AP Lang Rhetorical Devices

allegory

representation of abstract/spiritual meaning through concrete forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another

alliteration

repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word

allusion

reference to a person/place/etc.

anacoluthon

a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence

anadiplosis

repetition of the final words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next

anaphora

repetition of the first word/phrase in successive sentences

anastrophe

inversion of typical word order

antanaclasis

repetition of a single word with different usages

anthimeria

substitution of one part of speech for another; noun-->verb (e.g. google)

anticlimax

an event/conclusion/statement that is less powerful than built up

antithesis

opposition or contrast of ideas/words in a balanced or parallel structure

apostrophe

to address someone not present; a personified object/idea

apotheosis

idolizing something/someone; comparing an object to a god

apposition

two elements, normally noun phrases, placed side-by-side so that one element modifies/defines the other

archaism

old word/phrase; no longer used at the time

assonance

repetition of a vowel sound

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions

cacophony

harsh discordance of sounds (e.g. jack cut crispy carrots)

chiasmus

words are repeated in reverse order (e.g. the fire burned, burned the fire)

climax

height of suspense; turning point in literature; sentence structured in increasing importance

commoratio

attempting to prove a point by repeating it several times in different ways

consonance

repetition of a consonant sound

ellipsis

omission of words when something is implied; can be done without an ellipses (...)

epanalepsis

repetition of a word/phrase at regular intervals; a sentence starts & ends with the same word

epistrophe

repetition of a word/phrase at the end of a phrase/sentence

euphemism

the substitution for an expression that might offend/suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, instead of using an agreeable/less offensive expression

euphony

pleasing sounds from a combination of words

hyperbole

exaggeration

hysteron proteron

a figure of speech in what should be last comes first; an inversion of the natural order (e.g. I die! I faint! I fail!)

imagery

use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas

irony

conveying a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

isocolon

parallelism relating to equal length (syllables/word count)

juxtaposition

placing of contradictory things next to one another

litotes

double negative; an idea is expressed by the denial of its opposite

metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word/phrase literally denotes one object/idea in place of another

metonymy

one word/phrase substituted for another with which it is closely associated

onomatopoeia

words that sound like what they are

oxymoron

combination of contrasting words

paradox

statement that is apparently self-contradicting or absurd but contains a possible truth

parallelism

repetition of similar words/phrases/ideas to represent that the ideas are of equal or higher value & importance

paranomasia

pun; wordplay that suggests multiple meanings; words must look/sound the same

paraprosdokian

a sentence/phrase in which the second half is surprising and causes one to rethink the first half

parenthesis

an aside; an explanatory part of a sentence that cannot stand on its own

periphrasis

substitution of a descriptive word/phrase for a proper name (e.g. kleenex)

personification

giving human/living traits to non-living objects

pleonasm

use of more words than necessary to convey a point

polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions

praeteritio

to lead on by not stating the facts; drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over

sarcasm

intentionally hurtful satiric or ironic commentary

simile

figure of speech comparing two items with "like" or "as"

syllepsis

sense of a word changes; verb with two meanings; a single word that modifies 2+ words that causes a different meaning

synaesthesia

mixing of senses

synechdoche

part of something that refers to the whole; vice-versa (e.g. wheels)

tautology

repetition of a word/phrase without specific purpose/meaning; redundancy

zuegma

modifies multiple words; use of a word to govern/yoke several words/phrases