Rhetorical Devices AP Lang

Flashcards covering definitions and examples of various rhetorical devices for exam preparation.

Alliosis

A rhetorical device that uses parallel structure to present alternatives, often resulting in a false dichotomy.

Allusion

A brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, place, or piece of literature used to create resonance without detailed explanation.

Anadiplosis

A rhetorical device that repeats the last word or phrase of a clause at the beginning of the next clause, creating emphasis.

Anaphora

A figure of speech where words or expressions are repeated at the beginning of successive phrases, creating emphasis and improving flow.

Anthimeria

A rhetorical device involving the switch of a word's part of speech to change its meaning.

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas in a balanced or parallel structure, expressed in a sentence.

Aposiopesis

A figure of speech where a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, with the ending left to the imagination.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech where a speaker addresses someone or something that is absent, dead, or non-human.

Asyndeton

The omission or absence of conjunctions between parts of a sentence, adding emphasis.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech in which clauses are reversed in grammatical structure, adding emphasis.

Ellipses

Punctuation that represents a pause or something that has been purposely left out of a conversation.

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word at the end of multiple sentences or clauses.

Hyperbole

An obvious and intentional exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Understatement

A deliberate downplaying of a situation, often for ironic effect.

Interrogative sentence

A sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark.

Inversion

The act of switching the syntax of a sentence to create emphasis or a poetic effect.

Isocolon

When two or more clauses or phrases are structurally and rhythmically similar.

Juxtaposition

The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Loose (Cumulative) Sentences

A sentence structure that begins with an independent clause followed by additional phrases or clauses for elaboration.

Malapropism

Using similar sounding but incorrect words in place of correct words.

Metonymy

The use of a symbol to refer to a person or a general idea.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech where two contradictory terms are placed next to each other.

Parallel Structure

A writing technique that uses the same grammatical form for items in a list to create rhythm.

Parenthesis

A word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation into a passage, marked off by brackets or commas.

Periodic Structure

The deliberate withholding of information until the end of the sentence or passage.

Polysyndeton

The repetition of conjunctions in a series of words, phrases, or clauses.

Pun

A play on words that often creates humor through different meanings.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked for a purpose other than eliciting an answer, used to make a point.

Synecdoche

Using part of something to represent the whole or the whole to represent a part.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses, enhancing language.