AP Lit terms

Allegory

story conveying a meaning other than the literal; abstract principles represented by characters or figures

Alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds

Anagnorisis

discovery; hero suddenly becoming aware of a situation or true character

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of neighboring clauses for emphasis

Antacedent

word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun replaces

apologue

short story with a moral, often involving talking animals or objects; a fable; short allegory

apostrophe

speaker addresses an inanimate object

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

Ballad

relatively short narrative poem written in song-like stanza form

Bildungsroman

novel tracing the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character usually from childhood to maturity