AP English Language and Composition: Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

This flashcard set provides definitions for essential rhetorical terms and devices used in AP English Language and Composition, covering concepts from allegory to wit.

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning, usually dealing with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words, which can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, or supply a musical sound.

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them, often explaining something unfamiliar by associating it with something more familiar.

Anaphora

A device of repetition in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event, most frequently referring to an incident in the life of a person.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

A figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure, creating a systematic relationship between ideas.

Aphorism

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

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction that cannot answer, often to display intense emotion.

Asyndeton

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses to give an effect of unpremeditated multiplicity or emphasis.

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and the author’s choice of objects described.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Clause

A grammatical unit containing both a subject and a verb; it can be independent (standing alone as a sentence) or dependent (subordinate).

Colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing, giving a work a conversational, familiar tone.

Coherence

A principle demanding that parts of a composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole is immediately clear and intelligible.

Conceit

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

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning involving ideas, emotions, or attitudes.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.

Diacope

The repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase (word/phrase X, …, word/phrase X).

Diction

Related to style, it refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

Literally meaning "teaching," these works have the primary aim of instructing, especially in moral or ethical principles.

Enumeratio

Figure of amplification in which a subject is divided into constituent parts or details, such as a listing of causes, effects, problems, or consequences.

Expletive

Figure of emphasis in which a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal speech, is used to lend emphasis to words on either side.

Euphemism

From the Greek for "good speech," a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Exposition

One of the four chief types of composition used to explain something; in drama, it introduces the tone, setting, characters, and conflict.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Figurative language

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

Figure of speech

A device used to produce figurative language, such as hyperbole, irony, metaphor, oxymoron, paradox, or personification.

Generic conventions

Traditions for each genre that define and differentiate it, such as distinguishing an essay from journalistic writing.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits, such as prose, poetry, and drama, with many subdivisions like biography or tragedy.

Homily

Literally "sermon," including any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for comic or serious effect.

Hypophora

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions are asked and then answered by the same speaker.

Imagery

Sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions, often relating to the five senses.

Inference/infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

Irony/ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, including verbal, situational, and dramatic types.

Juxtaposition

When two words, phrases, images, or ideas are placed close together or side by side for comparison or contrast.

Litotes

A figure of thought where a point is affirmed by negating its opposite, acting as a form of understatement.

Loose sentence

A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units.

Metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things, suggesting some similarity.

Metonymy

From the Greek for "changed label," a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.

Mood

Can refer to a speaker's attitude (indicative, subjective, imperative) or the literary atmosphere/emotional aura of a work.

Narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but contains some degree of truth or validity upon closer inspection.

Parallelism

The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, or sentences to give structural similarity, often providing emphasis or rhythm.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Pedantic

An adjective describing words, phrases, or a general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end, preceded by phrases or clauses that cannot stand alone.

Personification

A figure of speech in which the author endows concepts, animals, or inanimate objects with human attributes or emotions.

Polysyndeton

A figure of addition and emphasis that intentionally employs a series of conjunctions not normally found in successive words or clauses.

Point of view

The perspective from which a story is told, including first person (protagonist/observer) and third person (omniscient/limited omniscient).

Predicate adjective

An adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb and modifies the subject.

Predicate nominative

A noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that names the subject and follows a linking verb.

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, referring to fiction and non-fiction in all its forms where the printer determines line length.

Repetition

The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, or grammatical pattern.

Rhetoric

From the Greek for "orator," the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Rhetorical modes

The major kinds of writing and their purposes: exposition (explain), argumentation (prove), description (re-create), and narration (tell a story).

Rhetorical Question [erotesis]

A question that is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, used for effect or emphasis.

Sarcasm

From the Greek meaning "to tear flesh," it involves bitter, caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions for reform or ridicule, often using irony and wit.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their development, connotations, and relations to one another.

Style

The sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, and literary devices, or the classification of authors into historical groups.

Subject complement

The word or clause that follows a linking verb and completes the subject by renaming it (predicate nominative) or describing it (predicate adjective).

Subordinate clause

A word group containing a subject and verb that cannot stand alone and depends on a main clause to complete its meaning.

Syllogism

A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (major and minor) leading to a sound conclusion.

Symbol/symbolism

Anything that represents itself and stands for something else, categorized as natural, conventional, or literary.

Synecdoche

A type of metaphor in which a part stands for the whole, or the whole stands for a part.

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences; it refers to word groups rather than individual words.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work; the insight it offers into life.

Thesis

In expository writing, the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, or position.

Tone

Describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas, effectively signaling a shift from one idea to another.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is; the opposite of hyperbole.

Undertone

An attitude that may lie under the ostensible (apparent) tone of the piece.

Wit

Intellectually amazing language that surprises and delights, usually using terse language to make pointed, perceptive remarks.