Ap Lang Literary Devices

Alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds

Allegory

a work that works on both a literal and symbolic level

Allusion

reference to history, myths, literature, or the bible

Analepsis

a flashback; to restore or do over

Anaphora

repetition of word(s) at the beginning of clauses/phrases/sentences

Anecdote

a short story, usually for emphasis or as an example

Antimetabole/chiasmus

writing a series of words twice, reversing the order the second time

Antistrophe

repetition of word(s) at the end of clauses, phrases, or sentences

Antithesis

opposition or contrast of ideas expressed by parallelism of words that contrast each other

Apotheosize

to glorify or exalt; to raise to the heavens

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

Cliche

expression so common that it has little impact

Conceit

an extended metaphor that compares objects in a fanciful way (establishes a comparison between two very different concepts or objects)

Connotation

the attitude evoked in a word beyond its literal meaning

Consonance

repetition of consonant sounds (but not at the beginning)

Dichotomy

a partition of a whole into 2 parts

Homily

a religious discourse of sermon

Hyperbole

over-exaggeration

Idyll

a story or scene that shows rural life in its innocence

Litotes

affirmative idea expressed by negation of the opposite

Meiosis

understatement dealing with a significant issue

Extended Metaphor

comparison of two unlike things that continues throughout a sentence, paragraph, stanza

Metonymy

use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related

Onomatopoeia

words that actually sound like the thing or action they describe

Oxymoron

two words with opposite meaning combined into one phrase

Paradox

self-contradictory statement that presents a truth

Parody

style in which the author makes fun of an idea, person, etc

Personification

to provide human qualities to something nonhuman

Prolepsis

flash forward; to anticipate the future

Simile

a comparison that uses "like" or "as"

Symbol

a thing that represents or stands for something else

Pun

a play on words

Synecdoche

description using part of something to represent the whole

Tautology

needless repetition of an idea by using different but equivalent words; a redundancy

Synesthesia

to present, ideas, characters or places in such a manner that they appeal to multiple senses

Voice (speaker)

a distinctive tone or style established by the writer

Apostrophe

an address to someone not present

Hypophora

a figure of speech in which a writer raises a question and then immediately provides an answer to that question