Glossary of Rhetorical Terms – AP English Language and Composition

Flashcards of Rhetorical Terms

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words.

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known.

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 relationship between them.

Anaphora

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 contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure.

Aphorism

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

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a 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.

Chiasmus

Figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Coherence

A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion attitude, or color.

Diacope

Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase.

Diction

The writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

Works that have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles.

Enumeration

Figure of amplification in which a subject is divided into constituent parts or details.

Expletive

Figure of emphasis in which a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal speech, is used to lend emphasis to the words on either side of the expletive.

Euphemism

From the Greek for “good speech,” euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Exposition

In essays, one of the four chief types of composition, the purpose of which is to explain something.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout the work.

Figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

Figure of speech

A device used to produce figurate language.

Generic conventions

Traditions for each genre that help to define each genre.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Homily

This term literally means “sermon,” but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

Hypophora

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions is/are asked and then answered by one and the same speaker.

Imagery

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

Inference/infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.

Irony/ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant.

Juxtaposition

When two words, phrases, images, ideas are placed close together or side by side for comparison or contrast.

Litotes

A figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite.

Loose sentence

A type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units.

Metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity.

Metonymy

A term from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name.”

Mood

The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.

Narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory but contains some degree of truth.

Parallelism

The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Pedantic

An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.

Personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

Polysyndeton

Figure of addition and emphasis which intentionally employs a series of conjunctions not normally found in successive words, phrases or clauses; the deliberate and excessive use of conjunctions in successive words or clauses.

Point of view

In literature, the perspective from which a story is told.

Predicate adjective

An adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies, or describes, the subject.

Predicate nominative

A noun that names the subject.

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and non-fiction, including all its forms.

Repetition

The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language.

Rhetoric

From the Greek for “orator,” this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Rhetorical modes

This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing.

Rhetorical Question [erotesis]

Differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired.

Sarcasm

From the Greek meaning “to tear flesh,” sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words

Style

An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices.

Subject complement

The word or clauses that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence.

Subordinate clause

This word group contains both a subject and a verb, but cannot stand alone.

Syllogism

A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion.

Symbol/symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.

Synecdoche

A type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.

Thesis

The sentence or a group of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.

Tone

Describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is.

Undertone

An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece.

Wit

Intellectually amazing language that surprises and delights.