AP Terms Flashcards
Allusion
a reference to some historical event, literary work, or biblical work
Pleonasm
the use of superfluous syllables or words-heedless repetition or the addition of unnecessary words
ex. He walked the entire distance on foot.
Epanalepsis
repetition in which the same words are repeated at the beginning and end
ex. Common sense is not so common.
Synecdoche
a figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole
ex. Sixty sails on the horizon.
Chiasmus
a rhetorical strategy in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed
ex. Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike.
Epistrophe
repetition of the same words at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences
ex. For truth is one, and right is ever one.
Alliteration
the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
Asyndeton
lack of conjunctions it tends to speed the pace of the passage
ex. I came, I saw, I conquered.
Metonymy
a thing is not designated by its own name, but by the name of a thing resembling it or closely related to it.
ex. He is addicted to the bottle.
Analogy
making clear a concept or idea by showing its similarity to a familiar concept
ex. Using a nuclear weapon is like using a shotgun to kill a fly.
Paradox
a statement that to be self contradictory when actually the writers is speaking on more than one level at a time
ex. The child is father to the man.
Understatement
a statement which falls under the magnitude of the actual event or reality
