AP Lang Rhetorical Devices

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.

Anadiplosis example

Seemingly endless, the sky turned into a canvas of vibrant hues. Hues that reminded me of the ocean.

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way.

Analogy example

Just as a seed needs water to grow, a student needs knowledge to thrive.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, clauses strung together.

Anaphora example

"Every morning, I wake up. Every morning, I make my bed. Every morning, I brush my teeth. Every morning, I eat breakfast. Every morning, I start my day with a routine."

Accismus

In rhetoric, pretending to refuse something.

Accismus example

I can't believe you would ask me to give an example for Accismus. It's not like I have any experience with pretending to refuse something while actually wanting it. Nope, not at all.

Antithesis

Direct opposite.

Antithesis

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Apostrophe

Addressing an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.

Apostrophe example

“Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.“

Chiasmus

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

Chiasmus example

“Love as though you will sometime hate, hate as though you will sometime love.“

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Dramatic irony example

Characters in the Titanic: “It’s so beautiful I could just die“

Audience: knows everyone’s gonna die

Ethos

Persuasion by credibility and knowledge (expert).

Ethos example

As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results.

Extended metaphor

Metaphor extending over lines and paragraphs, multiple sentences.

Extended metaphor example

“You’re a snake! Everything you hiss out of your mouth is a lie. You frighten children, and you have no spine.“

Hypophora

Raising a question and then proceeding to answer it.

Hypophora example

Why is TikTok so addicting? It’s a platform that supports short attention spans.

Idiom

Exaggeration, illiterate phrasing.

Idiom example

It’s raining cats and dogs.

Innuendo

A hint, indirect suggestion, or reference.

Innuendo example

The student was telling the truth, this time.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality.

Irony example

The name of Britain’s biggest dog was “Tiny“.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite, so it contains negatives.

Litotes example

It’s not rocket science. Ice cream isn’t that bad.

Logos

Persuasion by logic or reasoning.

Logos example

A snickers bar has 280 calories and 30 grams of sugar, so it’s not very healthy.

Metaphor

A word/phrase that’s applied to an object/action to which it’s not literally applicable, without “like“ or “as“.

Metaphor example

The snow is a white blanket.

Metonymy

Word association; one word used for another thing.

Metonymy example

Referring to businessmen as “suits“, they are associated with each other.

Onomatopoeia

Use of sounds to describe a scene.

Onomatopoeia example

Bang! Boom! Badoink!

Paradox

Statement contradicting itself.

Paradox example

Winners know hot to lose.

Pathos

Persuasion by emotion, passion.

Pathos example

The lifelong pain and anguish experienced by children of abusive and neglectful parents can never be erased.

Periphrasis

Longer phrasing instead of short phrasing.

Periphrasis example

“More intelligent” instead of “smarter”.

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions. (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

Polysyndeton example

They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked.

Prolepsis

A future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing.

Prolepsis example

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge sees his future if his greedy manners don’t change.

Rhetoric

Persuasive speaking or writing.

Rhetoric example

“Can I add a dollar to your tab to support the fight against children’s cancer?“

Simile

A comparison using “like“ or “as“.

Simile example

A stack of books is as heavy as a rock.

Situational irony

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

Situational irony example

A fire station burns down.

Syncrisis

Opposite persons or things are compared, usually in order to evaluate their relative worth.

Syncrisis example

I saw the crescent; you saw the whole moon.

Synecdoche

One word representing for the whole idea/phrase.

Synecdoche example

Hand in “Offer your hand in marriage“.

Verbal irony

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

Verbal irony example

A day with hurricanes and thunderstorms. A man says “What a beautiful day“.