AP Literature Terms

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AP Literature Notes

Rhetorical Terms

antagonist - The character who opposes the interests of the

protagonist. Ex: In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien creates Lord Sauron as

the antagonist to Frodo.

antanaclasis - Repetition of a word in two different senses. Ex: If we do

not hang together, we will hang separately.

anticipated objection - The technique a writer or speaker uses in an

argumentative text to address and answer objections, even though the

audience has not had the opportunity to voice these objections. Ex: "You

ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and airYou

ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory." (Winston

Churchill)

antimetabole - The repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse

grammatical order. Ex: One should eat to live, not live to eat.

apologist - A person or character who makes a case for some

controversial, even contentious, position. Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, by

William Shakespeare, Romeo makes a case for marrying Juliet, despite thecontroversy over the issue.

apology - An elaborate statement justifying some controversial, even

contentious, position. Ex: "I have a dream that one day this nation will

rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to

be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" (Martin Luther King Jr.)

apostrophe - The direct address of an absent person or personified

object as if he/she/it is able to reply. Ex: "O' Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore

art thou Romeo?" (William Shakespeare)appeal to authority - In a text, the reference to words, action, or beliefs

of a person in authority as a means of supporting a claim, generalization,

or conclusion. Ex: Isaac Newton was a genius and he believed in God.

Therefore, God must exist.

appeal to emotion - The appeal of a text to the feelings or interests of



the audience. Ex: If you don't graduate from high school, you will always

be poor.

argument by analysis - An argument developed by breaking the subject

matter into its component parts. Ex: The Virginians failed miserably at

initial colonization and suffered through disease, war, and famine because

of their high expectations and greed, which also molded their colony

socially and economically.

asyndeton - The omission of conjunctions between related clauses. Ex:

"This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who

meant to betray you completely." (Aristotle)

basic topic - One of the four perspectives that Aristotle explained could

be used to generate material about any subject matter: greater or less,

possible and impossible, past fact, and future fact. Ex: Topics include

justice, peace, rights, and movie theaters.

brain-storming - Within the planning act of the writing process, a

technique used by a writer or speaker to generate many ideas, some of

which he or she will later eliminate. Ex: I brainstorm before history essays

by writing down as many specific Exs as I can think of for the prompt.

cloze test - A test of reading ability that requires a person to fill in

missing words in a text. Ex: The SAT's language portion contains

questions modeled in this way.

common topic - One of the perspectives, derived from Aristotle's topics,

used to generate material. The six common topics are definition, division,

comparison, relation, circumstances, and testimony. Ex: Alexander

Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson's political opinions can be the subject of a

common topic, such as division.

compound subject - A sentence in which two or more nouns, noun

phrases, or noun clauses constitute the grammatical subject of a

clause Ex: The dog and the cat scurried away from the approaching car.

confirmation - In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which

the speaker or writer could offer proof or demonstration of the central

idea. Ex: In Julius Caesar's speech, the confirmation was scattered

throughout.

conflict - The struggle of characters with themselves, with others, or with



the world around them. Ex: In The Grapes of Wrath, migrants conflict with

property owners.

connotation - The implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its directly

expressed "dictionary meaning." Ex: Home literally means one's house,

but implies feelings of family and security.

consulting - Seeking help for one's writing from a reader. Ex: I often

consult my parents.

dramatistic pentad - The invention strategy, developed by Kenneth

Burke, that invites a speaker or writer to create identities for the act,

agent, agency, attitude, scene, and purpose in a situation.

effect - The emotional or psychological impact a text has on a reader or

listener. Ex: The Grapes Of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, causes the reader

to have sympathy for migrant workers.

ellipsis - The omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the

overall context of a passage. Ex: "Medical thinking . . . stressed air as the

communicator of disease, ignoring sanitation or visible carriers"

(Tuchman).

epanalepsis - Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred

at the beginning of the clause. Ex: Blood hath brought blood.

epithet - A word of phrase adding a characteristic to a person's

name. Ex: Alexander the Great.

figurative language - Language dominated by the use of schemes and

tropes. Ex: "The ground is thirsty and hungry."

flashback - A part of the plot that moves back in time and then returns to

the present. Ex: In Oedipus Rex, both Oedipus and Iocaste recall previous

events.

generalization - A point that a speaker or writer generations on the basis

of considering a number of particular examples. Ex: "All French people are

rude."

genre - A piece of writing classified by type. Ex: Science Fiction.

investigating - Activities that writers use, during the writing process, to

locate ideas and information. Ex: For my research paper, I have

investigated many sources in the library and online.

