Rhetorical Devices for AP Latin Exam

allegory

a form of extended metaphor in which characters and actions have a meaning that lies outside the narrative

alliteration

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words close to one another

anaphora

repetition of the same phrase or word at the beginning of the several successive clauses

aposiopesis

breaking off suddenly in the middle of speaking

apostraphe

addressing a person or entity not present; generally indicative of strong emotion, especially when accompanied by “O”

assonance

similar sounds within words close to one another

asyndeton

lack of connective words when expected as in “veni, vidi, vici”

chiasmus

arrangement of words in criss-cross “abba”

ecphrasis

an extended description, often of a pleasant place, as in the account of the harbor of Carthage

ellipsis

omission of words that may be clearly supplied from context

enjambment

continuation of a sense-unit into a second line, generally when nouns and adjectives are separated into different lines

hendiadys

the use of two nouns connected by et, ac, atque, or que instead of the subordination of one noun to another

hyperbole

exaggeration for rhetorical effect

hysteron proteron

a reversal of the usual order of events

litotes

saying something by denying its opposite

metaphor

the use of a comparison without any words meaning “like” or '“just as”

irony

saying one thing while meaning its opposite

metonymy

the substitution of one word for another that it suggests

onomatopoeia

the use of a word that sounds like its meaning

oxymoron

placing next to each other two words that seem to contradict each other

personification

the giving of human attributes to something non-human

pleonasm

use of more words than is necessary to convey meaning

polysyndeton

the use of more connectives than necessary

praeteritio

saying that one is not going to mention something and thereby mentioning it

prolepsis

the use of a word before it is logically necessary, or the use of a relative clause before its antecedent

prolepsis

the use of a word before it is logically necessary, or the use of a relative clause before its antecedent

prosopopoeia

the impersonation of a character, imitating that person’s manner and style of speaking

simile

use of a comparison with words meaning “like” or “as”

synchysis

also called interlocked word order, referring to the arrangement of words in abab fashion

synecdoche

a specific sort of metonymy in which the part stands for the whole

tmesis

the splitting of a word by interjecting another word or phrase between it

transferred epithet

also known as hypallage, the transfer of a descriptive word to another nount

tricolon crescens

three parallel elements in a series that grow progressively longer and/or more important important

zeugma

the use of a verb with two objects, with each of which the verb is used in a slightly different sense