rhetorical terms (AP LANG)

study for 30 minutes a day

Allegory

The device of using character and/or a story symbolically to represent a hidden meaning

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is commonly known such as a book, place, or art

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings (either intentional or unintentional) of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the the relationship between them

Anaphora

One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun

Antithesis

Figure of balance in which two constrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction

Asyndeton

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described

Chiasmus

(Originated from the greek word “criss-cross”) A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words

Colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning. Connotations may involve ideas, emotions, or attidudes

Diction

The writer’s word choices

Expletive

Figure of emphasis in which a single word or short phrase

Euphemism

(Origin: Greek/”Good Speech”) More agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

Hypophora

When an author or speaker asks a question, then immediately answers in their own text

Imagery

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions