Term Rhetorical Terms AP English Literature and Composition Definition 1 anadiplosis A rhetorical device in which the last word or words of a line, phrase or clause are repeated as the first word or words in an immediately successive line, phrase, or clause. Ex: I went to the beach. The beach with lots of sand. Sand that burns my feet. 2 anaphora A rhetorical device involving the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines or sentences. Ex: Tonight is our night. Tonight we defeat our foe. Tonight we eat like kings. 3 apostrophe A rhetorical device in which the speaker directly and often emotionally addresses a person who is dead or absent, an imaginary or nonhuman entity, or a place or concept. Ex: O death, I will be thy plagues. 4 chiasmus A rhetorical device in which certain words are reversed or repeated in reverse order. Ex: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. 5 epistrophe A rhetorical device involving the exact repetition of words or phrases at the end of successive lines or sentences. Ex: I have a dream. You have a dream. We all have a dream. 6 ethos A rhetorical strategy that attempts to persuade using appeals to character. 7 logos A rhetorical strategy that attempts to persuade using appeals to logic. 8 pathos A rhetorical strategy that attempts to persuade using appeals to emotion. 9 rhetoric The art of persuasion through speaking and writing. 10 rhetorical question A question used to evoke a response or thought but not intended to be actually answered. Figurative Language 1 conceit A figure of speech involving an elaborate and often surprising comparison between two apparently dissimilar things, often in the form of an extended metaphor. Ex: John Donne s poem The Flea, which compares marriage and the consummation thereof to a flea. 2 double entendre A figure of speech that has multiple interpretations or two different meanings or that could be understood in two different ways. The first meaning in a double entendre is usually straightforward while the second meaning is usually ironic, risqué or inappropriate. Ex: A man saw a beautiful woman at the farmers market selling various kinds of fruit and told his friends, I like her melons. 3 euphemism A figure of speech that uses an inoffensive expression in place of a blunt one that is felt to be disagreeable or embarrassing. Ex: Mr. Pierce, may I please use the restroom? The speaker is most
likely not going to the bathroom to rest. 4 hyperbole A figure of speech employing deliberate, emphatic exaggeration. Ex: She broke her nail and exclaimed this was the worst day of her life. 5 metaphor A figure of speech that associates two distinct things without using a connective word (such as like or as) to link them together. Ex: Jonathan is a tool. 6 metonymy A figure of speech in which one thing is represented by another that is commonly and often physically associated with it. Ex: The White House when referring to the President of the United States 7 personification A figure of speech in which figurative human characteristics are bestowed upon anything nonhuman, from an abstract idea to a physical force to an inanimate object to a living organism, usually for the intention of establishing some sort of imagery. Ex: The sun smiled down on her. 8 simile A figure of speech that associates two distinct things using the connective words like or as. Ex: Jeff s mind is like a sponge. 9 synechdoche A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. Ex: Hey, give me a hand over here. 10 synesthesia A figure of speech in which one kind of sensory stimulus is used to describe the experience of another. Ex: heavy silence(tactile describing aural) 11 understatement A figure of speech deliberately representing something as very much less in magnitude or importance than it really is. Ex: As the man s car teetered upon the 100 foot cliff, he blandly stated that this was a rather bad day. 12 Characters antagonist The character pitted against the protagonist of a work. Often the villain, but not always so. 1 characterization Refers to the various means by which an author describes and develops the characters in a literary work. 2 dialect A way of speaking or using a language that is particular to a geographic region or social group and that varies considerably from the predominant speech and usage within the language. 3 dialogue Conversation between two or more characters. 4 flat character A character that does not undergo any significant emotional, ideological or spiritual transformation. 5 foil A character whose contrast with the protagonist serves to accentuate the protagonist s qualities or characteristics. 6 monologue An extended narrative delivered uninterrupted and exclusively by one person. 7 protagonist The main character in a work, often a hero but not exclusively so. 8 round character A character that undergoes a significant emotional, ideological, or spiritual transformation.
9 soliloquy A monologue delivered by a character while alone that reveals inner thoughts, emotions, or other information. 10 Words antonym Words opposite in meaning. Ex: No and Yes 1 colloquialism A word or phrase that is not formal in nature, typically used in normal or familiar conversation. Ex: gonna instead of going to 2 connotation Implied meaning of a word or words. 3 denotation Literal meaning of a word or words. 4 diction Word choice. 5 homonym Words that sound or are spelled the same, but have different meanings. Ex: there, their, they re 6 oxymoron A rhetorical figure that juxtaposes two opposite or apparently contradictory words to present an emphatic and dramatic paradox. Ex: The living dead 7 portmanteau A word coined by combining two other words, encompassing the original meanings of both component parts. Ex: Slithy for lithe and slimy 8 pun A play on words that capitalizes on a similarity in spelling and/or pronunciation between words that have different meanings. Ex: Why did Tigger look in the toilet? He wanted to find Pooh. 9 synonym Words similar in meaning. Ex: Yes and Affirmative 10 Sounds alliteration The repetition of sounds in a sequence of words. Ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 1 assonance Alliteration with vowel sounds. Ex: I was fated for a day in the cave. 2 cacophony Harsh, unpleasant, or discordant sounds. 3 consonance Alliteration with consonant sounds. Ex: blade and blood 4 euphony Pleasing, harmonious sounds. 5 iambic pentameter A metrical foot in poetry that consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, ten syllables per line. Ex: Downward/ to dark/ness, on/ extend/ed wings. 6 meter The regular rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse. 7 onomatopoeia Wording that seems to signify meaning through sound effects. Ex: Moo ; Purr ; Quack 8 Syntax asyndeton The omission of conjunctions in syntactic structure, often a stylistic choice.
