AP Language and Composition Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms

Compound-complex sentence

contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

Parenthetical idea

An idea that is set off from the rest of the sentence.

Denotation

the literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

Anecdote

A brief recounting of a relevant episode.

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.

Analogy

A comparison to a directly parallel case.

Loose sentence

A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity.

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson

Sarcasm

A generally bitter comment that is ironically worded.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Sentence

A group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

Litotes

A particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used.

Rhetorical question

A question not asked for information but for effect.

Epigraph

A quotation or aphorism at the beginnning of a literary work suggestive of theme.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement which is actually true.

Epigram

A short poem with a clever twist at the end, or a concise and witty statement.

Allegory

A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts.

Didactic

A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poety that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Aphorism

A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.

Appositive

A word or group or words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning.

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect.

Attitude of the author/tone

A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

Objectivity

An author's stance that distances himself from personal involvement.

Invective

An emotionall violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

Ambiguity

An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes.

Symbol

Anything that represents or stands for somthing else.

Classicism

Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures.

Romanticism

Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature.

Compound sentence

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.

Simple sentence

Contains one independent clause.

Complex sentence

Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Annotation

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, clarify, or prompt futher thought.

Situational irony

Found in the plot of a book, story, or movie.

Syntax/sentence variety

Grammatical arrangement of words.

Connotation

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning.

Imperative sentence

Issues a command.

Vernacular

Language or dialect of a particular country, language or dialect of a regional clan or group, plain everyday speech.

Concrete Language

Language that describes specific, observable things, peoples or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

Abstract Language

Lauguage descirbing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people or places.

Metaphor

Making an implied comparsion, not using "like," "as," or other such words.

Pedantic

Observing strict adherence to formal rules or literal meaning at the expense of a wider view.

Balanced sentence

One in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.

Colloquial

Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.

Anaphora

Repetition or a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.

Parallelism/parallel structure

Sentence construction which places equal grammatical construction near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns.

Interrogative sentence

Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns.

Transition

Smooth movement from one paragraph (or idea) to another.

Declarative sentence

States an idea

Explication

The act of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text.

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication.

Mood

The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work.

Style

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes.

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.

Jargon

The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Figurative Language

The opposite of "literal language"; writing that is not meant to be taken literally

Thesis

The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition.

Active voice

The subject of the sentence performs the action.

Passive voice

The subject of the sentence receives the action.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Homily

This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure.

Simile

Using words such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two very different things.

Oxymoron

When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox.

Dramatic irony

When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out.

Periodic sentence

When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence.

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.

Verbal irony

When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style.

Imagery

Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind.

Gothic

Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death.

Understatement

the ironice minimizing of fact, presents something as less significant than it is.