AP Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Devices

Vocabulary flashcards covering literary devices, rhetorical terms, sentence structures, and principles of logic/argumentation as defined in the AP Language and Composition glossary.

Active Voice

The style of writing where the subject of the sentence performs the action, considered more direct and often preferred.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something commonly known, such as a literary text, play, song, or historical event, with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

Alter-ego

A character used by the author to speak their own thoughts directly to the audience; for example, Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Anecdote

A brief recounting of a relevant episode often used to develop a point or inject humor.

Antecedent

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

Classicism

Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world that sticks to traditional themes and structures.

Comic relief

A humorous scene inserted into a serious story to lighten the mood, such as the gatekeeper scene in Macbeth.

Diction

Word choice, particularly as an element of style; it should be described as formal, informal, ornate, or plain rather than simply stated that it is used.

Colloquial

An ordinary or familiar type of conversation; a colloquialism is a common saying similar to an adage or aphorism.

Connotation

The associations suggested by a word rather than its literal dictionary definition.

Denotation

The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.

Jargon

The specific diction used by a group practicing a similar profession or activity, such as lawyers or soccer players.

Vernacular

The language or dialect of a particular country, regional clan, or group; also refers to plain everyday speech.

Didactic

A term describing writing intended to teach a specific lesson or moral, or to provide a model of correct behavior or thinking.

Adage

A folk saying with a lesson, such as "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

Allegory

A story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts to reveal an abstraction or truth, like Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Aphorism

A terse statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle, often as a memorable summation of a point.

Ellipsis

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose for effect; also refers to the three periods used to show omitted text in a quotation.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

Figurative Language

Writing that is not meant to be taken literally, serving as the opposite of literal language.

Analogy

A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables to argue a shared relationship.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration used for effect.

Idiom

A common expression that does not make sense if taken literally, such as "I got chewed out."

Metaphor

An implied comparison not using words such as ‐like‐ or ‐as‐; an extended metaphor continued later in a work is called a conceit.

Metonymy

Replacing an actual word or idea with a related word or concept, such as using "tongue" to mean language.

Synecdoche

A kind of metonymy where a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, such as "500 head" of cattle or "new wheels."

Simile

A direct comparison between two very different things using words such as ‐like‐ or ‐as‐.

Synesthesia

A description involving a crossing of the senses, such as a ‐purplish scent‐ or being ‐deafened by brightly-colored clothing.‐

Personification

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.

Foreshadowing

Hints given by an author about what will occur later in a story.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits, such as prose, poetry, and drama.

Gothic

Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear, death, or medieval architectural styles.

Imagery

Words that create a picture in the reader's mind, usually involving the five senses.

Invective

A long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language.

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen occurs; includes verbal, dramatic, and situational types.

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison or social commentary.

Mood

The atmosphere created by literature through diction, syntax, setting, and tone.

Motif

A recurring idea in a piece of literature.

Oxymoron

A grouping of apparently contradictory terms that suggest a paradox, such as "wise fool."

Pacing

The speed or tempo of an author's writing, which can be altered using devices like syntax or anaphora.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.

Parallelism

Sentence construction placing equal grammatical constructions near each other or repeating identical patterns for emphasis.

Anaphora

The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row.

Chiasmus

When words are used twice in succession but the order is reversed the second time; also called antimetabole.

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words or ideas with parallel structure.

Zeugma (Syllepsis)

When a single word governs two or more other words, and its meaning must change for each word it governs.

Parenthetical Idea

An idea set off from the rest of the sentence by parentheses, functioning as an aside or whisper.

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes, often referencing a previous text or event.

Persona

The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story, distinct from an alter-ego.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.

Consonance

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

Onomatopoeia

The use of a word that imitates or suggests the sound it makes, such as ‐boom‐ or ‐murmur.‐

Slant rhyme

A rhyme where the two words do not rhyme exactly but are merely similar.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem.

Iambic pentameter

Poetry written in lines of $10$ syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.

Sonnet

A $14$ line poem written in iambic pentameter, usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.

Polysyndeton

A list of items separated by conjunctions to slow the pace or add an authoritative tone.

Pun

A word with two or more meanings used in a humorous way.

Rhetoric

The art of effective communication.

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

The relationships in any piece of writing between the writer, the audience, and the subject.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked for effect rather than to obtain information.

Romanticism

Literature characterized by an idealistic view of the world and an emphasis on nature, avoiding traditional structures.

Sarcasm

A bitter, mocking comment characterized by its tone, separating it from mere verbal irony.

Satire

A work targeting human vices or social conventions to a humorous effect, often with a serious underlying point.

Appositive

A word or group of words placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning.

Independent clause

A grammatical unit containing a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.

Dependent (subordinate) clause

A grammatical unit that contains a subject and verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Balanced sentence

A sentence where two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale.

Cumulative (loose) sentence

A sentence that begins with an independent clause followed by subordinate elements.

Periodic sentence

A sentence where the main idea is postponed until the end, following subordinate elements.

Simple sentence

A sentence containing only one independent clause.

Declarative sentence

A sentence that states an idea without giving a command or asking a question.

Imperative sentence

A sentence that issues a command.

Interrogative sentence

Sentences incorporating pronouns like who or what to ask a question.

Style

The conscious or unconscious choices in diction, tone, and syntax made by a writer.

Symbol

A concrete object, action, or character that represents something more abstract.

Syntax

The grammatical arrangement and grouping of words, focusing on sentence length and structure.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work.

Thesis

The sentence or sentences that directly express the author's opinion, purpose, or proposition.

Tone

A writer's attitude toward the subject matter, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact by presenting something as less significant than it is.

Litotes

A form of understatement generated by denying the opposite of the statement that would otherwise be used.

Argument

A piece of reasoning consisting of one or more premises and a conclusion.

Ethos (credibility)

A means of persuasion based on the credibility and authority of the author.

Pathos (emotional)

A means of persuasion that appeals to the reader's emotions.

Logos (logical)

A means of persuasion using reasoning, true premises, and valid arguments; considered the strongest form.

Concession

Accepting part or all of an opposing viewpoint to strengthen one's own argument.

Conditional Statement

An if-then statement consisting of an antecedent and a consequent.

Contradiction

When two mutually exclusive propositions are asserted, requiring one to be false.

Counterexample

An example used to oppose and falsify a generalization.

Deductive argument

An argument where the premises are intended to guarantee the truth of the conclusion.

Fallacy

An attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.

Ad hominem

Latin for "against the man‐; personally attacking opponents instead of their arguments.

Appeal to authority

The claim that an idea must be right because someone famous supports it.

Appeal to the bandwagon

Using the popularity of an idea as evidence of its correctness.

False cause

Assuming that because two things happened in sequence, the first caused the second.

Hasty generalization

A generalization reached based on too little or unrepresentative data.

Non Sequitur

An invalid argument where the conclusion does not follow from its premises.

Slippery slope

The assumption that a situation will continue to its most extreme possible outcome once started.