ap lang lit terms and fallacies
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78 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 allegory | an extended metaphor with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning |
| alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse |
| allusion | a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize |
| ambiguity | can be interpreted in more than way; vague |
| colloquialism | spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
| conceit | An elaborate or unusual comparison--especially one using unlikely metaphors, simile, hyperbole, and contradiction. |
| connotation | The extra tinge or taint of meaning each word carries beyond the minimal, strict definition found in a dictionary. |
| consonance | A special type of alliteration in which the repeated pattern of consonants is marked by changes in the intervening vowels Ex: rider, reader, raider, and ruder |
| denotation | The minimal, strict definition of a word as found in a dictionary, disregarding any historical or emotional connotation. |
| ellipsis | the artful omission of a word implied by a previous clause |
| epiphany | the sudden flare into revelation of an ordinary object or scene |
| euphemism | an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive |
| hyperbole | extravagant exaggeration |
| imagery | language that appeals to the senses |
| irony | incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs |
| litotes | understatement with negation Ex.) Einstein is not a bad mathematician |
| loose sentence | with subject and verb of the sentence in the beginning |
| metaphor | a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity |
| metonymy | Using a vaguely suggestive, physical object to embody a more general idea |
| mood | verb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speaker |
| motif | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| onomatopoeia | using words that imitate the sound they denote |
| overstatement | an exaggeration meant to stress emphasis |
| oxymoron | conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') |
| paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| parenthesis | a message that departs from the main subject |
| periodic sentence | long gap between subject and verb or both at the end of a sentence |
| persona | An external representation of oneself which might or might not accurately reflect one's inner self, or an external representation of oneself that might be largely accurate, but involves exaggerating certain characteristics and minimizing others |
| personification | representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature |
| satire | language or writing that exposes follies or abuses by holding them up to ridicule |
| simile | a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as') |
| symbolism | A device in literature where an object represents an idea. |
| synecdoche | A rhetorical trope involving a part of an object representing the whole, or the whole of an object representing a part. |
| tone | The means of creating a relationship or conveying an attitude or mood. |
| understatement | a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said |
| zeugma | use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one |
| anachronism | Placing an event, person, item, or verbal expression in the wrong historical period |
| anadiplosis | Repeating the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause |
| antimetabole | A rhetorical scheme involving repetition in reverse order: "One should eat to live, not live to eat." |
| antithesis | Using opposite phrases in close conjunction. Examples might be, "I burn and I freeze," |
| aphorism | a concise statement of a truth or principle |
| apposition | a grammatical relation between a word and a noun phrase that follows |
| asyndeton | a construction in which elements are presented in a series without conjunctions |
| chiasmus | A literary scheme in which the author introduces words or concepts in a particular order, then later repeats those terms or similar ones in reversed or backwards order |
| climax | artistic arrangement of a list of items so that they appear in a sequence of increasing importance |
| concession | to give into certain aspects of the opposing view but not letting it detract from your overall argument |
| counterargument | an argument offered in opposition to another argument |
| deductive reasoning | reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) |
| epanalepsis | repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurs at the beginning of the clause; tends to make the sentence or clause in which it occurs stand apart from its surroundings (Breakfast was over, and none had breakfasted) |
| epistrophe | ending of successive clauses with the same word |
| ethos | to appear as an authority, or appeal to the empathy of the audience |
| inductive reasoning | reasoning from detailed facts to general principles |
| logos | appeal to logic |
| pathos | appeal to emotions |
| polysyndeton | Using many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence |
| rhetorical question | a statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered |
| tricolon crescendo | The repetition of a parallel grammatical construction three times for rhetorical effect. See discussion under parallelism |
| assonance | repetition of similar vowels sounds |
| anaphora | repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses |
| anastrophe | putting words grammatically out of order for emphasis |
| Ad hominem | logical fallacy: to attack the individual's characteristics rather than the argument |
| ad populium | fallacy: arguing something is true because it is popular or widespread |
| begging the question | fallacy: when one assume the people are in agreement with a specific point when they aren't |
| appeal to tradition | fallacy: this is right because we've always done it this way |
| circular reasoning | fallacy: trying to prove something using reasons too similar to original argument |
| either/or reasoning | fallacy: failing to acknowledge as more than two sided |
| hasty generalizations | making assumptions after limited experience |
| non sequitur conclusion | a conclusion that does not follow established patterns or order |
| pedantry | a display of narrow or trivial and arbitrary adherence to details |
| post hoc ergo propter hoc | assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident |
| faulty authority | people who appear to be but are not actually qualified to contribute an opinion |
| false analogy | analogy that does not accurately represent the object being described |
| straw man | not going after the argument but going after somethign similar |
| Slippery Slope | A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented |
| Ignoring the question | When a speaker attempts to divert the attention of the audience away from the matter at hand. |
| two wrongs do not make a right | a fallacy that assumes if the opposition has made a mistake ones own mistakes are deemed acceptable |
| propaganda | information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause |
| juxtaposition | the act of positioning two ideas close together (or side by side) ex.a peaceful song about love in a battle scene |
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