Shared Flashcard Set

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AP Language and Composition
First 18 rhetorical terms
36
Literature
Undergraduate 1
08/29/2011

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Cards

Term
Litote
Definition
An understatement that denies the opposite of being true.
Example: Getting shot is not good for your health.
Term
Asyndeton
Definition
Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.
Term
Polysyndeton
Definition
The use of many conjunctions to slow down the sentence
Ex: I have math homework and english homework and science homework and french homework!
Term
Synechdoche/Metonomy
Definition
the substitution of one word for another whice it suggests
Ex: The school sent home report cards.
Term
Anadiplosis
Definition
Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next.
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)
Term
Chiasmus
Definition
Corresponding pairs that are in inverted order.
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")
Term
Zeugma
Definition
Linking two verbs with one subject or two direct objects with a verb.
Ex: He took the bus and my money.

(the verb took is linked with the bus and my money)
Term
Anaphora
Definition
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses.
Ex: Tomorrow it will be sunny. Tomorrow we will go outside. Tomorrow we will have a picnic.
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
A figure of speech that combines two words that seem to contradict each other. (a two-word paradox)
Ex: Jumbo shrimp
Term
Paradox
Definition
A statement that is contradictory but is actually true.
Ex: Silence filled her ears.
Term
Archaism
Definition
Use of an older or obsolete form
Ex: Thou shall not kill
Term
Antithesis
Definition
Contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence (contrast of opposites or of degree)

Effect: emphasizes opposition of ideas
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.
Term
Parallelism
Definition
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Effect: It adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence.
Ex: He likes reading, biking, and jogging.

(as opposed to "He likes reading, biking, and to jog.")
Term
Rhetorical question
Definition
A question that does not expect a reply

Effect: to assert or deny something
Term
Allegory
Definition
When characters and actions have meanings outside themselves (a sustained metaphor)

Effect: To tell a story that has a literal and figurative meaning.
Ex: The Lord of the Flies
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
A form of irony and it is a sharp bitter remark.

Purpose: to criticize, or ridicule someone or something
Term
Satire
Definition
Writing that ridicules and criticizes humans and society

Purpose: to provoke thought about the human condition to bring a change
Difference btw sarcasm and satire: Satire is used to change something, while sarcasm just criticizes.
Term
Euphemism
Definition
Using a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.
Ex: "Strongly dislike" (instead of hate)
"passed away" (instead of died)
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
Addressing an absent or imaginary person
Ex: Sally, why did you leave me here alone?
Term
Conceit
Definition
An expresson, usually an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.
Ex: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Term
Loose sentence
Definition
the main idea comes first in an independent clause, followed by dependent clauses.
Ex: Sally climbed a tree, scraping her leg in the process.

Ex 2: I drank chocolate milk, and it wasn't insipid.
Term
Periodic sentence
Definition
presents its central meaning in an independent clause at the end of the sentence, and it is preceded by one or more dependent clauses.
Ex: Because I did not have a hat, my ears were frozen.
Term
Neologism
Definition
Creating a new or imaginary word
Ex: Splenderful!!
presentate!!
Term
Hyperbaton
Definition
Changing the normal or expected order of words
Ex: Spin the baton she did.

(instead of: She spun the baton)
Term
Epistrophe
Definition
Repetition of a concluding word or ending or suffix (rhyme!)
Ex: I write poems with my pen,
As I sit in the den.
Term
Aphorism
Definition
A statement that makes a point or illustrates a commonly held belief
Ex: "Lost time is never found again"
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"
Term
Cliche
Definition
An overused expression that reveals writer's lack of imagination

Effect: dulls the reader's response
ex: it hit something "like a ton of bricks"
Term
Ellipsis
Definition
Omitting a word that is implied by the context

Effect: makes a clear, economic sentence
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)
Term
Meiosis
Definition
Reference to something with the name dispproportionately lesser than its nature

Effect: gives it an ironic effect
Ex: About an amputated leg "it's just a flesh wound"
Term
Alliosis
Definition
Presenting alternatives

Effect: creates a cleverly balanced and artistic sentence
Ex: you can eat well or you can sleep well.
Term
Climax
Definition
aka auxesis, crescendo)
arrangement of order of increasing importance

Effect: adds structure and an emotional effect
Ex: Let a man acknowledge his obligations to himself, his family, his country, and his God."
Term
Bathos
Definition
The least important item appears in a place where the reader expects something grand or dramatic

effect: humor, anticlimactic
Ex: The purpose of life is to experience, to love, and to ride rollercoasters!
Term
Anapodoton
Definition
Deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause

used for rhetorical effect, and in dialogue
Term
Metaphor
Definition
When something is something else.

Effect: to link things together, creates images
ex: hair of gold shimmered in the sunlight
Term
Simile
Definition
When something is like something else

Effect: Draws a connection between things, creates images
ex: Your smile is as bright as sunshine
Term
Paronomasia
Definition
(type of pun)
using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning

effect: humor
Ex: "A pun is its own reword"

(instead of reward)
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