Garner's AP Lit Terms
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Created by:
jagarner on October 21, 2009
Subjects:
ap english, AP English Language & Composition, literary terms
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54 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 tropes | figure of speech in which MEANING is altered |
| schemes | figure of speech in which WORD ORDER is altered |
| pun | a play on meaning of words i.e. "But if we don't hang together, we will hang separately." -Benjamin Franklin |
| metaphor | an implied comparison between two unlike things |
| simile | an explicit comparison between two unlike things signaled by the use of "like" or "as" or similar words |
| personification | attributing human qualities to an inanimate object |
| pathetic fallacy | attributing human qualities to a force of nature |
| animism | attributing animal qualities that are not uniquely human to an inanimate object or force of nature |
| irony | the writer takes on another voice or role that states the opposite of what is expressed |
| hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration used to create emphasis |
| litotes | intensifies an idea by understatement |
| synecdoche | related to classification and division; understanding one thing for another thus part is substituted for the whole or species for genus i.e. "bread" stands for food and "wheels" means car |
| metonymy | designation of one thing with something closely associated with it i.e. head of committee is called "the chair"; newspaper is referred to as "the press" |
| paradox | a statement that appears to be contradictory but, in fact, has some truth |
| oxymoron | contradiction; two contradictory terms or ideas are used together i.e. wise fool |
| onomatopoeia | refers to the use of words whose sound reinforces their meaning i.e. drip, bang, crackle |
| rhetorical question | commonly defined as those questions that do not require an answer; 4 kinds are asking the reader, asking the writer, criticizing, asking and answering |
| apostrophe | addressing the absent as present or the inanimate or inhuman as if it could hear and understand |
| symbol | a literal and sensuous quality or item representing an abstract or suggestive aspect; there are conventional, natural, and private |
| balance | similar ideas are expressed in similar grammatical structure, contrasting ideas in contrasting grammatical structure, or a series of ideas in climactic order |
| parallelism | expresses similar or related ideas in similar grammatical structures |
| chiasmus | derived from the Greek letter CHI (x); grammatical structure of the first clause or phrase is reversed in the second, sometimes repeating the same words |
| climax | writer arranges ideas in order of importance from the least to the most important |
| antithesis | the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas i.e. art is long, life is short |
| syntax | word order |
| anastrophe | word order is reversed or rearranged to emphasize some aspect of the idea/thought stated i.e. shallow is the water |
| apposition | the placing next to a noun another noun or phrase that explains it |
| addition | used by writers whereby they add words or phrases to a sentence to vary the style and draw emphasis to certain parts of the sentence |
| parenthesis | the insertion of words, phrases, or a sentence that is not syntactically related to the rest of the sentence and are set off by dashes/hyphens (--) or parentheses (()) |
| omission | used by writers whereby they omit certain words for emphasis |
| zeugma | One word is used to govern or modify two or more words although its use is grammatically or logically correct with one i.e. her hair is red; her eyes blue ("is" is omitted in second phrase) |
| syllepsis | a construction in which one word seems to be in the same relation to two or more other words, but in fact is not. The word does double duty. i.e. He lost his coat and his temper. |
| asyndeton | conjunctions are omitted producing a fast-paced and rapid prose |
| polyptoton | form of speech in which a word is repeated in different cases, numbers, genders, and the like i.e. My own heart's heart |
| anaphora | the regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the BEGINNING of successive phrases or clauses |
| anadiplosis | the rhetorical repetition of the word or phrase that ends one phrase at the beginning of the next phrase i.e. spare me your words, words are not what I need |
| polysyndeton | use of many conjunctions slowing the pace of the writing thus the reading |
| alliteration | repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of successive words |
| assonance | involves repetition of vowel sounds within words i.e. from nose to toes; sleeping, weeping ships |
| consonance | words at end of verses in which the final consonants in the stressed syllables agree, but the words that precede them differ i.e. begun/afternoon |
| euphony | creating a pleasing effect by combining words or phonetic elements in spoken words to produce harmonious sounds |
| cacophony | creating a harsh effect by combining words that emphasize gutteral, coarse sounds |
| parasynesthesia | concurrent appeal to or response of two or more senses i.e. cool green water |
| allusion | reference to some familiar event in history for to some familiar expression or character in literature |
| epigram | a brief, pinted saying that has the nature of a proverb |
| euphemism | stating a disagreeable truth in agreeable language |
| epithet | descriptive word or phrase into which has been packed a vivid image i.e. Edward the Great, Richard the Lionhearted |
| tapinosis | degrading epithet |
| satire | riducule used primarily to point out needs for societal change |
| sarcasm | personal, jeering ridicule that is intended to hurt individuals |
| parody | to ridicule another work, usually serious in nature, by imitating it in a humorous, nonsensical fashion |
| interrogation | asks a question with an implied contrary answer i.e. Do you think I'm stupid? |
| epistrophe | The repetition of a word or phrase at the END of successive clauses or sentences |
| conduplicatio | repetition of words in adjacent phrases or clauses |
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