Ap English Language Rhetorical Devices

Front 1

Litote

Back 1

An understatement that denies the opposite of being true.

Hint 1

Example: Getting shot is not good for your health.

Front 2

Asyndeton

Back 2

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Hint 2

Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Front 3

Polysyndeton

Back 3

The use of many conjunctions to slow down the sentence

Hint 3

Ex: I have math homework and english homework and science homework and french homework!

Front 4

Synechdoche/Metonomy

Back 4

the substitution of one word for another whice it suggests

Hint 4

Ex: The school sent home report cards.

Front 5

Anadiplosis

Back 5

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next.

Hint 5

Ex: He was ready to go to the new school, but the new school was not ready for him.

("the new school" ended the first clause and began the second)

Front 6

Chiasmus

Back 6

Corresponding pairs that are in inverted order.

Hint 6

Ex: Because it was raining yesterday, they read, and they rollerbladed today because it was sunny.

(The reason "because..." came first in the first clause, while it came second in the second clause. Think of it as an "x")

Front 7

Zeugma

Back 7

Linking two verbs with one subject or two direct objects with a verb.

Hint 7

Ex: He took the bus and my money.

(the verb took is linked with the bus and my money)

Front 8

Anaphora

Back 8

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses.

Hint 8

Ex: Tomorrow it will be sunny. Tomorrow we will go outside. Tomorrow we will have a picnic.

Front 9

Oxymoron

Back 9

A figure of speech that combines two words that seem to contradict each other. (a two-word paradox)

Hint 9

Ex: Jumbo shrimp

Front 10

Paradox

Back 10

A statement that is contradictory but is actually true.

Hint 10

Ex: Silence filled her ears.

Front 11

Archaism

Back 11

Use of an older or obsolete form

Hint 11

Ex: Thou shall not kill

Front 12

Antithesis

Back 12

Contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence (contrast of opposites or of degree)

Effect: emphasizes opposition of ideas

Hint 12

Ex: The class was the top in the school; the school was the top in the country.

Ex 2: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

Front 13

Parallelism

Back 13

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Effect: It adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence.

Hint 13

Ex: He likes reading, biking, and jogging.

(as opposed to "He likes reading, biking, and to jog.")

Front 14

Rhetorical question

Back 14

A question that does not expect a reply

Effect: to assert or deny something

Front 15

Allegory

Back 15

When characters and actions have meanings outside themselves (a sustained metaphor)

Effect: To tell a story that has a literal and figurative meaning.

Hint 15

Ex: The Lord of the Flies

Front 16

Sarcasm

Back 16

A form of irony and it is a sharp bitter remark.

Purpose: to criticize, or ridicule someone or something

Front 17

Satire

Back 17

Writing that ridicules and criticizes humans and society

Purpose: to provoke thought about the human condition to bring a change

Hint 17

Difference btw sarcasm and satire: Satire is used to change something, while sarcasm just criticizes.

Front 18

Euphemism

Back 18

Using a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.

Hint 18

Ex: "Strongly dislike" (instead of hate)
"passed away" (instead of died)

Front 19

Apostrophe

Back 19

Addressing an absent or imaginary person

Hint 19

Ex: Sally, why did you leave me here alone?

Front 20

Conceit

Back 20

An expresson, usually an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Hint 20

Ex: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Front 21

Loose sentence

Back 21

the main idea comes first in an independent clause, followed by dependent clauses.

Hint 21

Ex: Sally climbed a tree, scraping her leg in the process.

Ex 2: I drank chocolate milk, and it wasn't insipid.

Front 22

Periodic sentence

Back 22

presents its central meaning in an independent clause at the end of the sentence, and it is preceded by one or more dependent clauses.

Hint 22

Ex: Because I did not have a hat, my ears were frozen.

Front 23

Neologism

Back 23

Creating a new or imaginary word

Hint 23

Ex: Splenderful!!
presentate!!

Front 24

Hyperbaton

Back 24

Changing the normal or expected order of words

Hint 24

Ex: Spin the baton she did.

(instead of: She spun the baton)

Front 25

Epistrophe

Back 25

Repetition of a concluding word or ending or suffix (rhyme!)

Hint 25

Ex: I write poems with my pen,
As I sit in the den.

Front 26

Aphorism

Back 26

A statement that makes a point or illustrates a commonly held belief

Hint 26

Ex: "Lost time is never found again"
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

Front 27

Cliche

Back 27

An overused expression that reveals writer's lack of imagination

Effect: dulls the reader's response

Hint 27

ex: it hit something "like a ton of bricks"

Front 28

Ellipsis

Back 28

Omitting a word that is implied by the context

Effect: makes a clear, economic sentence

Hint 28

ex: "The European soldiers killed six of the remaining vilagers, the American soldiers, eight"

(rather than saying the American soldiers killed eight of the remaining villagers)

Front 29

Meiosis

Back 29

Reference to something with the name dispproportionately lesser than its nature

Effect: gives it an ironic effect

Hint 29

Ex: About an amputated leg "it's just a flesh wound"

Front 30

Alliosis

Back 30

Presenting alternatives

Effect: creates a cleverly balanced and artistic sentence

Hint 30

Ex: you can eat well or you can sleep well.

Front 31

Climax

Back 31

(aka auxesis, crescendo)
arrangement of order of increasing importance

Effect: adds structure and an emotional effect

Hint 31

Ex: Let a man acknowledge his obligations to himself, his family, his country, and his God."

Front 32

Bathos

Back 32

The least important item appears in a place where the reader expects something grand or dramatic

effect: humor, anticlimactic

Hint 32

Ex: The purpose of life is to experience, to love, and to ride rollercoasters! :P

Front 33

Anapodoton

Back 33

Deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause

used for rhetorical effect, and in dialogue

Front 34

Metaphor

Back 34

When something is something else.

Effect: to link things together, creates images

Hint 34

ex: hair of gold shimmered in the sunlight

Front 35

Simile

Back 35

When something is like something else

Effect: Draws a connection between things, creates images

Hint 35

ex: Your smile is as bright as sunshine

Front 36

Paronomasia

Back 36

(type of pun)
using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning

effect: humor

Hint 36

Ex: "A pun is its own reword"

(instead of reward)