ap lang : rhetoric vocab #1

analogy

 A literary device employed to serve as a basis for comparison.  It is assumed that what applies to the parallel situation also applies to the original circumstance.  In other words, it is the comparison between two different items.

Ex : She is as light as a feather.

diction

the author’s choice of words that creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning.

Ex : He relishes in having erudite conversations with his peers.

logical fallacy

A mistake in reasoning. Something that makes an argument problematic, open to attack, or weak. In academic discourse, logical fallacies are seen as failures – as things you will want to avoid.

Ex : red herring

rhetorical question

one that does not expect an explicit answer.  It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.

Ex : Don’t you want to be happy?

anaphora

The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic, rhythmic cadence. Apart from the function of giving prominence to ideas, the use of anaphora in literature adds rhythm to it and thus, making it more pleasurable to read and easier to remember.

Ex : Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break

connotation

The interpretive level of a work based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning

Ex : Inexpensive = positive cheap = negative

denotation

 The  literal meaning or understanding of a word.

Ex : house + home

allegory

A work that functions on a symbolic level.

Ex : The metamorphoses Frantz Kafka

parallelism

 When the arrangement of parts of a sentence is similarly phrased or constructed

Ex : She likes thinking, running, and jumping.

satire

A mode of writing based on ridicule that criticizes the foibles and follies of society without necessarily offering a solution.

Ex : Simpsons

tone

The author’s attitude toward his subject.

voice

Can refer to two different areas of writing.  One refers to the relationship between a sentence’s subject and verb (active voice and passive voice).  The second refers to the total “sound” of a writer’s style.  

Active : Ava is playing the guitar.

Passive : The guitar is being played by Ava.

allusion

A reference contained in a work.

Ex : He had a Cheshire Cat smile

juxtaposition

Placing two very different things together for effect.

Ex : war + peace, 1 world + 3 world

syntax

The order of words. While tone and diction refer to the words that a writer chooses (diction), syntax is the order in which the words are written or spoken. Just as the definition of each word in a sentence conveys meaning, the order of the words also conveys meaning.

Ex : The boy jumped happily, the boy happily jumped, Happily, the boy jumped.

euphemism

 A more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable.  

Ex : She passed, big boned

hyperbole

 Extreme exaggeration, often humorous, it can also be ironic; the opposite of understatement.

Ex : Iv already said that a million times.

idiom

An expression that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words.

Ex : break a leg