AP lang glossary of literary and rhetorical devices

when the subject of the sentence performs the action -- more direct and preferred style of writing

when the subject of the sentence receives the action -- often overused, resulting in lifeless writing

an indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar (like other texts, songs, plays, or historical events)

a character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character

a brief recounting of a relevant episode

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun -ex. in "I would not pay such a price for it", the antecedent would be what "it" is referring to

art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional themes and structures

when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story in order to lighten the mood

word choice, particularly as an element of style -- different types of words have significant effects on meaning; selection of individual words

ordinary or familiar type of conversation

a common or familiar type of saying

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning

the actual, dictionary definition of a word

the diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity (ex. lawyer diction)

language or dialect of a particular country, regional clan, or group

used to describe writing that teaches a specific lesson or moral, or provides a model of correct behavior/thinking

a story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts (ex. Animal Farm)

the deliberate omission of a word/phrase from prose (not the same as an ellipse)

this is the three dots used to show omitted text in a quotation

a less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words/concepts (ex. "vertically challenged" instead of "short"

writing that is not meant to be taken literally

a comparison of two things to another parallel group of two things

extreme exaggeration

an often used expression that makes zero sense if taken literally

making a comparison without using "like" or "as"

a particularly long and elaborate extended metaphor

replacing an actual word/idea with a related word/idea ex. "I could not understand his tongue" is referring to his speech

a kind of metonymy when a whole item is represented by its parts ex. "check out my new wheels" is referring to the car as a whole

using words like "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two things

a description involving a "crossing of the senses" -- more than one scent used: ex. "a purplish scent filled the room"

giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

when an author gives hints about what will occur later

the major category into which a literary work fits

writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear, and/or death

words that create a picture in the reader's mind

a long, emotionally violent attack using strong, abusive language

when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens

when you say something and mean the opposite of what you say

when the audience of a drama, play, or movie knows something that the character doesn't

irony present in the plot of a text

placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison and to make a point

the atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)

a recurring idea in a piece of literature; brought up many times over the course of a text

when contradictory terms are grouped together, suggesting a paradox

the speed or tempo of an author's writing ex. fast, sluggish, stabbing, vibrato, staccato

a seemingly contradictory statement that is actually true ex. "you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without getting a job"

sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row ex. "I came, I saw, I conquered"

when the same words are used twice in a row, but the order is reversed ex. "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"

two contrasting words/clauses with parallel structure ex. "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

when a single word modifies 2+ other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for the other word(s) ex. "I quickly dressed myself and the salad"

parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence -- considered an 'aside' or 'whisper'

an exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes

the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story

repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

the repetition of identical/similar-sounding vowel sounds

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words

the sound of the word is the noise that it makes

when a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line

almost a rhyme but not really

what you'd expect a rhyme to be; the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme

ex. ababcdcd

a regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry

poetry that doesn't have much meter or rhyme

10 syllable per line, alternating stressed/unstressed syllables

14 lines, written in iambic pentameter

when a writer creates a list of items, all separated by conjunctions; you do this a lot when you verbally communicate a laundry list of things you need to do for homework -- "I need to do bio, and I need to do chem, and I need to do apush..."

we all know what this is

the art of effective communication

a question not asked for information, but rather for effect

art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature; does not rely on traditional themes and structures

a generally bitter comment that is ironically/satirically worded

a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life; appears as humorous, but the overall intent of the work is not humorous

a word/group of words placed beside a noun to supplement its meaning

a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb (make sure you know diff btwn independent and dependent clauses)

two independent clauses -- no dependent clauses

one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

when the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate/dependent elements

when the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence

the choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes

anything that represents something else

grammatical arrangement of words; grouping of words

the central idea/message of a work

a writer's attitude toward his subject matter

the ironic minimizing of fact; when someone is presented as less significant than it actually is

a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (like a double negative)