irony - Writing or speaking that implies the contrary of what is actually



written or spoken. Ex 1: "Of course I believe you," Joe said

sarcastically. Ex 2: "I can't describe to you how surprised I was to find out

I loved herI even hoped for a while that she'd throw me over" (Fitzgerald

157).

narration - In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the

speaker provided background information on the topic. Ex: Julius Caesar

used narration in many of his speeches.

pace - The speed with which a plot moves from one event to

another. Example: In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck paces the

story somewhat slowly, interspersing it with main-idea chapters.

parallelism - A set of similarly structured words, phrases, or clauses that

appears in a sentence or paragraph. Ex 1: The dog ran, stumbled, and

fell. Ex 2: "After two years I remember the rest of that day, and that night

and the next day" (Fitzgerald 17).

parenthesis - An insertion of material that interrupts the typical flow of a

sentence. Ex: The dog (which was black) ran, stumbled, and fell.

people's topics - The English translation of konnoi topoi, the four topics

that Aristotle explained could be used to generate material about any

subject matter; also called basic topics. Ex: Topics include justice, peace,

rights, and movie theaters.

periodic sentence - A sentence with modifying elements included before

the verb and/or complement. Ex: "John, the tough one, the sullen kid who

scoffed at any show of sentiment, gave his mother flowers."scheme - An artful variation from typical formation and arrangement of words or sentences. Ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.



Rehitorical Terms: Diction

act - In a dramatistic pentad created by a speaker or writer in order to

invent material, the words the speaker or writer uses to describe what

happened or happens in a particular situation. Ex: "With the cunning

typical of its breed, the automobile never breaks down while entering a

filling station with a large staff of idle mechanics. It waits" (Russell

Baker)

agency - In a dramatistic pentad created by a speaker or writer in order

to invent material, the words the speaker or writer uses to describe the

means by which something happened or happens in a particular

situation. Ex: "As a general rule, any object capable of breaking down at

the moment when it is most needed will do so. The automobile is typical

of the category." (Russell Baker)

agent - In a dramatistic pentad created by a speaker or writer in order to

invent material, the words the speaker uses to describe the person or

persons involved in taking action in a particular situation. Ex: "Thus [the

automobile] creates maximum misery, inconvenience, frustration, and

irritability among its human cargo, thereby reducing its owner's life span."

(Russell Baker)

anecdote - A brief narrative offered in a text to capture the audience's

attention or to support a generalization of claim. Ex: "A good man, gray

on the edges, an assistant manager in a brown starched and ironed

uniform, is washing the glass windows of the store...Good night, m'ijo! he

tells a young boy coming out after playing the video game..." (Dagoberto

Gilb)

compound sentence - A sentence with two or more independent

clauses. Ex: Canada is a rich country, but it still has many poor people.

conclusion (of syllogism) - The ultimate point or generalization that a

syllogism expresses. Ex: All mortals die. All men are mortals. All men die.

contraction - The combination of two words into one by eliminating one

or more sounds and indicating the omission with an apostrophe. Ex: "Do

not" becomes "don't." "Should have" becomes "should've."

contraries - See contradiction. Ex: The book is red. The book is not

green. If the book is read, then the book is not green. If the book is not



red, then the book may be green.

data (as evidence) - Facts, statistics, and examples that a speaker or

writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion. Ex:

Conserve electricity. 42% of America's carbon dioxide emissions come

from electricity generation.

deductive reasoning - Reasoning that begins with a general principle

and concludes with a specific instance that demonstrates the general

principle. Ex: "Gravity makes things fall. The apple that hit my head was

due to gravity."

delivery - The presentation and format of a composition. Ex: The Grapes

of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is formatted by chapters, which either

present general information about farmers or the specific story of Joe and

his family.

editing - The final observation, before delivery, by a writer or speaker of

a composition to evaluate appropriateness and to locate missteps in the

work. Ex: For process papers, I edit my work many times before

submitting a final draft.

efferent reading - Reading to garner information from a text. Ex: For

history, I perform efferent reading of the textbook.

enthymeme - Logical reasoning with one premise left unstated. Ex: We

cannot trust this man, for he has perjured himself in the past. (Missing:

Those who perjure themselves cannot be trusted.)

euphemism - An indirect expression of unpleasant information in such

way as to lesson its impact. Ex 1: "Passed way" for "died." Ex 2: "You

see, I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of a sideline, you

understand"(Fitzgerald 87).

image - A passage of text that evokes sensation or emotional

intensity. Ex: "Waves crashing on the ocean look like knives."

inference - A conclusion that a reader or listener reaches by means of his

or her own thinking rather than by being told directly by a text. Ex: I infer

that America became isolationist during the 1920s because of the horrors

of World War I.

memory - Access to information and collective information. Ex: I will use

my memory to remember these terms.



