📚AP English Literature
Key Terms

662 essential vocabulary terms and definitions to know for your AP English Literature exam

📚AP English Literature
Key Terms by Unit

Unit 1 – Intro to Short Fiction

1.1 Interpreting the role of character in fiction

1.2 Identifying and interpreting setting

1.3 Understanding how a story’s structure affects interpretations

1.4 Understanding and interpreting a narrator’s perspective

1.5 Reading texts literally and figuratively

Unit 2 – Intro to Poetry

2.1 Identifying characters in poetry

2.2 Understanding & interpreting meaning in poetic structure

2.3 Analyzing word choice to find meaning

2.4 Identifying techniques in poetry to analyze literary works

Unit 3 – Intro to Longer Fiction & Drama

3.1 Interpreting character description and perspective

3.2 Character evolution throughout a narrative

3.3 Conflict and plot development

3.4 Interpreting symbolism

Unit 4 – Character, Conflict, & Storytelling in Short Fiction

4.1 Protagonists, antagonists, character relationships, and conflict

4.2 Character interactions with setting and its significance

4.3 Archetypes in literature

4.4 Types of narration like stream of consciousness

4.5 Narrative distance, tone, and perspective

Unit 5 – Structure & Figurative Language in Poetry

5.1 Traits of closed and open structures in poetry

5.2 Use of techniques like imagery and hyperbole

5.3 Types of comparisons in poetry including personification and allusion

5.4 Identifying and interpreting extended metaphors

Unit 6 – Literary Techniques in Longer Works

6.1 Interpreting foil characters

6.2 Understanding and interpreting character complexity

6.3 Understanding nonlinear narrative structures like flashbacks and foreshadowing

6.4 The effect of narrative tone and bias on reading

6.5 Characters as symbols, metaphors, and archetypes

Unit 7 – Societal & Historical Context in Short Fiction

7.1 Sudden and more gradual change in characters

7.2 Epiphany as a driver of plot

7.3 Relationships between characters and groups

7.4 Character interactions with changing and contrasting settings

7.5 The significance of the pacing of a narrative

7.6 Setting as a symbol

7.7 Interpreting texts in their historical and societal contexts

Unit 8 – Advanced Techniques in Poetry

8.1 Looking at Punctuation and Structural Patterns

8.2 Interpreting juxtaposition, paradox, and irony

8.3 How ambiguity can allow for various interpretations

Unit 9 – Nuanced Analysis in Longer Works

9.1 Looking at a character’s response to the resolution of a narrative

9.2 Suspense, resolution, and plot development

9.3 Narrative inconsistencies and contrasting perspectives

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