AP Lang tropes and schemes

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of art.

Example of Allusion

"He was a real Romeo with the ladies." (Reference to Romeo and Juliet)

Anthimeria

Using a word in a new grammatical form, often a noun as a verb.

Example of Anthimeria

"Let's Google that." (Using a noun as a verb)

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration for effect.

Example of Hyperbole

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality.

Example of Irony

A fire station burns down. (Situational irony)

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things without 'like' or 'as.'

Example of Metaphor

"Time is a thief."

Metonymy

Replacing the name of something with something closely associated with it.

Example of Metonymy

"The White House issued a statement." (Using 'White House' to mean the president/government)

Oxymoron

A phrase that combines contradictory terms.

Example of Oxymoron

"Deafening silence".

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth.

Example of Paradox

"Less is more."

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things.

Example of Personification

"The wind whispered through the trees."

Pun

A play on words with multiple meanings or similar sounds.

Example of Pun

"I used to be a baker, but I couldn't make enough dough."

Simile

A comparison using 'like' or 'as.'

Example of Simile

"Her smile was as bright as the sun."

Synecdoche

A part of something represents the whole.

Example of Synecdoche

"All hands on deck!" (Hands represent people)

Understatement (Litotes)

Making something seem less important than it is, often using negation.

Example of Understatement

"Not bad" (to mean 'really good').

Climax

Arranging words, phrases, or ideas in order of increasing importance or intensity.

Example of Climax

"He struggled, he fought, he triumphed."

Alliteration

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

Example of Alliteration

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Example of Anaphora

"I have a dream that one day… I have a dream that my four little children…"

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Example of Epistrophe

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

Parallelism

Using similar grammatical structures for balance and rhythm.

Example of Parallelism

"Like father, like son."

Antimetabole

Repeating words in reverse order.

Example of Antimetabole

"Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

Antithesis

A contrast of ideas in a parallel structure.

Example of Antithesis

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

Circumlocution

Talking around a subject instead of being direct.

Example of Circumlocution

Instead of saying 'He died,' saying, 'He has gone to a better place.'

Hypophora

Asking a question and then immediately answering it.

Example of Hypophora

"Why do we work hard? Because success demands it."

Juxtaposition

Placing two contrasting ideas side by side.

Example of Juxtaposition

"It was a dark and stormy night, yet the stars shone brightly."

Rhetorical Question

A question asked for effect, not meant to be answered.

Example of Rhetorical Question

"Who doesn’t love a good story?"

Zeugma

Using one word to link two different ideas or objects in a sentence.

Example of Zeugma

"She broke his car and his heart."

Polysyndeton

Using excessive conjunctions for effect.

Example of Polysyndeton

"We lived and laughed and loved and left."

Asyndeton

Omitting conjunctions to create a fast-paced effect.

Example of Asyndeton

"I came, I saw, I conquered."