narrative intrusion - A comment that is made directly to the reader by

breaking into the forward plot movement. Ex: Narrator: The dog ran very

fast across the street, dodging two cars.

point of view - The perspective or source of a piece of writing. A first-

person point of view has a narrator or speaker who refers to himself or

herself as "I." A third-person point of view lacks "I" in perspective. Ex: The

Great Gatsby is written in first-person point of view.

ratio - Combination of two or more elements in a dramatistic pentad in

order to invent material.

reading - The construction of meaning, purpose, and effect in a text. Ex:

I am reading The Great Gatsby.

reading journal - A log in which readers can trace developing reactions

to what they are reading. Ex: I am maintaining a character log while

reading The Great Gatsby.

rhetorical choices - The particular choices a writer or speaker makes to

achieve meaning, purpose, or effect. Ex: F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great

Gatsby chooses to use imagery, similes, and metaphors often.stock settings - Stereotypical time and place settings that let readersknow a text's genre immediately. Ex: For science fiction, if the text takesplace in the future, on another planet, or in another universe.



Rhetorical Terms - Schemealliteration - The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning or in the

middle of two or more adjacent words. Ex: "To make a man to meet the

moral need/ A man to match the mountains and the sea" (Edwin Markham)

anadiplosis - The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning

of the following clause. Ex: "Men in great place are thrice servants: servants

of the sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business."

(Francis Bacon)

anaphora - The repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive

clauses. Ex: "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall

fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with

growing confidence" (Winston Churchill)

antecedent-consequence relationship - The relationship expressed by

"ifthen" reasoning. Ex: If industries poison rivers with pollutants, then many

fish will die.

anthimeria - The substitution of one part of speech for another. Ex: "The

thunder would not peace at my bidding." (William Shakespeare)

appeal - One of three strategies for persuading audiences--logos, appeal to

reason; pathos, appeal to emotion; and ethos, appeal to ethics. Ex: "I elicited

the anger of some of the most aggressive teenagers in my high school. A

couple of nights later, a car pulled up in front of my house, and the angry

teenagers in the car dumped garbage on the lawn of my house as an act of

revenge and intimidation." (James Garbarino)

appositive - A noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately

or defines or amplifies its meaning. Ex: Orion, my orange cat, is sitting on the

couch.

argument - A carefully constructed, well-supported representation of how a

writer sees an issue, problem, or subject. Ex: The Patriots prevailed over the

Loyalists, who they violently persecuted due to their conflicting position; both

betrayed the African slaves to temporarily bolster their military.

Aristotelian triangle - A diagram showing the relations of writer or speaker,

audience (reader or listener), and text in a rhetorical situation.

canon - One of the traditional elements of rhetorical composition -- invention,



arrangement, style, memory, or delivery. Ex: Frederick Douglass's style (one

aspect of canon) is both objective and subjective.

casuistry - A mental exercise to discover possibilities for analysis of

communication.

dramatic narration - A narrative in which the reader or viewer does not

have access to the unspoken thoughts of any character.

dynamic character - One who changes during the course of the

narrative. Ex: Romeo is a dramatic character in Romeo and Juliet, by William

Shakespeare.

evidence - The facts, statistics, anecdotes, and examples that a speaker or

writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion. Ex: "Recent

studies in the brain chemistry of rats show that when they play, their brains

release large amounts of dopamine . . ." (Rifkin).

metonymy - An entity referred to by one of its attributes or associations. Ex:

"The press" for the news media.

symbol - In a text, an element that stands for more than itself and,

therefore, helps to convey a theme of the text. Ex: Purple symbolizes royalty.

East Egg in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald symbolizes the ""old

rich."""

tautology - A group of words that merely repeats the meaning already

conveyed. Ex: "If you don't get any better, then you'll never improve."

thesis - The main idea in a text, often the main generalization, conclusion, or

claim. Ex: The corruption of America's rich in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott

Fitzgerald.

thesis statement - A single sentence that states a text's thesis, usually

somewhere near the beginning. Ex: "Sweatt v. Painter advanced equality by

ultimately improving African American educational rights, thus transforming

American democracy for a better today."

topic - A place where writers go to discover methods for proof and strategies

for presentation of ideas. Ex: Gun control laws, the environment, or

communism.

trope - An artful variation from expected modes of expression of thoughts

and ideas. Ex: Pun or metonymy.

voice - The textual features, such as diction and sente



Rhetorical Terms - Syntaxaudience - The person or persons who listen to a spoken text or read a

written one and are capable of responding to it. Ex: The audience of Michael

Chabon's lecture at the Mondavi Center was composed of many Oak Ridge

students.

chiasmus - Inverted relationship between two elements in two parallel

phrases. Ex: "To stop too fearful and too faint to go."