1 parallelism Sentences, clauses, or phrases with repetitive syntactic or grammatical structure. 2 polysyndeton The repetition of conjunctions(such as and) in syntactic structure, often a stylistic choice. 3 syntax Sentence structure. 4 Poetry ballad A poem that recounts a story in the form of a song. Traditionally, ballads relate popular and often tragic stories in simple language. 1 blank verse Any unrhymed verse, but usually referring to unrhymed iambic pentameter. 2 confessional poem A contemporary poetic mode in which poets discuss matters relating to their private lives. 3 couplet Two successive lines of rhyming verse. Ex: No weekends for the gods now. Wars/flicker, earth licks its open sores 4 end rhyme Rhyme that occurs at the end of lines of verse. Ex: See couplet 5 enjambment A line in a poem that does not end with grammatical breaks and their sense is not complete without the following line. Ex: you are unique/at last. Alas/it is a boring song/but it works every time. 6 free verse Poetry that lacks a regular meter, does not rhyme, and uses irregular line lengths. 7 heroic couplet A pair of rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter. 8 internal rhyme Rhyme that occurs within a line of verse. Ex: Their graves are green, they may be seen. 9 ode A relatively long, serious, and usually meditative poem that treats a noble or otherwise elevated subject in a dignified and calm manner. 10 Petrarchan/Italian sonnet A poem consisting of fourteen lines. This kind of sonnet consists of two segments: the first eight lines in an abbaabba rhyme pattern and the last six lines in a cdecde rhyme pattern. Usually in iambic pentameter. 11 prose poem A brief, rhythmic composition blending prose and verse. These poems are written in sentences, without the line breaks characteristic of poetry, but are heavily marked by the use of poetic devices. 12 quatrain A stanza containing four lines. 13 refrain A phrase, line, or lines that recur throughout a poem or song. 14 Shakespearean/English sonnet A poem consisting of fourteen lines. This kind of sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet(rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg). Usually in iambic pentameter. 15 slant rhyme Refers to words that almost rhyme or visually appear to rhyme. Ex: said and paid 16 speaker The persona narrating a poem. 17 stanza A grouped set of lines in a poem, usually physically separated from other such clusters by a blank line. 18 tercet A group of three lines of verse.
19 Story Structure exposition The weaving into the plot of essential prior matters, such as past events. Helps to develop context. 1 foreshadowing The technique of introducing material that prepares the reader for future events, actions, or revelations. 2 motif A recurrent, unifying element in a work, such as an image, symbol, character type, action, idea, object, or phrase. 3 point of view The vantage point from which a narrative is told. 4 point of view(1 st person) 5 point of view(2 nd person) 6 point of view(3 rd person objective) 7 point of view(3 rd person limited) 8 point of view(3 rd person omniscient) When the vantage point is from a character who refers to himself or herself as I. Ex: I ran through the field of daisies. When the vantage point is from the perspective of you. Ex: You ran through the field of daisies. When the narrator is an observer who relates the story using third-person pronouns such as he, she, and it. No character thoughts are explicitly expressed from this vantage point. Ex: He ran through the field of daisies. When the narrator is an observer who relates the story using third-person pronouns such as he, she, and it. Only a single character s thoughts are explicitly expressed from this vantage point. Ex: He ran through the field of daisies, his heart filled with joy. When the narrator is an observer who relates the story using third-person pronouns such as he, she, and it. Many or all characters thoughts are explicitly expressed through this all-knowing vantage point. Ex: He ran through the field of daisies, his heart filled with joy. The squirrels and chipmunks watching him also felt a similar exuberance. 9 setting The combination of place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general background for the characters and plot of a work. 10 theme The statement(s), express or implied, that a work seems to be making about its subject. Generally, the main idea or message in a work. 11 Misc. Literary Terms allusion An indirect reference, often to a person, event, statement, theme, or work. 1 ambiguity Lack of clarity or uncertainty in meaning. A word, phrase, statement, or passage is ambiguous when it can be understood or interpreted in more than one way. 2 anachronism Something outside of its proper historical time period. 3 analogy Essentially, when a comparison is being made to clarify understanding. 4 anthropomorphism When nonhuman living organisms, inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given literal human traits or characteristics. Ex: Disney s The Lion King 5 archetype Images, figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that are universally shared by people across cultures and time. 6 imagery Refers to the corpus of images used in text and the language used to convey a visual picture.
7 irony A contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality. Irony can be verbal or structural. 8 juxtaposition Two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect which often reveals an existing dichotomy. Ex: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, etc 9 microcosm When something large is represented by something smaller; a kind of symbolism. 10 mood The prevailing emotion(s) of a work. 11 objectivity Associated with external reality, and thus with empirical fact and absolute truth. 12 paradox A statement that seems self-contradictory or nonsensical on the surface but that, upon closer examination, may express an underlying truth. 13 style The way in which a literary work is written. 14 subjectivity Associated with the internal mind, and thus with bias and relative truth. 15 symbolism When something stands for or suggests something larger and more complex --- often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices. 16 tone The attitude of the author toward the reader, audience, or subject matter.