Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms
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| 7190561592 | Abstract Language | Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places. The observable or "physical" is usually described in concrete language. | 0 | |
| 7190564021 | Active Voice | The subject of the sentence performs the action. This is a more direct and preferred style of writing in most cases, but not all. (Ex. The boy grabbed his books and went to school). See also, Passive Voice. |  | 1 |
| 7190569015 | Ad hominem | Latin for "against the man". When a write personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their arguments. It is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than intellect. | 2 | |
| 7190581972 | Allegory | A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. These characters, etc. may be symbolic of the ideas referred to. (Ex. an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom). | 3 | |
| 7190590576 | Alliteration | The repetition of initial identical consonant sounds. Or, vowel sounds in successive words or syllables that repeat. |  | 4 |
| 7190598475 | Allusion | An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known such as plays, movies, t.v. shows) with which the readers is supposed to be familiar. Allusion is often used with humorous intent, to establish a connection between writer and reader, or to make a subtle point. |  | 5 |
| 7190610966 | Ambiguity | An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. Also, the manner of expression of such an event or situation may be ambiguous. Artful language may be ambiguous. Unintentional ambiguity is usually vagueness. |  | 6 |
| 7190921097 | Analogy | An analogy is a comparison to a directly parallel case. When a writer uses an analogy, he or she argues that a claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the analogous case. | 7 | |
| 7190923943 | Anaphora | Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent. |  | 8 |
| 7190927486 | Anecdote | A brief recounting of a relevant episode. Anecdotes are often inserted into fictional or non fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. | 9 | |
| 7190929880 | Annotation | Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources or give bibliographical data. | 10 | |
| 7190930597 | 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. (Ex. If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it. An AP question might read: "What is the antecedent for "it"?"). | 11 | |
| 7190936719 | Antithesis | Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas. (Ex. "Bill's work in school was the antithesis of his sister's. Her homework was tidy and on time, while bill's was sloppy and late." or "Darkness is the antithesis of light." or "New York is the antithesis of Nome Alaska."). |  | 12 |
| 7190939874 | Aphorism | A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or 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. It's often equated as a synonym with "adage" or "saying" or "proverb" Ben Franklin wrote many of these in "Poor Richard's Almanac" such as "God helps them that help themselves" (Ex. "A watched pot never boils." or "Nothing comes to those who wait."). |  | 13 |
| 7190944454 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. William Wordswoth addresses John Milton as he writes, "Milton thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee." |  | 14 |
| 7190949384 | Appositive | A word or group of words places beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning. (Ex. Bob, the lumber yard worker, spoke with Judy, an accountant from the city.). | 15 | |
| 7190952332 | Argumentation | To prove the validity of an idea, or a point of view, by presenting good sound reasoning, discussion and argument to convince the reader. Persuasive writing is a type of argumentation having the additional aim of urging some form of action. | 16 | |
| 7190954562 | Assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity. |  | 17 |
| 7190955711 | Causal Relationship | In causal relationships, a writer asserts that one thing results from another. To show how one thing produces or brings about another is often relevant in establishing a logical argument. |  | 18 |
| 7190958335 | Clause | A grammatical unit that contains both a subject an a verb. An independent, or main, clause expresses a 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. (Ex. "Other than baseball, football is my favorite sport." In this sentence, the independent clause is "football is my favorite sport" and the dependent clause is "Other than baseball"). | 19 |