claim - The ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or

enthymeme expresses. The point, backed up by support, of an argument. Ex:

In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck's claim was that the poor are wrongly

mistreated.

climax - The arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing

number or importance. Ex: "He risked truth, he risked honor, he risked fame,

he risked all that men hold dear,yea, he risked life itself..."

climbing the ladder - A term referring to the scheme of climax. Ex: See

climax.

isocolon - Parallel elements that are similar in structure and in length. Ex: "

to impress the ignorant, to perplex the dubious, and to confound the

scrupulous "

mnemonic device - A systematic aid to memory. Ex: "Roy G. Biv" for the

most common colors.

onomatopoeia - A literary device in which the sound of a word is related to

its meaning. Ex: Words like "bang," and "click".

revising - Returning to a draft to rethink, reread, and rework ideas and

sentences. Ex: I am currently revising my research paper.

scene - In a dramatistic pentad created by a speaker or writer in order to

invent material, the words the speaker or writer uses to describe where and

when something happened or happens in a particular situation. Ex: "My family

have been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three

generations" (Fitzgerald 2).

simple sentence - A sentence with one independent clause and no

dependent clause. Ex: The dog ran.

situation - The convergence in a situation of exigency (the need to write),



audience, and purpose. Ex: Before drafting my research paper, I had to

analyze my purpose and how much background information to provide for my

audience.

nce structure, that convey a writer's or speaker's persona. Ex: F. Scott

Fitzgerald's voice is made up of mystery.

writing process - The acts a writer goes through, often recursively, to

complete a piece of writing: inventing, investigating, planning, drafting,

consulting, revising, and editing. Ex: I used this to write my research paper.

Rhetorical Terms - Tropeallegory - An extended metaphor. Ex 1: "During the time I have voyaged on

this ship, I have avoided the cabin; rather, I have remained on deck, batteredby wind and rain, but able to see moonlight" Ex 2: "This is a valley of ashes-

-a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and

grotesque gardens, where ashes take forms of houses and...of men..."

(Fitzgerald 27).

allusion - A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some

particular body of knowledge. Ex 1: "I doubt if Phaethon feared more -- that

time/ he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot/ and burned the streak

of sky we see today" (Dante's Inferno). Ex 2: "Have you read 'The rise of theColoured Empires' by this man Goddard?" (Fitzgerald 17).

anastrophe - Inversion or reversal of the usual order of words. Ex: Echoed

the hills.

anthimeria - The substitution of one part of speech for another. Ex: The

thunder would not peace at my bidding.

antithesis - The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas, often in parallel

structure. Ex 1: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the

pursuit of justice is no virtue." (Barry Goldwater) Ex 2: "found her lying onher bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress--and as drunk as a

monkey" (Fitzgerald 81).

flat character - A figure readily identifiable by memorable traits but not fully

developed. Ex: Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

format - The structural elements that constitute the presentation of a written



text. Ex: The Modern Language Association (MLA) has created a format for

research papers.

freewriting - Intuitive writing strategy for generation of ideas by writing

without stopping. Ex: In English 1, I performed freewriting for two short

pieces.

functional part - A part of a text classified according to its function. Ex: The

introduction.

hyperbole - An exaggeration for effect. Ex 1: "I told you a billion times not

to exaggerate." Ex 2: "we scattered light through half Astoria" (Fitzgerald

72).

invention - The art of generating material for a text; the first of the five

traditional canons of rhetoric. Ex: I use brainstorming before an essay as

invention.

journal - A text in which writers produce informal compositions that help

them "think on paper" about topics and writing projects. Ex: I had a journal

last year for Honors English in which I recorded my thoughts on various novels

I read.

journaling - The process of writing in a journal. Ex: I wrote a journal last

year for Honors English on the books I read.

loose sentence - A sentence that adds modifying elements after the subject,

verb, and complement. Ex: "Bells rang, filling the air with their clangor,

startling pigeons into flight from every belfry, bringing people into the streets

to hear the news."

meiosis - Representation of a thing as less than it really is to compel greater

esteem for it. Ex: Calling an act of arson a prank.

metaphor - An implied comparison that does not use the word like or as. Ex:

"No man is an island" (Donne).

oxymoron - Juxtaposed words with seemingly contradictory meanings. Ex:

"O miserable abundance! O beggarly riches!" (Donne).

paralipsis - Irony in which one proposes to pass over a matter, but subtly

reveals it. Ex: "She is talented, not to mention rich."

peroration - In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the

speaker would draw together the entire argument and include material

designed to compel the audience to think or act in a way consonant with the



central argument. Ex: In Julius Caesar's speech, the peroration came at the

end.

protagonist - The major character in a piece of literature; the figure in the

narrative whose interests the reader is most concerned about and sympathetic

toward. Ex: Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath.

repretoire - A set of assumptions, skills, facts, and experience that a reader

brings to a text to make meaning.

setting - The context--including time and place--of a narrative. Ex: The area

surround New York City in the 1920s is the setting of The Great Gatsby, by F.

