1. AP Literary Devices Flashcards (AP Language and Composition 2015 List #1

2. allegory

3. the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to create a story that has both a literal AND deeper, symbolic meaning

4. allusion

5. a direct or indirect reference to something that is assumed to be commonly known (event, book, myth, place, work of art)

6. analogy

7. a similarity between two different things or the relationship between them

8. aphorism

9. a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle

10. apostrophe

11. a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction (love, liberty, etc.)

12. archetypes

13. an original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype

14. cliché

15. a trite, overused expression which is lifeless; it has lost any real meaning because it is used so much

16. colloquial/colloquialism

17. the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

18. conceit

19. a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between unlike objects

20. euphemism

21. a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept

22. hyperbole

23. a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration

24. irony

25. a contrast between what is stated explicitly (outright) and what is really meant

26. verbal irony

27. when an author says one thing and means something else

28. dramatic irony

29. when an audience perceives something that a character in literature does not know

30. situational irony (irony of situation)

31. a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results

32. malapropism

33. a habit of using polysyllabic words incorrectly

34. metonymy

35. a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it

36. onomatopoeia

37. a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words

38. oxymoron

39. a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox

40. paradox

41. a statement that appears to be self- contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity

42. parody

43. a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule

44. pun

45. a figure of speech which involves a play upon the double meaning of words

46. satire

47. a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule

48. symbol/symbolism

49. anything that represents something else (NOT a comparison; usually something that is concrete/tangible that represents something more abstract)

50. synecdoche

51. a figure of speech in which the part stands for the whole

52. synesthesia

53. the mixing of sensations; the concurrent appeal to more than one sense

54. tone

55. the author’s attitude toward his or her material, the audience, or both

56. understatement

57. the ironic minimalizing of fact; presenting something as less significant than it really is