AP Lit Terms Flashcards
Litotes
an understatement in which the affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary ex. not a bad ballplayer
Parallelism
the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures ex. I love to sing, to dance, and to read
Anaphora
the intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect ex. we shall… we shall… we shall
Apostrophe
addressing an absent figure or the characterization of an abstract figure
Metonymy
using an object associated with something to represent it
Synechdoche
using a part of an object to represent the whole
Ethos
one’s credibility as an author
Pathos
the emotional power of an appeal
Logos
the intellectual power of an appeal
Asyndeton
a stylistic device in which the author omits conjunctions in a sentence
Polysyndeton
a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect
Ellipsis
the omission of a word or words. refers to the constructions in which words are left out of a sentence but the sentence can still be understood
Zeugma
a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different sentences or to two of others of which it semantically suits only one
Chiasmus
a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical conjunctions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or modified form
Periodic Sentence
has the main clause or predicate at the end. the sentence unfolds gradually, so that the thought contained in the subject/ verb group only emerges at the sentence’s conclusion. this is used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made. It can create suspense or interest for the reader.