Scott Fitzgerald.

sharing - A system calling for writers to read or listen to one another's work

and suggest ways to improve it. Ex: In AP US History, we peer reviewed each

other's take-home DBQs.

simile - A type of comparison that uses the word like or as. Ex: "There was

something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises

of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register

earthquakes ten thousand miles away" (Fitzgerald 2).

syllogism - Logical reasoning from inarguable premises. Ex: All mortals die.

All humans are mortal. All humans die.

synecdoche - A part of something used to refer to the whole. Ex: "The hired

hands are not doing their jobs."

syntax - The order of words in a sentence. Ex: "The dog ran" not "The ran

dog."

theme - The message conveyed by a literary work. Ex: The decline of the

American dream in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

tone - The writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject matter. Ex: Light-

hearted in the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

understatement - Deliberate playing down of a situation in order to make a

point. Ex: "I think there's a problem between Shias and Sunnis."

unity - The sense that a text is, appropriately, about only one subject and

achieves one major purpose or effect. Ex: Pride by Dagoberto Gilb

unreliable narrator - An untrustworthy or naïve commentator on events and

characters in a story. Ex: The people at Gatsby's parties like Jordan who

spread rumors about Gatsby's past in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.



verisimilitude - The quality of a text that reflects the truth of actual

experience. Ex: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael

Chabon has medium verisimilitude.

zeugma - A trope in which one word, usually a noun or the main verb,

governs two other words not related in meaning. Ex: He governs his will and

his kingdom.

aesthetic reading - Reading to experience the world of the text. Ex:

One often reads John Steinbeck's novels, like The Grapes of Wrath, to

experience his detailed settings.

aim - The goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the text -- for

example, to clarify difficult material, to inform, to convince, to persuade.

Also called intention and purpose. Ex: In Pride, Dagoberto Gilb's aim is to

define pride and what it means to him.

Anglo-Saxon diction - Word choice characterized by simple, often one-

or two- syllable nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Ex: Words include

"thinking," "kingly," "bridge," "stone," and "early."

apposition - Two nouns that are adjacent to each other and reference

the same thing. Ex: I know the dog Toto.

arrangement - In a spoken or written text, the placement of ideas for

effect. Ex: In essays, writers often strategically arrange their essays into

paragraphs and order their points from most convincing to least.

assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of

two or more adjacent words. Ex: "Or sinking as the light wind lives or

dies" (John Keats)

assumption - An opinion, a perspective, or a belief that a writer or

speaker thinks the audience holds. Ex: "We think a problem is weakness,

mental laziness, intellectual inflation, but an issue is deep-rooted, interior,

and personal." (Allison Amend)

attitude - In an adapted dramatistic pentad created by a speaker or

writer in order to invent materials, the manner in which an action is carried

out. Ex: "Truth be told, we have replaced problem with issue in our



vocabulary. And issue is a euphemism." (Allison Amend)

auxesis - Magnifying the importance or gravity of something by referring

it with a disproportionate name. Ex: Calling a scratch on an arm a wound.

begging of the question - The situation that results when a writer or

speaker constructs an argument on an assumption that the audience does

not accept. Ex: This painting is horrible because it is obviously worthless.

causal relationship - The relationship expressing, "If X is the cause,

then Y is the effect," or, "If Y is the effect, then X caused it." Ex: If the

dog runs away, then the boy will be sad.

character - A personage in a narrative. Ex: Romeo was a character in

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare.

complex sentence - A sentence with one independent clause and one or

more dependent clauses. Ex: As long as it isn't cold, it doesn't matter if it

rains.

compound-complex sentence - A sentence with two or more

independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Ex: The

package arrived in the morning, but the courier left before I could check

the contents.

context - The convergence of time, place, audience, and motivating

factors in which a piece of writing or a speech is situated. Ex: Kate Chopin

lived in the late 1800s in Southern America as a feminist. This background

formed the foundation of The Awakening.

contradiction - One of the types of rhetorical invention included under

the common topic of relationships. Contradiction urges the speaker or

writer to invent an example or a proof that is counter to the main idea or

argument. Ex: "If war is the cause of our misery, peace is the way to

promote our happiness."

denotation - The "dictionary definition" of a word, in contrast to its

connotation, or implied meaning. Ex: A house is literally a dwelling usually

for a family.

