Ap Lang tropes and schemes

metonymy

substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it

Ex: Hollywood has been releasing a surprising amount of sci-fi movies lately.

anthimeria

The usage of a word in a new grammatical form, most often the usage of a noun as a verb.

Ex: Don't forget to hashtag that post.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole or vice versa

Ex: A boy has been admitted tothe hospital. The nurse says, "He's in good hands."

antanaclasis

repetition of a word or phrase whose meaning changes in the second instance

Ex: We must all hang together, orassuredly we shall all hang separately.

Paronomasis

A pun twists themeaning of words,often to create ahumorous effect.

Ex: He had a photographic memory, but it was never developed.

syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

Ex: She exercises to keep healthy and I to lose weight.

periphrasis

substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name or of a proper name for a quality associated with the name

Ex: The bright celestial body that gives light to the Earth instead of "the sun."

personification

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

Ex: The tired old car coughed and wheezed and crawled down the street.

metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Ex: She was a wildfire of rage

simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as.

Ex: He's as thin as a rail

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Ex: She's going to die of embarrassment.

litotes

form of irony in which a negative is used to affirm a positive, often through the use of double negatives.

Ex: Not a bad day's work.

rhetorical question

A question that is not asked in order to receivea n answer from the audience or reader; its to make a point.

Ex: What's the deal with airline food?

irony

2 contradicting meanings. In many cases, this refers to the difference between expectations and reality.

Ex: Aleister Crowley taught that a person could do anything if they mastered their own mind, died of heroin addiction.

onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Ex: Rain pitter-patters, drip-drops, and rat-a-tats on top of the tin roof.

oxymoron

Puts together opposite elements. The combination of these contradicting elements serves to reveal a paradox, confuse, or give the reader a laugh.

Ex: That's my adult child. Poor thing still can't get himself into the real adult world.

paradox

A statement that contradicts itself, or that must be both true and untrue simultaneously.

Ex: Nobody goes to Murphy's Bar anymore — it's too crowded.

parallelism

Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other.

Ex: That's one step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

isocolon

Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses.

Ex: I came, I saw, I conquered.

antithesis

The opposite of a statement, concept, or idea. A pair of statements or images in which one reverses the other.

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

anastrophe

Inversion of the natural or usual word order.

Ex: In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.

parenthesis

An insertion of material that interrupts the typical flow of a sentence.

Ex: She is coming to our house after work (around six o' clock).

apposition

A word or phrase placed next to another word in order to define or identify it.

Ex: My wife, Dorothy, enjoys musical theater.

ellipsis

Three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation.

Ex: Four hundred and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth...the proposition that all men are created equal.

asyndeton

The absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.

Ex: She wakes up, goes to work, eats, sleeps, goes to work again.

polysyndeton

Uses multiple repetitions of the same conjunction.

Ex: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers.

alliteration

Words that begin with the same sound are placed close together.

Ex: Sally sells seashells by the seashore.

assonance

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds.

Ex: The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains.

anaphora

A certain word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of clauses or sentences that follow each other.

Ex: I'm sick and tired of you letting me down. I'm sick and tired of you making me mad.

epistrophe

A certain phrase or word is repeated at the end of sentences or clauses that follow each other.

Ex: Last week, he was just fine. Yesterday, he was just fine. And today, he was just fine.

epanalepsis

Repeats the beginning word of a clause or sentence at the end.

Ex: The king is dead, long live the king!

anadiplosis

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

Ex: When I give, I give myself.

climax

The highest point of tension or drama in a narratives' plot.

antimetabole

Repetition of words in successive sentences in reverse grammatical order.

Ex: Eat to live, do not live to eat.

chiasmus

The repetition of grammatical structures without repetition of the same words or phrases.

Ex: Adam, first of men, to first of women, Eve.

polyptoton

Repetition of words derived from the same root but with different endings.

Ex: I'm so hurried, I've got to hurry more, but I've been hurrying all day!