AP Lang Rhetorical Terms Examples

alliteration

Let us go forth to lead the land we love… -- John F. Kennedy

allusion

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah… -- John F. Kennedy

analogy

As birds have flight, our special gift is reason. -- Bill McKibben

analogy

If I have unjustly wrestled a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself… But he that would save his life, in such a case, shall lose it. This people must cease to hold slaves and to make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people. -- Henry David Thoreau

anaphora

… not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are… -- John F. Kennedy

audience

Gehrig’s audience was his teammates and fans in the stadium that day, but it was also the teams he played against, the fans listening on the radio, and posterity -- us.

connotation

That cat is plump. That cat is fat. That cat is obese.

context

The context for Lou Gehrig’s speech is the recent announcement of his illness and his subsequent retirement, but also the poignant contrast between his potent career and his debilitating disease.

ethos

Lou Gehrig brings the ethos of being a legendary athlete to his speech, yet in it he establishes a different kind of ethos — that of a regular guy and a good sport who shares the audience’s love of baseball and family. And like them, he has known good luck and bad breaks.

hyperbole

My first and last name together generally served the same purpose as a high brick wall. — Firoozeh Dumas

imagery

Your eyes glaze as you travel life’s highway past all the crushed animals and the Big Gulp cups. — Joy Williams

irony

Nature has become simply a visual form of entertainment, and it had better look snappy. — Joy Williams

juxtaposition

The nations of Asia and Africa are moving at jet-like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. — Martin Luther King

logos

Gehrig starts with the thesis that he is “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” and supports it with two points: (1) the love and kindness he’s received in his seventeen years of playing baseball, and (2) a list of great people who have been his friends, family, and teammates.

metaphor

And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion . . . — John F. Kennedy

oxymoron

But this peaceful revolution . . . — John F. Kennedy

paradox

There is that scattereth, yet increaseth. — The Bible

paradox

To live outside the law you must be honest. — Bob Dylan

parallelism

Let both sides explore. . . . Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals. . . . Let both sides seek to invoke. . . . Let both sides unite to heed . . . — John F. Kennedy

pathos

The most striking appeal to pathos is the poignant contrast between Gehrig’s horrible diagnosis and his public display of courage.

persona

Lou Gehrig is a famous baseball hero, but in his speech he presents himself as a common man who is modest and thankful for the opportunities he’s had.

personification

. . . with history the final judge of our deeds . . . — John F. Kennedy

purpose

One of Gehrig’s chief purposes in delivering his Farewell Address is to thank his fans and his teammates, but he also wants to demonstrate that he remains positive: he emphasizes his past luck and present optimism and downplays his illness.

rhetorical question

Will you join in that historic effort? — John F. Kennedy

simile

Zoos are pretty, contained, and accessible. . . . Sort of like a biological Crabtree & Evelyn basket selected with you in mind. — Joy Williams

understatement

You might want to write clearly and cogently in your English class. The night in prison was novel and interesting enough. — Henry David Thoreau