descriptive writing - Writing that relies on sensory images to

characterize a person or place. Ex: "so much depends/ upon/ the red

wheel/ barrow/ glazed with rain/ water/ beside the white/ chickens"

(William Carlos Williams)



dialect - The describable patterns of language--grammar and vocabulary-

-used by a particular cultural or ethnic population. Ex: A Caribbean dialect

is often "sing-songish" and leaves out words from sentences.

dialogue - Conversation between and among characters. Ex: "Jim, I don't

get it," Blair said. Jim raised an eyebrow. "Don't get what?"

diction - Word choice, which is viewed on scales of formality/informality,

concreteness/abstraction, Latinate derivation/Anglo-Saxon derivation, and

denotative value/connotative value. Ex: Using "issue" instead of

"problem."

double entendre - The double meanings of a group of words that the

speaker or writer has purposely left ambiguous. Ex 1: "My name is

Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

(Shelley). Ex 2: "West Egg especially still figures into my more fantastic

dreams" (Fitzgerald 185).

drafting - The process by which writers get something written on paper

or in a computer file so that they can develop their ideas and begin

moving toward an end, a start-to-finish product; the raw material for what

will become the final product. Ex: For the research paper, we will have to

revise and draft many times to perfect our papers.

dramatic monologue - A type of poem, popular primarily in the

nineteenth century, in which the speaker is delivering a monologue to an

assumed group of listeners. Ex: In "My Last Duchess," by Robert

Browning, shows off a painting of his late wife and reveals his cruelty to

her.

epistrophe - The repetition of a group of words at the end of successive

clauses. Ex: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny

compared to what lies within us" (Emerson).

erotema - Asking a question to assert or deny something obliquely not

for an answer. Ex: "How much longer must our people endure this

injustice?"

ethos - The appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the

speaker, writer, or narrator. Ex: If you don't graduate from high school,

you will always be poor.

exaggeration - An overstatement. Ex: The Matrix is the best movie ever



made.

example - An anecdote or a narrative offered in support of a

generalization, claim, or point. Ex: Animals have more intelligence than

imagined. "On human IQ tests, she [a gorilla named Koko] scores between

70 and 95" (Rifkin).

exordium - In ancient roman oratory, the introduction of a speech;

literally, the "web" meant to draw the audience in the speech. Ex: Julius

Caesar's speech begins with an exordium.

extended analogy - An extended passage arguing that if two things are

similar in one or two ways, they are probably similar in other ways as

well. Ex: In "Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts," Catton argues some

similarities between Grant and Lee.

extended example - An example that is carried through several

sentences or paragraphs. Ex: In "Pride," Dagoberto Gilb extends an Ex of

pride in the form of an anecdote through two paragraphs.

fable - A narrative in which fictional characters, often animals, take

actions that have ethical or moral significance. Ex: Animal Farm, written

by George Orwell, is a fable.

figures of rhetoric - Schemes--that is, variations from typical word or

sentence formation--and tropes, which are variations from typical patterns

of thought. Ex: "When I first saw her, my soul began to quiver."

flashforward - A part of the plot that jumps ahead in time and returns to

the present. Ex: Oedipus is told he will sleep with his mother and kill his

father by a prophet.

heuristic - A systematic strategy or method for solving problems. Ex:

Lawrence Lessig has argued that patents in different industries should be

given different amounts of time, using this strategy.

house analogy - In ancient Roman oratory, the method that speakers

used to memorize their speeches, connecting the introduction to the porch

of a house, the narration and partition to the front foyer, the confirmation

and refutation to rooms connected to the foyer, and the conclusion to the

back door. Ex: Julius Caesar most likely used this method to memorize his

speeches.

hyperbaton - Unusual or inverted word order. Ex: "Size matters not.



Judge me by my size, do you?" (Yoda).

imagery - Language that evokes particular sensations or emotionally rich

experiences in a reader. Ex 1: Edgar Allan Poe uses imagery in The Fall of

the House of the Usher. Ex 2: "ran for a huge black knotted trees whose

massed leaves made a fabric against the rain" (Fitzgerald 93).

implied metaphor - A metaphor embedded in a sentence rather than

expressed directly as a sentence. Ex 1: "John swelled and rustled his

plumage." (John was a peacock.) Ex 2: "Something was making him

nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer

nourished his peremptory heart" (Fitzgerald 25).

inductive reasoning - Reasoning the begins by citing a number of

specific instances or examples and then shows how collectively they

constitute a general principle. Ex: This ice is cold. Thus, all ice is cold.

intention - The goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the

text. Ex: One of John Steinbeck's intentions in The Grapes of Wrath was

to end humans' inhumanity to fellow humans.

jargon - The specialized vocabulary of a particular group. Ex: Bilateral

periorbital hematoma (a black eye).

konnoi topoi - People's topics; ordinary patterns of reasoning; also called

basic topics. Ex: Topics include justice, peace, rights, and movie theaters.

