Ap lit rhetoric devices

Rhetoric

ancient art of argumentation. When we write or speak to convince others of what we believe, we

are "rhetors." When we analyze the way rhetoric works, we are "rhetoricians."

paralellism

when the writer establishes similar patterns of grammatical structure and length. (i.e. noun,

verb, adjective) For instance, "King Alfred tried to make the law clear, precise, and equitable."

antithesis

contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence. It can be a contrast of

opposites: "Evil men fear authority; good men cherish it." Or it can be a contrast of degree: "One small step for

a man, one giant leap for all mankind."

chiasmus

(from Greek, "cross" or "x"): A literary scheme involving a specific inversion of word order. It

involves taking parallelism and deliberately turning it inside out, creating a "crisscross" pattern. For example:

"By day the frolic, and the dance by night."

alliosis

presenting alternatives: "You can eat well or you can sleep well." While such a structure often results

in the logical fallacy of the false dichotomy or the either/or fallacy, it can create a cleverly balanced and artistic

sentence.

elipsis

omitting a word implied by the previous clause: "The European soldiers killed six of the remaining

villagers, the American soldiers, eight."

Asyndeton

-- using no conjunctions to create an effect of speed or simplicity: Veni. Vidi. Vici. "I came. I saw. I

conquered." (As opposed to "I came, and then I saw, and then I conquered."

polysyndenton

using many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect: "This term, I am taking biology

and English and history and math and music and physics and sociology." All those ands make the student sound

like she is completely overwhelmed!

Anapodoton

deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause: "If only you came with

me!" If only students knew what anapodoton was! Good writers never use sentence fragments? Ah, but they

can. And they do. When appropriate. Other examples: When in Rome; Six of one; If the shoe fits.

Hyperbaton

Yoda speak) a generic term for changing the normal or expected order of words

Assonance

is the repetition of vowel sounds: refresh your zest for living. Often assonance can lead to outright

rhymes

anaphora

repetition of beginning clauses. For instance, Churchill declared, "We shall not flag or fail. We

shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with

growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost shall be."

Epanalepsis

repeating a word from the beginning of a clause at the end of the clause: "Year chases year." Or

"Man's inhumanity to man." As Voltaire reminds us, "Common sense is not so common." As Shakespeare

chillingly phrases it, "Blood will have blood."

Anadiplosis

the repetition of a word that ends one clause at the beginning of the next

Diacope

(also called Epizeuxis or Repetition) -- uninterrupted repetition, or repetition with only one or two

words between each repeated phrase. Poe might cry out, "Oh, horror, horror, horror!