Terms : Hide Images
| 6059351141 | Adage | A saying or proverb embodying a piece of common wisdom based on experience and often couched in metaphorical language. (e.g. "It is always darkest before the dawn.") | 0 | |
| 6059353240 | Analogy | A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging. Ex. He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks." — Samuel Johnson | 1 | |
| 6059355965 | Aphorism | A terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a 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. | 2 | |
| 6059357144 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back. | 3 | |
| 6059362598 | Cliché | An overused or trite expression. | 4 | |
| 6059364587 | Euphemism | Greek for "good speech." Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one. | 5 | |
| 6059365882 | Extended Metaphor | A metaphor developed at great length, appearing frequently throughout a piece. | 6 | |
| 6059368609 | Figurative Langauge | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. | 7 | |
| 6059370450 | Figure of Speech | A device used to produce figurate language. Many compare dissimilar things. Figures of speech include apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement. | 8 | |
| 6059372659 | Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration or overstatement is used for effect. | 9 | |
| 6059375135 | Idiom | A common expression that has acquired a meaning that differs fro miss literal meaning, such as "It's raining cats and dogs." | 10 | |
| 6059377864 | Imagery | The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses; we refer to visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory imagery. On a broader and deeper level, however, one image can represent more than one thing. For example, a rose may present visual imagery while also representing the color in a woman's cheeks and/or symbolizing some degree of perfection (It is the highest flower on the Great Chain of Being). An author may use complex imagery while simultaneously employing other figures of speech, especially metaphor and simile. In addition, this term can apply to the total of all the images in a work. On the AP exam, pay attention to how an author creates imagery and to the effect of this imagery. | 11 | |
| 6059380099 | Metonymy | A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name." Metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. A news release that claims "the White House declared" rather that "the President declared" is using metonymy. The substituted term generally carries a more potent emotional response. | 12 | |
| 6059381779 | Oxymoron | From the Greek for "pointedly foolish," an oxymoron is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. Simple examples include "jumbo shrimp" and "cruel kindness." This term does not usually appear in the multiple-choice questions, but there is a chance that you might find it in an essay. Take note of the effect which the author achieves with this term. | 13 | |
| 6059384704 | Paradox | A statement that appears self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but on closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity. ("It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.") | 14 | |
| 6059386236 | Personification | A figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, or object, or a concept. | 15 | |
| 6059390214 | Pun | A play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meanings. | 16 | |
| 6059394201 | Synecdoche | A type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made, or in short, any portion, section, or main quality for the whole or the thing itself (or vice versa). Ex. Farmer Joes has two hundred head of cattle [whole cattle], and three hired hands [whole people]. If we had some wheels [whole vehicle], I'd put on my best threads [clothes] and ask for Jane's hand [hopefully her whole person] in marriage. | 17 |