Latinate diction - Vocabulary characterized by the choice of elaborate,

often complicated words from Latin roots. Ex: Words like "deviate,"

"aqueduct," and "insulate".

limited narration - A narrative in which the reader or viewer has access

to the unspoken thoughts of one character or partial thinking of more than

one character. Ex: "Murgatroyd met Madeline on New Year's Eve in 2002.

He attended a party and she opened the door. Her hair! Only a goddess

could have hair so fine."

litotes - Understatement. Ex 1: "This is no ordinary city" rather than "this

is an impressive city". Ex 2: "I lived at West Egg, the--well, the less

fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag" (Fitzgerald

9).

logic - The art of reasoning. Ex: All humans are mortal. Socrates is

human. Thus, Socrates is mortal.



logos - The appeal of a text based on the logical structure of its argument

or central ideas. Ex: "If there really were such strong evidence of racial

bias in the justice system it would be newsworthy. . ." (Taylor 6).

mood - The feeling that a text is intended to produce in the audience. Ex:

In John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the mood is mostly dark and

gloomy.

narrative - An anecdote or a story offered in support of a generalization,

claim, or point. Also, a function in texts accomplished when the speaker or

writer tells a story. Ex: "A good man, gray on the edges, an assistant

manager in a brown starched and ironed uniform, is washing the glass

windows of the store...Good night, m'ijo! he tells a young boy coming out

after playing the video game..." (Dagoberto Gilb)

omniscient narration - A narrative in which the reader or viewer has

access to the unspoken thoughts of all the characters. Ex: Our Town by

Thornton Wilder.

parable - A usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or

a religious principle. Ex: Ignacy Krasicki's "The Blind Man and the Lame."

paradox - A statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true

nevertheless. Ex: "Not having a fashion is a fashion."

paronomasia - To call with a slight change of name; a play on

words. Ex: "Independence is what a boy wants from his father when he

wants to be let a loan."

partition - In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech where the

speaker would divide the main topic into parts. Ex: Julius Caesar used

partitions to better communicate his argument.

pathos - The appeal of a text to the emotions or interests of the

audience. Ex: ". . . Helped feed a wave of national breast-beating over the

unfairness of the juvenile justice system" (Taylor 1).

peer review - A system calling for writers to read or listen to one

another's work and suggest ways to improve it. Ex: In AP US History, we

peer reviewed each other's take-home DBQs.

pentad - Kenneth Burke's system for analyzing motives and actions in

communication. The five points of the pentad are act, agent, agency,

scene, and purpose.



periphrasis - The substitution of an attributive word or phrase for a

proper name, or the use of a proper name to suggest a personality

characteristic. Ex 1: "He was no Romeo; but then again, she was no

Juliet." Ex 2: "I stared at it, like Kant at his church steeple" (Fitzgerald

93).

persona - The character that a writer or speaker conveys to the

audience; the plural is personae. Ex: In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway

is a persona.

personae - The plural of persona. Ex: Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby.

personification - The giving of human characteristics to inanimate

objects. Ex: The fall season has been personified as "sitting on a granary

floor" (Keats).

persuasion - The changing of people's minds or actions by language. Ex:

Protect the environment, for it is what the lives of your children and the

future of the world will depend on.

petitio principi - Begging of the question; disagreeing with premises or

reasoning. Ex: "The bible says god exists and the bible must be right since

it is the revealed word of god, so god exists."

planning - Determining appropriateness of information for audience and

for purpose. Ex: I am in the planning and drafting stages of my research

paper.

plot - Arrangement of events in a story. Ex: In The Grapes of Wrath, Joe

and his family meet up, go to California, search for jobs, and live in various

camps. In the end, the only benefit the gain is unity.

plot devices - Elements of plot that operate to cause or resolve conflicts

and to provide information. Ex: Foreshadowing.

poem - Louise Rosenblatt's term for the interpretive moment when reader

and text connect. Ex: In The Grapes of Wrath, this occurs when Steinbeck

first describes the surrounding setting with figurative language.

polyptoton - Repetition of words derived from the same root. Ex:

Repeating words like "strong," "skillful," and "strength."

polysyndeton - Repetition of conjunctions in close succession. Ex: "We

have ships and men and money and stores."

premise, major - The first premise in a syllogism. The major premise



states an irrefutable generalization. Ex: All men are mortal.

premise, minor - The second premise in a syllogism. The minor premise

offers a particular instance of generalization stated in the major

premise. Ex: Some philosophers are men.

prosopopoeia - The giving of human characteristics to inanimate

objects. Ex: The window winked at me.

pun - A play on words. Types of puns include anataclasis, words that

sound alike but have different meanings; paranomasia, words alike in

sound but different in meaning; and syllepsis, a word used differently in

relation to two other words it governs or modifies. Ex: "I moss say I'm

taking a lichen to that fungi."

purpose - The goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the text.

