Repetition - Clause

Repetition – The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.

Assonance - the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in a sequence of words. Usually the repetition occurs in the stressed syllables and the vowel sound is followed by different consonant sounds. The effect of assonance is euphony. It is a type of repetition.

Consonance - the repetition of identical consonant sounds words in close proximity, as in boost/best, linger/longer/later; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong. It is a form of repetition.

Symbol – The use of one object to represent or suggest another. A symbol is something that is itself and yet stands for, suggests, or means something else. It tends to be more singular, a bit more fixed than imagery.

Tone – The characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters, subject, and audience. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, sardonic, and somber. Tone is important because it designates the mood and effect of a work. Similar to mood, tone describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. To identify an author’s tone, a student might consider how a work would sound if it were read aloud. Please see AP Tone worksheet.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ambiguity (am-bi-gyoo-i-tee) – The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. In daily or common conversation, ambiguity is a negative term applied to a vague or equivocal expression when precision would be more useful. However, intentional ambiguity in literature can be a powerful device, leaving something undetermined or unresolved in order to open up multiple possible meanings. When we refer to literary ambiguity, we refer to any wording, action, or symbol that can be read in divergent ways.

EX.: "I can't tell you how much I enjoyed meeting your husband."
William Empson

Anaphora (uh-naf-er-uh) – One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

EX.: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Dickens, “They are masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money.” – Richard de Bury

EX.: Martin Luther King used anaphora in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech (1963):

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

Anastrophe – The reversal of word order for effect.

EX.: “Intelligent she was not.”

Antecedent (an-tuh-seed-nt) – The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. The AP Language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences.

EX.: But it is the grandeur of all truth which can occupy a very high place in human interests that it is never absolutely novel to the meanest of minds; it exists eternally, by way of germ of latent principle, in the lowest as in the highest, needing to be developed but never to be planted.” The antecedent of “it” (bolded) is “grandeur (of all truth).”

Antiphrasis – A form of verbal irony, it is a word or phrase used in a way that is contrary to its normal meaning for ironic or humorous effect.

EX.: “It was a cool 100 degrees in the shade.” “A mere babe of 40 years.”

Antithesis (an-tih-theh-sis) – Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. Antithesis creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas.

EX.: “To be or not to be…” –Hamlet, William Shakespeare

“Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” Inaugural Speech, John F. Kennedy

Appeal – In classical rhetoric, one of the three main persuasive strategies as defined by Aristotle in Rhetoric: the appeal to logic (logos), the appeal to the emotions (pathos), and the appeal to the character (or perceived character) of the speaker (ethos). More broadly, an appeal may be any persuasive strategy, especially one directed to the emotions, sense of humor, or cherished beliefs of an audience.

Aphorism – A short, often witty statement articulating a principle or a truth about life. Among other things, Benjamin Franklin was known for his aphorisms:

EX.: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

“Three men may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

Apostrophe – A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back:

EX.: William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, “ Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: /England hath need of thee.”

“O Death, where is thy sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Asyndeton (uh-sin-di-tuhn) – Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. This can give the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account. Asyndetic lists can be more emphatic than if a final conjunction were used.

EX.: On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.

EX.: They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.

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. Even such elements as description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere. Frequently atmosphere foreshadows events. Perhaps it can create a mood.

Avant-garde – A term used since the late nineteenth century to suggest art or writing that challenges tradition, or that is innovative, experimental, revolutionary, or ahead of its time.

Bombast – Language that is overly rhetorical (pompous), especially when considered in context.

Chiasmus (kahy-az-muhs) – (From the Greek word for “criss-cross,” a designation based on the Greek letter “chi,” written X). Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

EX.: “Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure” – Lord Byron


"In the end, the true test is not the speeches a president delivers; it’s whether the president delivers on the speeches."
(Hillary Clinton, March 2008)

Clause – A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. The point that you want to consider is the question of what or why the author subordinates one element to the other.