exposition
explains and analyzes information;
argumentation proves validity of an idea;
description re-creates, invents, or presents
a person, place, event or action; narration
tells a story recount an event)
Rhetorical Question

A question that requires no answer. It is
used to draw attention to a point and is
generally stronger than a direct
statement. Ex. “If Mr. Ferchoff is always
fair, as you have said, why did he refuse
to listen to Mrs. Baldwin’s arguments?”
Rhyme
Corresponding sounds in words, usually at
the end of each line but not always
 Similar to Internal Rhyme

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of the rhymes in a poem
Rhythm

The “movement” of the poem as created
through the metre and the way that
language is stressed within the poem
Sarcasm

From the Greek for “to tear flesh,”
involves bitter, caustic language that is
meant to hurt or ridicule someone or
something
satire
Text that reveals a critical attitude toward some element
of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way.
 Satire is meant to improve society through humor, not to
tear it down through vicious ridicule.
 Doesn’t simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal
(as in sarcasm).
 Targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.
 As opposed to sarcasm, which is meant to abuse and
ridicule an individual.
 Very creative and takes audience knowledge and
perception to appreciate.

Scansion

The analysis of metrical patterns in poetry
Semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the
meaning of words, their historical and
psychological development (etymology),
their connotations, and their relation to
one another.
sentimentalism
What is perceived as an excess of emotion
to an occasion.
 In a more limited sense, refers to an
overindulgence in the “tender” emotions
of pathos and sympathy.
 Relative to audience and cultural
perceptions.

Septet

A seven-line stanza
Sestet

The last si lines of a sonnet
Short Sentence

Approximately 5 words
signal words
Words in an essay that alert the reader to
a change in tone, direction, section, or
category.
 Examples: however, on the other hand,
contrary to, and now, next, following, etc.
 Time Examples: At one in the morning, by
sunset, at noon, etc.

simile
A figure of speech, comparing two
essentially unlike things through the use
of a specific word of comparison (like, as,
or than, for example).
 Example: “This is the Arsenal. From the
floor to ceiling, like a huge organ, rise the
burnished arms.”

Simple Sentence

Contains one independent clause “The
singer bowed to her adoring audience.”
Slang

Recently coined words often used in
informal situations; often come and go
quickly, passing in and out of usage within
months and years
Soliloquy

A speech in which a character, alone of
stage, expresses his or her thoughts and
feelings aloud for the benefit of the
audience, often in a revealing way
Sonnet
A fourteen-line poem, usually with ten
syllables in each line
 There are several ways in which lines can
be organized, but often they consist of an
octave and a sestet

Stanza
The blocks of lines into which a poem is
divided
 Sometimes these are, less precisely,
reffered to as verses, which can lead to
confusion as a poetry is sometimes called
“verse”

Stichomythia

A dialogue in which the endings and
beginnings of each line echo each other,
taking on a new meaning with each new
line.
straw man
Argues against a claim that nobody
actually holds or is universally considered
weak.
 Diverts attention away from the real
issues.

Stream of Consciousness

A technique in which the writer records
thoughts and emotions in a “stream” as
they come to mind, without giving order
or structure
Structure
The way that a poem or play or other
piece of writing has been put together
 This can include the metre pattern, stanza
arrangement, and the eway the ideas are
developed, etc…

style
The choices in diction, tone, syntax that a writer
makes.
 Together, these choices create the manner of
expression in a text, which is style.
 Evolves over time as writing habits are
developed naturally.
 Considered both conscious and unconscious and
thus may be altered to fit the purpose of the
text.

Subject complement

The word or clause that follows a linking
verb and complements, or completes the
subject or the sentence by either
renaming it or describing it
Subordinate clause

Contains a subject and verb (like all
clauses) but cannot stand alone; does not
express complete thought
Sub-plot
A secondary storyline in a story or play
 Often, as in some Shakespeare plays, the
sub-plot can provide some comic relief
from the main action, but sup-plots can
also relate in quite complex ways to the
main plot of a text

Sub-text

Ideas, themes, or issues that are not dealt
with overtly by a text but which exist
below the surface meaning of it
syllogism
Noun.
 From the Greek word syllogismos,
meaning “inference or conclusion.”
 A form of argument or reasoning,
consisting of two premises and a
conclusion.

symbol
An object, place, setting, prop, event or
person that represents or stands for some
idea or event.
 Never hidden, but interwoven throughout
the text.
 It may also retain its own literal meaning
while taking on the symbolic qualities.

synecdoche
Greek, for “taking together.”
A part of something is used to signify the whole.
Or, more rarely, a whole to signify a part.
Examples: Milton in “Lycidas” calls the corrupt
clergy of the Church of England “blind mouths,”
meaning their misguided sermons represent
their total corruption.
 Example: “Give me your hand,” does not mean
literally just your hand, but your entire physical
help.
 Reminder: do not mix this term with metonymy.
They are different tools.




syntactic fluency

Ability to create a variety of sentence
structures, appropriately complex and/or
simple and varied in length.
syntactic permutation
Sentence structures that are
extraordinarily complex and involved.
 Often difficult for the reader to follow.
 Wordiness beyond effectiveness.

Syntax
The way in which sentences are structured
 Sentences can be structured in different
ways to achieve different effects

tautology


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

Noun.
From Late Latin tautologia.
A repetition of the same statement.
The repetition, within the immediate context, of the
same word or phrase or the same meaning in different
words; usually as a fault of style.
Example: “essential necessaries.”
A repetition of something already said.
A mere repetition of acts, incidents or experiences.
Modern Logic: A self-evident truth, a truism; a
compound proposition which is unconditionally true for
all possibilities.
Telegraphic sentence

A sentence shorter than 5 words
Tetrameter

A verse line of four feet
theme






Central idea of a work of fiction or nonfiction.
Revealed and developed in the course of a story or explored
through argument.
An abstract claim, or doctrine, whether implicit or asserted, which
the text is designed to incorporate and makes persuasive to the
reader.
Often discussed as a main idea when confined to the parameters of
the text.
Often discussed as a theme when presented in abstract terms that
go beyond the boundaries of the text.
Example: The main idea of Great Expectations is that Pip has to
learn to judge others by evidence and not by appearance, through
which Dickens presents the theme that humans create most of their
own problems by being prejudice, pompous and placing importance
on social status rather than on personal character.
Thesis

In expository writing, the thesis statement
is the sentence or group of sentences that
directly express the author’s opinion,
purpose, meaning, or proportion
tone
Author’s attitude toward subject matter as
revealed through style, syntax, diction,
figurative language, and organization.
 Author’s tone creates mood in the text by
use of the above tools.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas
tricolon
Sentence consisting of three parts of equal
importance and length.
 Usually three independent clauses.

Trimeter

A verse line consisting of three feet
verisimilitude
The achievement of an illusion of reality in the
audience. This is one of the “three unities” of
Italian and French drama: unity of place, unity
of time, and unity of truth (the drama must have
a sense of reality and believability in the
audience).
 The appearance of being true.
 Having a resemblance to truth, reality or fact.
 A statement which has the mere show of being
true or in accordance with fact; an apparent
truth.

Understatement

The ironic minimalizing of fact, presents
something as less significant than it is
Wit

Intellectual and verbal deftness. Emphaisis
on imagination. Intellectually amusing
language that surprises and delights.
Zeugma
A device that joins together two
apparently incongruous things by applying
a verb or adjective to both which only
really applies to one of them
 “Kill the boys and the luggage”
(Shakespeare’s Henry V )s