Also called aim and intention. In a dramatistic pentad created by a speaker

or writer in order in invent material, the words the speaker or writer uses

to describe the reason something happened or happens in a particular

situation. Ex: In Pride, Dagoberto Gilb's aim is to define pride and what it

means to him.

reader's repertoire - The collection of predictions and revisions a person

employs when reading a text.

recursive - Referring to the moving back and forth from invention to

revision in the process of writing. Ex: In writing my research paper, I

invent material and revise previously invented material.

refutation - In ancient Roman oratory, the part of a speech in which the

speaker would anticipate objections to the points being raised and counter

them. Ex: Julius Caesar used this method in his speeches to better argue

his point.

reliable narrator - A believable, trustworthy commentator on events and

characters in a story. Ex: In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is a reliable

narrator, though somewhat secretive.

repetition - In a text, repeated use of sounds, words, phrases, or clauses

to emphasize meaning or achieve effect. Ex 1: The dog ran, the dog

jumped, and the dog whimpered. Ex 2:"'Hot!' said the conductor to

familiar faces. 'Some Weather! Hot! Hot! Hot! Is it hot enough

'" (Fitzgerald 121).



rhetor - The speaker who uses elements of rhetoric effectively in oral or

written text. Ex: F. Scott Fitzgerald is the rhetor in The Great Gatsby.

rhetoric - The art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a

writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the

text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective; the specific features

of texts, written or spoken, that cause them to be meaningful, purposeful,

and effective for readers or listeners in a situation. Ex: Diction, scheme,

trope, argument, and syntax.

rhetorical intention - Involvement and investment in and ownership of

a piece of writing. Ex: F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby has

rhetorical intention.

rhetorical question - A question posed by the speaker or writer not to

seek an answer but instead to affirm or deny a point simply by asking a

question about it. Ex: "Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" (Shakespeare).

rhetorical situation - The convergence in a situation of exigency (the

need to write), audience, and purpose. Ex: Before drafting my research

paper, I had to analyze my purpose and how much background

information to provide for my audience.

rhetorical triangle - A diagram showing the relations of writer or

speaker, reader or listener, and text in a rhetorical situation.

romance language - A language that is derived from Latin. Ex: French,

Italian.

round character - A figure with complexity in action and personality, Ex:

Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

sarcasm - The use of mockery or bitter irony. Ex: "That's so funny I

forgot to laugh!"

scenic narration - Narration in which an event or a moment of a plot is

stretched out for dramatic effect. Ex: In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott

Fitzgerald, the scene in which Myrtle is accidentally killed.

six-part oration - In classical rhetoric, a speech consisting of exordium,

narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, and peroration. Ex: Franklin

D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address follows this structure.

slang - Informal language, often considered inappropriate for formal

occasions and text. Ex: "This is sick."



soliloquy - Dialogue in which a character speaks aloud to himself or

herself. Ex: "To be or not to be, that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler

in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to

take arms against a sea of troubles / And by opposing end them"

(Shakespeare).

speaker - The person delivering a speech, or the character assumed to be

speaking a poem. Ex: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

stance - A writer's or speaker's apparent attitude toward the

audience. Ex: Franklin D. Roosevelt embraced the audience in his First

Inaugural Address.

static character - A figure who remains the same from the beginning to

the end of a narrative. Ex: Nick Carraway is essentially a static character

in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

style - The choices that writers or speakers make in language for

effect. Ex: Part of John Steinbeck's style is to focus on the setting in

novels like The Grapes of Wrath.

subject - One of the points on the Aristotelian or rhetorical triangle; the

subject matter a writer or speaker is writing or speaking about. Ex: John

Steinbeck was writing about the Dust Bowl in The Grapes of Wrath.

subordinate clause - A group of words that includes a subject and verb

but that cannot stand on its own as a sentence; also called dependent

clause. Ex: After the dog slept, the dog ran.

summary narration - Narration in which a brief statement of events

moves the plot quickly. Ex: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

by Michael Chabon includes many summary narrations when they jump

years in time.support - In a test, the material offered to make concrete or to back up ageneralization, conclusion, or claim. Ex: "Recent studies in the brain

chemistry of rats show that when they play, their brains release largeamounts of dopamine . . ." (Rifkin).

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AP Literature Terms