AP Lang: Midterm Devices

Antithesis

When opposite words or ideas are used in a parallel structure.

Chiasmus

The repetition of ideas in an inverted order.

Litotes

Negate negative to state positive or negate positive to state negative.

Polysyndeton

Conspicuous addition of coordinating conjunctions where they are not needed.

Asyndeton

A rhetorical device that involves omitting conjunctions between phrases or words, creating a concise and impactful effect

Paradox

A self-contradictory statement that has a deep meaning or is actually there.

Hypophora

When the writers makes a question and answers it immediately

Apostrophe

When a person addresses someone or something that is not there

Euphemism

A figure of speech that replaces a word or phrase with a more mild or indirect expression to soften the impact or avoid harshness. Often used to address sensitive topics.

Absolute

The idea that someone or something has a quality that is not more or less.

Metonymy

When the name of an object is used to refer to something similar.

Synecdoche

A part of something that can represent the whole.

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration

Syllogism

A three part statement that has a major claim, a minor claim, and a conclusion

Verbal Irony

Speaking in a non-literal manner. Used for humor and persuasion.

Aporia

Asking yourself how to solve a situation.

Colloquialism

Informality or slang to give characters a personality.

Idiom

language that is not meant to be taken literally

Oxymoron

a rhetorical term that describes words or phrases that, when placed together, create paradoxes or contradictions

Sarcasm

the use of irony in order to mock or convey contempt toward a person or subject.

Tautology

An argument, explanation, or definition that is restated in different words or phrases.

Juxtaposition

placing two things side by side so as to highlight their differences

Situational Irony

a situation or occurrence where the outcome or intended meaning of a situation is drastically different than what would be expected to happen or considered normal.

Dramatic Irony

an audience’s awareness of the situation in which a work’s characters exist differs substantially from that of the characters’, and the words and actions of the characters therefore take on a different—often contradictory—meaning for the audience than they have for the work’s characters

Allusion

When a writer makes reference to a famous story, person, object, or event indirectly

Aphorism

a short statement or catch phrase containing a well-known or general truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner.

Understatement

a literacy device that makes a situation or piece of writing sound less serious or important than it really is.

Jargon

Language specific to career, group, club, clique, association, etc.

Simile

a comparison that uses “like” or “as”

Metaphor

a comparison that is made by referring one thing as something else.

Foreshadowing

a literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story

Zeugma

A word (usually a verb) that relates two or more words.

Antecedent

a grammatical device in which a pronoun, noun, or other word refers to an earlier noun or phrase.

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to inanimate objects.

Symbolism

uses pictures or symbols to represent an idea

Ethos

appeals to character. (values, identity)

Pathos

appeals to emotion. (hope, fear. guilt, joy, love, sympathy, etc.)

Logos

appeals to logic. (usually facts, data, etc.)

Mood

The way the author makes the reader feel

Tone

the mood the author’s word choice creates

Alliteration

The repetition of the same letter or sound in a sentence. (usually first letter)

Synesthesia

a rhetorical device or figure of speech where one sense is described in terms of another. This may often take the form of a simile