AP lang glossary of literary and rhetorical devices

active voice

when the subject of the sentence performs the action -- more direct and preferred style of writing

passive voice

when the subject of the sentence receives the action -- often overused, resulting in lifeless writing

allusion

an indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar (like other texts, songs, plays, or historical events)

alter-ego

a character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character

anecdote

a brief recounting of a relevant episode

antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun
-ex. in "I would not pay such a price for it", the antecedent would be what "it" is referring to

classicism

art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures

comic relief

when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story in order to lighten the mood

diction

word choice, particularly as an element of style -- different types of words have significant effects on meaning; selection of individual words

colloquial diction

ordinary or familiar type of conversation

colloquialism/adage/aphorism

a common or familiar type of saying

connotation

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

denotation

the actual, dictionary definition of a word

jargon

the diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity (ex. lawyer diction)

vernacular

language or dialect of a particular country, regional clan, or group

didactic

used to describe writing that teaches a specific lesson or moral, or provides a model of correct behavior/thinking

allegory

a story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts (ex. Animal Farm)

ellipsis

the deliberate omission of a word/phrase from prose (not the same as an ellipse)

ellipse

this is the three dots used to show omitted text in a quotation

euphemism

a less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words/concepts (ex. "vertically challenged" instead of "short"

figurative language

writing that is not meant to be taken literally

analogy

a comparison of two things to another parallel group of two things

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

idiom

an often used expression that makes zero sense if taken literally

metaphor

making a comparison without using "like" or "as"

conceit

a particularly long and elaborate extended metaphor

metonymy

replacing an actual word/idea with a related word/idea
ex. "I could not understand his tongue" is referring to his speech

synecdoche

a kind of metonymy when a whole item is represented by its parts
ex. "check out my new wheels" is referring to the car as a whole

simile

using words like "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two things

synesthesia

a description involving a "crossing of the senses" -- more than one scent used: ex. "a purplish scent filled the room"

personification

giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

foreshadowing

when an author gives hints about what will occur later

genre

the major category into which a literary work fits

gothic

writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear, and/or death

imagery

words that create a picture in the reader's mind

invective

a long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language

irony

when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens

verbal irony

when you say something and mean the opposite of what you say

dramatic irony

when the audience of a drama, play, or movie knows something that the character doesn't

situational irony

irony present in the plot of a text

juxtaposition

placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison and to make a point

mood

the atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)

motif

a recurring idea in a piece of literature; brought up many times over the course of a text

oxymoron

when contradictory terms are grouped together, suggesting a paradox

pacing

the speed or tempo of an author's writing
ex. fast, sluggish, stabbing, vibrato, staccato

paradox

a seemingly contradictory statement that is actually true
ex. "you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job"

parallelism/balanced structure

sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row
ex. "I came, I saw, I conquered"

chiasmus

when the same words are used twice in a row, but the order is reversed
ex. "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"

antithesis

two contrasting words/clauses with parallel structure
ex. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

zuegma/syllepsis

when a single word modifies 2+ other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for the other word(s)
ex. "I quickly dressed myself and the salad"

parenthetical idea

parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence -- considered an 'aside' or 'whisper'

parody

an exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes

persona

the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story

alliteration

repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

assonance

the repetition of identical/similar-sounding vowel sounds

consonance

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words

onomatopoeia

the sound of the word is the noise that it makes

internal rhyme

when a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line

slant rhyme

almost a rhyme but not really

end rhyme

what you'd expect a rhyme to be; the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme

rhyme scheme

ex. ababcdcd

meter

a regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry

free verse

poetry that doesn't have much meter or rhyme

iambic pentameter

10 syllable per line, alternating stressed/unstressed syllables

sonnet

14 lines, written in iambic pentameter

polysyndeton

when a writer creates a list of items, all separated by conjunctions; you do this a lot when you verbally communicate a laundry list of things you need to do for homework -- "I need to do bio, and I need to do chem, and I need to do apush..."

pun

we all know what this is

rhetoric

the art of effective communication

rhetorical question

a question not asked for information, but rather for effect

romanticism

art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature; does not rely on traditional themes and structures

sarcasm

a generally bitter comment that is ironically/satirically worded

satire

a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life; appears as humorous, but the overall intent of the work is not humorous

appositive

a word/group of words placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning

clause

a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb (make sure you know diff btwn independent and dependent clauses)

compound sentence

two independent clauses -- no dependent clauses

complex sentence

one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

cumulative sentence/loose sentence

when the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate/dependent elements

periodic sentence

when the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence

style

the choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes

symbol

anything that represents something else

syntax

grammatical arrangement of words; grouping of words

theme

the central idea/message of a work

tone

a writer's attitude toward his subject matter

understatement

the ironic minimizing of fact; when someone is presented as less significant than it actually is

litotes

a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (like a double negative)