AP+Rhetorical+Terms+and+Definitions

1. **Abstract**- Abstract is designating qualities of characteristics apart from specific objects or events: it is the opposite of concrete. 2. **Allegory**- An allegory is a narrative, either in verse or prose, in which character, action and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of a story. EX: //The Scarlet Letter//, //Animal Farm// 3. **Alliteration**- Alliteration is the repetition of initial identical consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in successive or closely associated syllables EX: The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free. 4. **Allusion**- An allusion is a brief reference to a person, event or place, real or fiction, or to a work of art. EX: As the cave's roof collapsed, he was swallowed up in the dust **like Jonah**, and only his frantic scrabbling behind a wall of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive. 5. **Analogy-** An analogy is a process of reasoning that assumes if the two subjects share a number of specific observable qualities then they may be expected to share qualities that have not been observed. 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 6. **Anaphora** (an-NAF-ruh)**-** An anaphora is one of the devices of repetition in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses or sentences. EX: "**What we need in the United States is not** division. **What we need in the United States is not** hatred. **What we need in the United States is not** violence and lawlessness ‖ – Robert F. Kennedy 7. **Anastrophe** (an-as'-tro-phee) **-** An anastrophe is the inversion of the unusual, normal or logical order of the parts of a sentence.  EX: "Ready are you? My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained!" - Yoda 8. **Anticipating Audience Response-** Anticipating audience response is a rhetorical technique often used to convince an audience is that of anticipating and stating the arguments that one‘s opponent is likely to give and then answering these arguments even before the opponent has had a chance to voice them.  9. **Antimetabole** (an'-ti-me-ta'-bo-lee) - Repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order.  EX: ―Ask not what your **country** can do for //you//; ask what //you// can do for your **country**. ‖ JFK  10. **Antithesis** (an-TIH-theh-sis)- A direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast.  EX: "We observe today **not a victory of party** but **a celebration of freedom**, symbolizing **an end as well as a beginning**, signifying **renewal as well as change**." -- John F. Kennedy **AP Rhetorical Terms** 11. **Aphorism-** An aphorism is a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words. EX: ―Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experimenting dangerous, reasoning difficult. ‖ 12. **Apostrophe-** An apostrophe is a figure of speech in which someone (usually, but not always absent), some abstract quality or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present. EX: Shakespeare‘s //Julius Caesar: “//For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel. / Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him. ‖ 13. **Assonance-** The repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words. EX: The words ―cry ‖ and ―side ‖ have the same vowel sound 14. **Asyndeton (a-SIN-dih-tawn)-** The deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses. EX: "Be one of the few, **the proud**, **the Marines**." -- Marine Corps Advertisement 15. **Balanced Sentence-** Phrases or clauses which balance each other by likeness of structure, meaning and length. 16. **Cacophony:** harsh joining of sounds. EX: ―My stick fingers click with a snicker ‖ – John Updike 17. **Call to Action-** Writing that urges people to action or promotes change. 18. **Characterization-** Characterization is the techniques used to create and reveal fictional personalities in a work of literature by describing the character‘s appearance, actions, thoughts and feelings. 19. **Chiasmus** (ki-AZ-mus)- A type of balance in which the second part of the sentence is balanced against the first by with the part reversed (from the Greek letter chi [//X//]) EX: "My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington." (Barack Obama) ―But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strong loves. ‖ —Shakespeare, //Othello// 3.3 20. **Cliché-** A cliché is a timeworn expression that through overuse has lost its power to evoke concrete images. EX: ―gentle as a lamb, ‖ ―smart as a whip, ‖ ―pleased as punch. ‖ 21. **Coinage-** A word or phrase that is made, invented or fabricated. EX: ―google it, ‖ ―blog, ‖ ―soccer mom ‖ 22. **Colloquial Expressions-** Words or phrases characteristics or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation. 23. **Conceit-** A conceit is an elaborate and surprising figure of speech comparing two very dissimilar things. EX: In John Donne‘s "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" (1633) separated lovers are likened to the legs of a compass, the leg drawing the circle eventually returning home to "the fixed foot." 24. **Concrete-** Concrete pertains to actual things, instances, or experiences: opposite of abstract. 25. **Connotation -** the emotional implications that words may carry 26. **Consonance-** The repetition of a constant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect. EX: ―And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. ‖ 27. **Defensive, Offensive-** A method of argumentation in which the speaker or writer defends her own views (defensive) and/or attacks the views of others (offensive). **28. Denotation -** the specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or associations 29. **Diction-** the choice of words in a work of literature and an element of style important to the work‘s effectiveness. 30. **Doublespeak-** language used to distort and manipulate rather than to communicate. EX: **downsize, RIF** (reduction in force): fire employees. 31. **Downplaying/Intensifying-** Downplaying/Intensifying are methods of drawing attention and diverting attention. 