Rhetorical Terms Test #1 Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words (as in “she sells seashells”). Although the term is not used frequently in the multiple-choice section, you can look for alliteration in any essay passage. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.
Allusion
A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.
Ex. Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
Ambiguity
The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Analogy
A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.
Ex. He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justify be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks.
Anaphora
One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.
Ex. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
Ex. They are the masters who instruct us without rod of ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money.
Anecdote
A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person.
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. The AP Language exam occasionally asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences.
Antithesis
Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. Antithesis creates a definite and systemic relationship between ideas.
Ex. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
Ex. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Aphorism
A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.) An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author’s point.
Apostrophe
A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back.
Ex. William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, “Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour:
/England hath need of thee.”
Asyndeton
Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. This can give the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account. Asyndetic lists can be more empathic than if a final conjunction were used.
Ex. On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame. They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.
Atmosphere
The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described. Even such elements ad description of the weather can contribute to the atmosphere. Frequently atmosphere foreshadows events. Perhaps it can create a mood.
Chiasmus
Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or coauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.
Ex. The land was ours before we were the land’s. (N, V, Pro: Pro, V, N)
Ex. Pleasure’s a sin, and sometimes sin’s a pleasure.
Ex. Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist’s office.
Clause
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clause expresses complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause. The point that you want to consider is the question of what or why the author subordinates one element to the other. You should also become aware of making effective use of subordination in your own writing.
Colloquial/colloquialism
The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.
