100 Literary Terms Every AP English Student Needs

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Allegory	Story with symbolic meaning beyond literal.
2.	Alliteration	Repeated initial consonant sounds.
3.	Allusion	Brief reference to known person or text.
4.	Ambiguity	Multiple possible meanings.
5.	Anachronism	Something out of its time period.
6.	Anadiplosis	Repeat last word to start next.
7.	Anaphora	Repeat starting words across clauses.
8.	Anecdote	Short illustrative story.
9.	Antagonist	Opposes the protagonist.
10.	Anthropomorphism	Human traits given to nonhumans.
11.	Antimetabole	Reversed repetition of words.
12.	Antithesis	Balanced contrast of ideas.
13.	Aphorism	Concise statement of truth.
14.	Apostrophe	Address an absent person or thing.
15.	Archetype	Recurring universal character or pattern.
16.	Assonance	Repeated vowel sounds nearby.
17.	Asyndeton	Omission of conjunctions in a series.
18.	Atmosphere	Emotional feel of a setting.
19.	Bildungsroman	Coming-of-age novel.
20.	Blank verse	Unrhymed iambic pentameter.
21.	Caesura	Pause within a poetic line.
22.	Caricature	Exaggerated portrayal for effect.
23.	Catharsis	Emotional release for audience.
24.	Characterization	How a character is revealed.
25.	Chiasmus	Inverted parallel structure.
26.	Climax	Story’s turning point of highest tension.
27.	Colloquialism	Informal, conversational language.
28.	Comedy	Light work ending happily.
29.	Conceit	Extended, surprising metaphor.
30.	Conflict	Central struggle driving plot.
31.	Connotation	Implied meaning beyond dictionary definition.
32.	Consonance	Repeated consonant sounds within words.
33.	Couplet	Two consecutive rhymed lines.
34.	Dactyl	Stressed syllable then two unstressed.
35.	Denotation	Literal dictionary meaning.
36.	Deus ex machina	Sudden contrived resolution.
37.	Diction	Word choice and style.
38.	Didactic	Intended to teach or instruct.
39.	Dramatic irony	Audience knows more than characters.
40.	Dynamic character	Character changes significantly.
41.	Elegy	Mournful poem for the dead.
42.	Ellipsis	Omission of words or time.
43.	Enjambment	Line runs on without pause.
44.	Epic	Long heroic narrative poem.
45.	Epigraph	Quotation at a work’s beginning.
46.	Epiphany	Sudden insight or realization.
47.	Epithet	Descriptive phrase for a person.
48.	Euphemism	Mild term for harsh idea.
49.	Exposition	Background information at story’s start.
50.	Extended metaphor	Metaphor developed over many lines.
51.	Fable	Brief moral tale, often with animals.
52.	Falling action	Events after the climax.
53.	Farce	Broad comedy with improbable situations.
54.	Figurative language	Nonliteral language for effect.
55.	Flashback	Scene set in earlier time.
56.	Foil	Character contrasting another character.
57.	Foreshadowing	Hints of future events.
58.	Free verse	Poetry without regular meter or rhyme.
59.	Genre	Category of literature by form.
60.	Hamartia	Tragic error leading to downfall.
61.	Heroic couplet	Rhymed iambic pentameter pairs.
62.	Hubris	Excessive pride before a fall.
63.	Hyperbole	Deliberate exaggeration.
64.	Iamb	Unstressed syllable then stressed.
65.	Imagery	Sensory details creating vivid pictures.
66.	In media res	Begin in the middle of action.
67.	Irony	Contrast between expectation and reality.
68.	Juxtaposition	Placing elements side by side to compare.
69.	Kenning	Compound metaphorical name.
70.	Litotes	Understatement using double negatives.
71.	Malapropism	Mistaken word resembling intended word.
72.	Metaphor	Direct comparison without like or as.
73.	Meter	Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
74.	Metonymy	Substitute related name for thing.
75.	Monologue	Extended speech by one character.
76.	Mood	Emotional effect on the reader.
77.	Motif	Recurring element with symbolic value.
78.	Narrator	Voice telling the story.
79.	Non sequitur	Illogical or unrelated statement.
80.	Ode	Lyric poem praising a subject.
81.	Onomatopoeia	Word that imitates a sound.
82.	Oxymoron	Paired contradictory terms.
83.	Paradox	Seeming contradiction revealing truth.
84.	Parallelism	Similar grammatical structure repeated.
85.	Parody	Imitation that mocks or critiques.
86.	Pathetic fallacy	Nature reflects human emotions.
87.	Persona	Speaker or voice adopted by author.
88.	Personification	Human qualities given to nonhuman.
89.	Plot	Sequence of events in a story.
90.	Point of view	Perspective from which story is told.
91.	Polysyndeton	Excessive conjunctions in a series.
92.	Protagonist	Main character of the story.
93.	Pun	Wordplay using multiple meanings.
94.	Refrain	Repeated line or phrase.
95.	Rhetorical question	Question asked for effect, not answer.
96.	Rhyme scheme	Pattern of end rhymes.
97.	Rising action	Events building toward climax.
98.	Satire	Critique using humor or irony.
99.	Setting	Time and place of a story.
100.	Simile	Comparison using like or as.