AP Lang tropes and schemes

Allusion – A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of art. Example: "He was a real Romeo with the ladies." (Reference to Romeo and Juliet)

Anthimeria – Using a word in a new grammatical form, often a noun as a verb Example: "Let's Google that." (Using a noun as a verb)

Hyperbole – An extreme exaggeration for effect. Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

Irony – A contrast between expectation and reality. Example: A fire station burns down. (Situational irony)

Metaphor – A direct comparison between two unlike things without "like" or "as." Example: "Time is a thief."

Metonymy – Replacing the name of something with something closely associated with it. Example: "The White House issued a statement." (Using "White House" to mean the president/government)

Oxymoron – A phrase that combines contradictory terms. Example: "Deafening silence"

Paradox – A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth. Example: "Less is more."

Personification – Giving human qualities to non-human things. Example: "The wind whispered through the trees."

Pun – A play on words with multiple meanings or similar sounds. Example: "I used to be a baker, but I couldn't make enough dough."

Simile – A comparison using "like" or "as." Example: "Her smile was as bright as the sun."

Synecdoche – A part of something represents the whole. Example: "All hands on deck!" (Hands represent people)

Understatement (Litotes) – Making something seem less important than it is, often using negation. Example: "Not bad" (to mean "really good")

Climax – Arranging words, phrases, or ideas in order of increasing importance or intensity. Example: "He struggled, he fought, he triumphed."

Alliteration – The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Anaphora – Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Example: "I have a dream that one day… I have a dream that my four little children…"

Epistrophe – Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. Example: "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

Parallelism – Using similar grammatical structures for balance and rhythm. Example: "Like father, like son."

Antimetabole – Repeating words in reverse order. Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

Antithesis – A contrast of ideas in a parallel structure. Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Circumlocution – Talking around a subject instead of being direct. Example: Instead of saying "He died," saying, "He has gone to a better place."

Climax – Arranging words or ideas in increasing importance. Example: "He came, he saw, he conquered."

Hypophora – Asking a question and then immediately answering it. Example: "Why do we work hard? Because success demands it."

Juxtaposition – Placing two contrasting ideas side by side. Example: "It was a dark and stormy night, yet the stars shone brightly."

Rhetorical Question – A question asked for effect, not meant to be answered. Example: "Who doesn’t love a good story?"

Zeugma – Using one word to link two different ideas or objects in a sentence. Example: "She broke his car and his heart."

Polysyndeton – Using excessive conjunctions for effect. Example: "We lived and laughed and loved and left."

Asyndeton – Omitting conjunctions to create a fast-paced effect. Example: "I came, I saw, I conquered."