Rhetorical Devices -- AP Lang

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence

Possible Functions: provide an audible pulse that gives a piece of writing a lulling, lyrical, and/or emotive effect

Allusion

 Brief reference to a person, event, place, or work of art, real or fictitious

Possible Functions: develop peoples’ characters, frame storylines, and help create associations with well-known works

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Possible Functions: to evoke emotion, drive emphasis, or nudge readers towards their own emotional imagining

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order

Possible Functions: Clever approach to emphasizing a point, so that it is memorable for the audience

Antithesis

Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction

Possible Functions: The contrast between the ideas creates greater emphasis and/or clarity. Their parallel structure provides a memorable rhythm.

Archaic Diction

Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words

Possible Functions: Making the text sound older than it is. It can also make it sound more poetic, as a lot of well-known poetry from previous centuries used archaic diction due to the time in which they were written. Perhaps, sophistication is the aim here.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Possible Functions: Make a speech more dramatic and effective by speeding up its rhythm and pace. Public speakers use asyndeton when they want to emphasize the gravity or drama of their topics.

Inversion

Inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order)

Possible Functions: Allows for the writer to organize thoughts in an interesting way, in order to emphasis certain ideas to the reader.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Possible Functions: Encourages the reader to compare and contrast two or more elements in a piece: characters (real or fictional), settings, events, moods, and more.

Metaphor

Figure of speech that says one thing is another in order to explain by comparison

Possible Functions: Ascribes a particular quality to the first thing being compared.

Metonymy

Using a single feature to represent a whole

Possible Functions: Giving more profound meaning to otherwise standard ideas and things. Literary texts which use metonymy can delve deeper into the semantics of human

Oxymoron

Paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another

Possible Functions: Used to make certain word combinations more thought-provoking to stand out.

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or idea

Possible Functions: Conveys abstract ideas in relatable ways.

Ex. of Alliteration

Let us go forth to lead the land we love

Ex. of Allusion

Let both sides unit to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah

Ex. of Anaphora

not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are

Ex. of Antimetabole

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

Ex. of Antithesis

We shall support any friend, oppose any foe.

Ex. of Archaic Diction

Beliefs for which our forebears fought

Ex. of Asyndeton

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty

Ex. of Inversion

United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do

Ex. of Juxtapositon

We are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth…that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century.

Ex. of metaphor

And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion

Ex. of Metonymy

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.

Ex. of Oxymoron

But this peaceful revolution…

Ex. of Personification

…with history the final judge of our deeds

Rhetorical Question

Figure of speech in the form of a question, posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer

Possible Functions: Useful in engaging the audience and persuading them to agree with the writer/speaker.

Zeugma

Use of two different words in a grammatically similar way but producing different, often incongruous, meanings

Possible Functions: Setting them side-by-side to surprise, delight, or confuse audiences.

Ex. of Rhetorical Question

Will you join in that historic effort?

Ex. of Zeugma

Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden