AP English Language - Literary Devices

A reference to a person, place, an event, or literary work that a writer expects the reader to recognize and respond to

Character who opposes the protagonist

Conclusion of a tragedy

The personality a character displays, also, the means by which a writer reveals that personality

The author tells you how the character is

When the reader figures out what the character is like by studying that character's actions

The point of greatest emotional interest, intensity or suspense in a narrative

A struggle between two opposing forces

Man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society

Man vs. self

Background information that is important to understanding the story; includes the introduction of characters and setting

All the action that occurs after the climax and leads to the resolution

The use of hints or clues to suggest that which will happen

Words or phrases that create pictures, or images in the reader's mind; appeals to the senses (taste, touch, sight, sound, smell)

When the opposite occurs from what is expected

The words or actions of a character in a play carry a meaning that the character may not understand but the audience knows

The unexpected occurs at the end of the story for the audience as well as the characters

To say one thing and mean another

Figure of speech where two dissimilar things are directly compared

Feeling author portrays in his or her works (tie it to the setting)

Reoccurring symbols

Sequence of actions woven into a plot

A figure of speech in which something non-human is given human qualities

The sequence of events or happenings in a literary works

"I" - main character tells story

Main character talks directly to audience

Narrator is telling the story; they only see it from one vantage point

Narrator is telling the story and is all knowing

The main character around whom all the action is centered

The conclusion, the afterward, the answer to the conflict

All the action that leads to the climax

Time and place of the narrative

Comparing two unlike things using a word of comparison such as "like" or "as"

What makes the reader uncertain or tense about an upcoming event

Something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggest something larger or more complex...often as idea or a range or interrelated ideas, attitudes and practices

Main idea or the basic meaning of a literary work (life lesson)

The attitude of the author towards the subject matter, his audience, or his characters