Apel Literary Terms: A

Front 1

Alliteration

Back 1

The recurrent of initial consonant sounds. "Ah, what a delicious day!" (Language/diction)

Front 2

Allusion

Back 2

A causal and brief reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. "If you take his parking place, you can expect World War II all over again." (Literary device)

Front 3

Ambiguity

Back 3

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. "I promise I'll give you a ring tomorrow." (Writing/grammar/conventions/usage)

Front 4

Anadiplosis

Back 4

A rhetorical trope formed by repeating the alst word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next. "Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business." (Argument/rhetoric)

Front 5

Analogy

Back 5

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. "For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it." (Literary device)

Front 6

Anaphora

Back 6

The repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism. "Slowly and grimly the advanced, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing what they would find at the top of the hill, not knowing that they were so near Disneyland." (Argument/rhetoric)

Front 7

Antecedent

Back 7

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. "If people want to succeed in corporate life, they have to know the rules of the game." (Writing/grammar/conventions/usage)

Front 8

Antimetabole

Back 8

Reversal of the order of repeated words or phrases to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast. "All work and no play is as harmful to mental health as all play and no work." (Argument/rhetoric)

Front 9

Antithesis

Back 9

Establishing a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. "To err is human; to forgive, divine." (Argument/rhetoric)

Front 10

Apostrophe

Back 10

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction. "With how sad steps, O moon, thou climb'st the skies!" (Language/diction)

Front 11

Assonance

Back 11

The use of similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants. "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." (Language/diction)

Front 12

Atmosphere

Back 12

The emotional nod 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. "The cool, clear stream flowed through the dark, crowded forest." (Argument/rhetoric)