AP Lang Rhetorical Devices

alliteration

The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables, as in "on scrolls of silver snowy sentences" (Hart Crane). Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal

ambiguity

giving rise to uncertainty with regard to interpretation

anadiplosis

rhetorical term for the repetition of the last word of one line or clause to begin the next: "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you" (Yoda in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace). Anadiplosis can be used to build a climax, which is the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in increasing intensity.

Note that a chiasmus includes anadiplosis, but not every anadiplosis reverses itself in the manner of a chiasmus. (grammar.about.com)

analogy

A form of logical inference or an instance of it, based on the assumption that if two things are known to be alike in some respects, then they must be alike in other respects.

anaphora

the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. A related figure is epistrophe, which is repetition at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.

antithesis

The direct or exact opposite: Hope is the antithesis of despair.'

A figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure, as in "He for God only, she for God in him" (John Milton).

The second stage of the Hegelian dialectic process, representing the opposite of the thesis.

apostrophe (not the punctuation mark!)

The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition.

assonance

Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words, as in: "that dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea" (William Butler Yeats).

asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used, as in "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,/Shrunk to this little measure?" (Shakespeare). Contrasting term=polysyndeton

chiasmus

a type of antithesis in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. Ex.: "I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction's job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" (David Foster Wallace).

climax

the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing importance or intensity: "This is the truth: truth leads to trust

connotation

the emotional or associative value of a word, apart from its dictionary meaning vs. denotation/ the literal, dictionary definition of a word

epistrophe

repetition of a word or group of words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences.

euphemism

The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: "Euphemisms such as 'slumber room' . . . abound in the funeral business" (Jessica Mitford). The opposite is dysphemism, or use of a derogatory or unpleasant term instead of a neutral or pleasant one.

irony

a figure divisible into three types:

verbal irony: saying one thing, while meaning another (note often associated with sarcasm, but not exactly the same thing as sarcasm, which I would characterize as a biting tone)

situational irony: when what is counter to expectation transpires

dramatic irony: The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity.

jargon

technical language, specific to a particular field

juxtaposition

placing two unlike things side by side to highlight their differences. Writers use it for rhetorical effect.

metaphor

A figure of speech, specifically of substitution, in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare).

metonymy

Another figure of substitution in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.

onomatopoeia

The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

oxymoron

A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.

paradox

a statement or situation that appears self-contradictory or absurd but, upon deeper analysis, reveals an underlying truth. It often challenges conventional thinking and invites deeper reflection.

Example: "Less is more." (It seems illogical, but in certain contexts such as minimalism/ it holds truth.

Oxymoron is a paradox that consists of two contradictory words placed next to each other. It is a more compact, concise version of a paradox.

Example: "Deafening silence." (Silence, by definition, is not loud, yet the phrase conveys a meaningful paradox.)

Oxymorons are more immediate and poetic or comedic, while paradoxes tend to be more conceptual and analytical.

parallelism

in grammar, the use of identical or equivalent syntactic constructions in corresponding clauses or phrases.

parody

a literary or artistic form, usually satiric, that imitates the characteristic style of an author or work in order to ridicule it

pun

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

“I was trying to remember how to use my boomerang, and then it came back to me.”

satire

the use of irony, parody, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc./ using humor to make a serious point

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).

syntax

the pattern of formation of phrases or sentences

[You should know the major types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, loose, periodic as well as errors: fragments and run-ons]

understatement

restraint or lack of emphasis used for rhetorical effect. Opposing term is hyperbole.