Literary Devices
Something that stands for or suggests something larger and more complex than what it actually is.
What is a symbol?
Elizabethan poet and playwright who wrote at least 37 plays and over 150 poems.
Who is William Shakespeare?
What is the date for the AP exam in English Literature and Composition?
May 6, 2026.
The preferred tense for writing in.
What is present tense?
Author of The Great Gatsby
Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald?
An indirect reference to a person, event, statement, theme or work made to enrich meaning through the connotations they carry.
What is an allusion?
What is existentialism?
What are the three essay questions on the AP English Literature & Composition exam?
Poetry, prose, and literary argument.
The statement of the position taken by someone expostulating on a particular topic with the intent of proving that position plausible or correct.
What is a thesis or defensible claim?
Celie’s letters to God and later to Nettie form this narrative technique, where the story is told through personal documents.
What is an epistolary novel?
A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth.
What is paradox?
A 19th-century (1800 to 1860) literary movement emphasizing emotion and imagination, rather than logic and scientific thought in response to the Enlightenment.
What is Romanticism?
This portion of the AP exam is one hour long.
How long is the multiple choice section of the AP exam?
The noun to which a pronoun refers.
What is an antecedent?
The creature serves as this type of character to Victor, highlighting contrasting traits and emphasizing Victor’s flaws.
What is a foil?
When the Audience knows more than characters
What is a dramatic irony?
A 17th century poetic philosophy that often involves intellectual, philosophical and often witty exploration of complex themes such as death, loven and religion
What is metaphysical?
AP rewards all correct answers with points, but does not deduct points for incorrect answers.
What is the penalty for guessing on the AP exam in Literature and Composition?
This writing technique restates a passage in your own words while preserving its original meaning, often used to clarify complex texts without directly quoting them.
What is paraphrasing?
Nick Carraway’s narration, shaped by his personal biases and limited perspective, makes him this type of narrator.
What is an unreliable narrator?
A story with a deeper symbolic meaning (often moral, political, or religious).
What is a Allegory?
Name an American poets whose works largely focus on death.
Who is Emily Dickinson?
What time do you need to be at school by on May 7, 2025 (the date of the AP exam)?
7:30 AM.
This punctuation mark can join closely related independent clauses without a conjunction and is often used to create a more sophisticated syntactic rhythm.
What is a semicolon?
Name and explain ONE poem we read this year?
Who is _____?