AP Lang Rhetorical Terms

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Ambiguity

uncertainty or inexactness of meaning of a word or Phrase

Anachronism

an act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong.

Inversion

inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order)

Anastrophe

the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order

anecdote

A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Cliché

a worn-out idea or overused expression

Epigraph

a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character

Jargon

special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

Epanalepsis

repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses (ex. MLK Speeches)

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Epistrophe

the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Diacope

Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase

Enumeration

list of words, phrases or clauses, sometimes numbered or bulleted

Epithet

an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it ( The crown = royalty)

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa (ex boots on the ground = soldiers)

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant

dramatic irony

Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the text

situational irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected

Antithesis

Two opposing ideas often presented together in a sentence often using parallel grammar structure

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. ( Ex the only thing I know is that I know nothing)

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.