AP Lit Figurative Language Focus List

Alliteration

Repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together, at the beginning of words.

Allusion

An explicit or implicit reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from literature, history, etc.).

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.

Aphorism/Epigram

A brief, cleverly worded statement (usually poetic) that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim.

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds in the “middle” of multiple nearby words.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within subsequent words or phrases (similar to assonance, but with consonants, rather than vowels).

Epanalepsis

A repetitive device in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.

Epistrophe

Device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences (it is the opposite of anaphora).

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. Please note that this device is specific only to poetry!

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect.

Juxtaposition

Poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable WITHOUT USING LIKE OR AS.

Simile

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable USING LIKE OR AS.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole.

Parallelism/Parallel Structure

The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.

Refrain

A full line or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem. Please note that this device is specific only to poetry!