7508786230 | Allegory | the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning | 0 | |
7508786231 | Alliteration | the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in "she sells sea shells" | 1 | |
7508786232 | Allusion | a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumable commonly known, such as an even, book, myth, place or work of art | 2 | |
7508786233 | Ambiguity | the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word or phrase, sentence or passage | 3 | |
7508786234 | Analogy | a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them | 4 | |
7508786235 | Antecedent | the word, phrase or clause referred to by a pronoun | 5 | |
7508786236 | Aphorism | a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle | 6 | |
7508786237 | Apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction, such as liberty or love | 7 | |
7508786238 | Clause | a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb | 8 | |
7508786239 | Colloquial | the use or slang or informalities in speech or writing | 9 | |
7508786240 | Conciet | a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between two seemingly dissimilar objects | 10 | |
7508786241 | Connotation | the non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning | 11 | |
7508786242 | Denotation | the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude or color | 12 | |
7508786243 | Diction | related to style, it refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness or effectiveness | 13 | |
7508786244 | Didactic | from the Greek, didatic literally means "teaching" they have the primary aim of teaching or instruction, especially the teaching or moral or ethical principles | 14 | |
7508786245 | Euphemism | from the Greek for "good speech", it is more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept | 15 | |
7508786246 | Extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work | 16 | |
7508786247 | Figurative language | writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid | 17 | |
7508786248 | Figure of speech | a device used to produce figurative language | 18 | |
7508786249 | Generic conventions | describes tradition for each genre | 19 | |
7508786250 | Genre | the major category into which a literary work fits | 20 | |
7508786251 | Homily | literally means "sermon", but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice | 21 | |
7508786252 | Hyperbole | a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement | 22 | |
7508786253 | Imagery | the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion or represent abstractions | 23 | |
7508786254 | Inference | to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented | 24 | |
7508786255 | Invective | an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language | 25 | |
7508786256 | Irony | the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true | 26 | |
7508786257 | Loose sentence | a type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses | 27 | |
7508786258 | Metaphor | a figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity | 28 | |
7508786259 | Metonymy | a term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name", it is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it | 29 | |
7508786260 | Mood | the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work | 30 | |
7508786261 | Narrative | the telling of a story or an account of an event of series of events | 31 | |
7508786262 | Onomatopoeia | a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words | 32 | |
7508786263 | Oxymoron | from the Greek for "pointedly foolish", it is a figure of speech where in the author apparently uses contradictory terms to suggest a paradox | 33 | |
7508786264 | Paradox | a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity | 34 | |
7508786265 | Parallelism | comes from Greek roots meaning "beside one another"; it refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing or words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs to give structural similarity | 35 | |
7508786266 | Parody | a work the closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comedic effect and/ or ridicule | 36 | |
7508786267 | Pedantic | an adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic or bookish | 37 | |
7508786268 | Periodic sentence | the opposite of a loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end | 38 | |
7508786269 | Personification | a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions | 39 | |
7508786270 | Point of view | in literature, the perspective from which a story is told | 40 | |
7508786271 | Prose | one of the major divisions of genre, it refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms | 41 | |
7508786272 | Repetition | the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any language such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence or grammatical pattern | 42 | |
7508786273 | Rhetoric | from Greek for "orator", this term describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently and persuasively | 43 | |
7508786274 | Rhetorical modes | describes the variety, the conventions and the purposes of the major kinds of writing; exposition, argumentation, description, narration | 44 | |
7508786275 | Sarcasm | from Greek meaning "to tear flesh"; it involves bitter caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something | 45 | |
7508786276 | Satire | a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule | 46 | |
7508786277 | Semantic | the branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of works, their historical and psychological development, their connotations and their relation to one another | 47 | |
7508786278 | Style | - an evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language and other literary devices - classification of authors to a group and comparison of an other to a similar author | 48 | |
7508786279 | Syllogism | Greek for "reckoning together" and is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises (major and minor) that lead to sound conclusion | 49 | |
7508786280 | Symbol | anything that represents itself and stands for something else | 50 | |
7508786281 | Syntax | the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses and sentences | 51 | |
7508786282 | Theme | the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life | 52 | |
7508786283 | Thesis | the sentence or group of sentences that directly express the author's opinion, purpose meaning or position | 53 | |
7508786284 | Tone | similar to mood, it describes the author's attitude towards his material, the audience or both | 54 | |
7508786285 | Transition | a word or phrase that links different ideas | 55 | |
7508786286 | Understatement | the ironic minimalizing fact, understatement presents something as less significant as it is | 56 | |
7508786287 | Wit | intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights | 57 |
AP Language and Composition Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
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