AP English Lit and Rhetorical terms
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89 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Adverbial or Dependent clause opener | creates emphasis by putting important information first; "when i was younger, I liked simple foods." |
| Allegory | Narrative with multiple levels of meaning |
| Alliteration | sequential repetition of similar initial sound |
| Allusion | a literary, historical, religious, or mythological reference |
| Anadiplosis | Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. "Labor and care are rewarded w/success, success produces confidence, confidence relaxes industry, etc..." |
| Anaphora | repetition of words at start of successive clauses |
| Antimetabole | A repetition of words, in clauses, in reverse grammatical order. "If you cannot control your spending, your spending will control you." |
| Antithesis | juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced/parallel words |
| Aphorism | concise statement designed to make a point/ illustrate a commonly held belief |
| Apostrophe | address to something inanimate |
| Appositive | Renaming of a noun by the phrase or noun after it; London, the English city on the Thames, offers many tourist attractions. |
| Assonance | Repetition of identical/similar vowel sounds` |
| Asyndeton | style where conjunctions are omitted |
| Attitude | Tone, voice/mood of writing |
| Begging the question | ploy where the arguer sidesteps question/conflict, evading/ignoring question |
| Canon | that which has been accepted as authentic |
| Centered Structure | main clause occupies the middle, subordinate material between. "After digging a large hole, I planted the tree, which was also large and hard to manage." |
| Chiasmus | The criss-cross or reverse of GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES! in successive phrases or clauses. "His time a moment, and a point his space." |
| Claim | an assertion of something as fact |
| Colloquial | ordinary language, vernacular |
| Conceit | prolonged comparison of two unlikely things |
| Connotation | meaning suggested by a word, apart from its denotation, or explicit definition |
| Consonance | repetition of two or more consonants |
| Convention | accepted manner, model or tradition |
| Convoluted structure | main clause is split in two; subordinate material is between. "The pizza delivery boy, no matter how late, still expected a hefty tip." |
| Deductive reasoning | argument in which specific statements/conclusions are drawn from general principles: movement from general to specific |
| Declarative sentence | strong, active verb |
| Dialect | language and speech idiosyncrasies of a specific region, area, group of people |
| Diction | specific word choice to persuade or convey tone |
| Didactic | containing instructive purpose or a lesson |
| Dramatic irony | in drama and fiction, facts or situations are known to the reader or audience but not to the characters |
| Elegy | poetic lament upon death of a particular person |
| Epistrophe | repetition of a phrase at the end of sentences, opposite of anaphora. |
| Epitaph | praise for a dead person, usually on a headstone |
| Ethos | appeal of text to credibility and character of writer |
| Eulogy | speech or prose in praise of a deceased person |
| Euphemism | kinder way to give unpleasant information |
| Exclamatory | emphasis |
| Expository | explains its own meaning or purpose |
| Extended metaphor | series of comparisons within a piece of writing |
| Figurative language/figure of speech | levels of meaning expressed through personification, metaphor, hyperbole, irony, oxymoron, litote, etc. |
| Flashback | Also known as retrospection; an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronology of the narration. |
| Freight Train | sentence consisting of short, independent clauses coupled for a sense of immediacy; the effect produces a rhythmical quality to the text. "And we'll go down the street arm in arm, and into the all the shops, and then I'll choose my house, and you'll choose your house, and we'll live there like princes." |
| Genre | type or class of literature |
| Homily | sermon, talk, lecture on moral or spiritual life |
| Hyperbole | overstatement using exaggerated language |
| Imagery | use of figurative language to evoke a feeling/idea, describe an object |
| Imperative | command |
| Inductive Reasoning | argument in which general conclusions are drawn from specific facts |
| Inference | conclusion or proposition arrived at by considering facts/observations/data |
| Interrogative (question) | places responsibility on audience |
| Irony | contrast between what is stated and what is meant |
| Isocolon | parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical structure but also in length. for example "Many are called, but few are chosen." |
| Jargon | specialized/technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group |
| Juxtaposition | location of one thing adjacent to another |
| Litote | figure of speech that emphasizes its subject by conscious understatement |
| Loose sentence | a long sentence that starts with its main clause, which is followed by several dependent clauses and modifying phrases. For example, "the child ran, frenzied and ignoring all hazards, as if being chased." |
| Metaphor | one thing pictured as if it were something else, suggesting likeness; an implied comparison |
| Metonymy | figure of speech in which an attribute/feature is used to name/designate something |
| Mode of discourse | the way in which information is presented in written or spoken form. The Greeks believe there were only four modes of discourse: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. Contemporary thought often includes other modes, such as personal observation and narrative reflection |
| Mood | feeling/ambience resulting from tone and writer/narrator's point of view |
| Narrative | mood of discourse that tells a story based on sequences of connected events, usually chronological |
| Onomatopoeia | word that sounds like what it describes |
| Oxymoron | figure of speech combining two apparently contradictory elements, often humorous |
| Paradox | seemingly contradictory statement |
| Parallel structure | the use of similar forms in writing for nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts. for example "jane enjoys readING, writING, and skiING." |
| Pathos | element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow |
| Periodic sentence | Subordinate constructions first; main clause ends sentence: "After clearing out the furniture, covering the carpet, and removing the pictures, I began painting the large room. |
| Personification | giving human qualities to abstract idea/nonhuman object |
| Point of view | relation of narrator/author to subject |
| Prose | ordinary form of written language, not poetry |
| Realism | describing nature/life without idealization |
| Rebuttal/refutation | countering of anticipated arguments |
| Rhetorical question | question asked for stylistic effect, answer not expected |
| Rhetoric | the art of using words to persuade |
| Sarcasm | a form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually critical. Sarcasm can be light and gently poke fun at something, or it can be harsh, caustic, and mean. |
| Satire | literary work that ridicules human failings |
| Simile | direct comparison, usually using like or as |
| Situational irony | when events end up the opposite of what is expected |
| Style | distinctive manner of expression |
| Symbolism | element of literary work that figuratively stands for something else |
| Synecdoche | when a part is used to signify a whole |
| Syntax | sentence structure |
| Theme | central or dominant idea/focus of a work |
| Tone | attitude literary work takes toward its subject/theme |
| Verb before subject or inverted word order | emphasis; "Beside the houses grew two large maple trees." |
| Verbal irony | what the author/narrator says is actually the opposite of what is meant |
| Voice | source of the words of the story |
| Zeugma | a grammatically correct construction in which a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated. Often used for comic effect |
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