32. **Ellipsis-** The omission of a word or words necessary from complete construction, but understood in the context. EX: ―The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 33. **Emotional Appeal-** exploiting an audience‘s feelings of pity or fear to make a case 34. **Epistrophe** (eh-PISS-truh-FEE): Figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more times at the end of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases. EX: "...and that government of **the people**, by **the people**, for **the people** shall not perish from the earth." - Abraham Lincoln 35. **Ethical Appeal-** establishing one‘s credibility with the audience by appearing to be knowledgeable about one's subject and benevolent 36. **Ethnocentricity-** The belief in the inherent superiority of one‘s own group and culture. 37. **Euphemism-** Euphemism is the substitutions of an inoffensive, indirect, or agreeable expression for a word or phrase perceived as socially unacceptable or unnecessarily harsh. EX: ―overweight <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ rather than ―fat, <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ―disadvantaged <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ rather than ―poor <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 38. **Figurative Language-** The use of words outside their literal or usual meanings, used to add freshness and suggest associations and comparisons that create effective images. 39. **Hyperbole-** A figure of speech in which conscious exaggeration is used without the intent of literal persuasion. EX: ―No; this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine Making the green one red <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ (//Macbeth)// 40. **Imagery-** Imagery is the use of language to convey sensory experience, most often through the creation of pictorial images through figurative language. EX: ―Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 41. **Inverted Order of a Sentence-** predicate comes before the subject. 42. **Irony-** A mode of speech in which words express a meaning opposite to the intended meaning. 43. **Jargon-** Jargon refers to a specialized language providing a shorthand method of quick communication between people in the same field. EX: The basis of assessment for Schedule D Case I and II, other than commencement and cessation, is what is termed a previous year basis. (legal jargon) 44. **Juxtaposition-** Poetic and rhetorical device placing normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases next to one another. EX: Robert Frost‘s poem ―Fire and Ice <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 45. **Lending Credence-** In arguing her point, a writer or speaker should always give the opponent some credit for his / her ideas. 46. **Litotes (**li-to'-tees ) **-** understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed. EX: A few unannounced quizzes are not inconceivable. 47. **Logical Appeal** –using facts, statistics, historical references, or other such proofs in order to convince the audience of one‘s position 48. **Logical Fallacies-** methods of pseudo-reasoning that may occur accidentally or may be intentionally contrived to lend plausibility to an unsound argument. See Appendix A for specific fallacies and examples. 49. **Loose Sentence-** A sentence grammatically complete at some point (or points) before the end; opposite of a periodic sentence. 50. **Metaphor-** A figure of speech involving an implied comparison. EX: ―She is a rose! 51. **Metonymy (**me-TON-uh-me)**-** A figure of speech characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself. EX: We commonly speak of the king as ―the crown <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ (an object closely associated with kingship thus being made to stand for ―king <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ). "The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings." (suits and Wall Street are both examples of metonymy) 52. **Mood –** the overall atmosphere of a work 53. **Motif –** recurrent images, words, objects, phrases, or actions that tend to unify the work 54. **Narration –** the story of events and/or experiences that tells what happened. 55. **Natural Order Sentence** – subject comes before the predicate 56. **Onomatopoeia** – the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning. EX: ―hiss, <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ―buzz, <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ―whirr, <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ―sizzle <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 57. **Oxymoron –** a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression EX: ―cold fire, <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ ―jumbo shrimp <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 58. **Paradox –** a phrase or statement that while seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true EX: "I don't hustle with people who are dishonest." -- Woody Harrelson (from the movie //White Men Can't Jump//) 59. **Parallelism –** the arrangement of parts of a sentence, sentences, paragraphs, and larger units of composition that one element of equal importance with another is similarly developed and phrased 60. **Periodic sentence –** a sentence not grammatically complete before its end 61. **Personification –** attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things EX: ―The wind whispers through the trees. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 62. **Point of view –** the vantage point from which the author presents the actions of the story. 63. **Polysyndeton** (paulee-SIN-dih-tawn)– the repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect EX: ―Here and there and everywhere. <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 64. **Prosody –** the study of sound and rhythm in poetry 65. **Protagonist –** the central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem 66. **Pun –** a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings EX: When Mercutio is bleeding to death in //Romeo and Juliet//, he says to his friends, ―Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find a grave man <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 67. **Repetition –**reiterating a word or phrase, or rewording the same idea, to secure emphasis 68. **Rhetorical fragment –** incomplete sentence used deliberately for persuasive purpose 69. **Rhetorical question –** a question asked solely to produce and effect and not to elicit a reply EX: ―When will I ever learn? <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 70. **Rhyme –** the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other 71. **Sarcasm –** the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it EX: ―As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, ‗Look at that coordination.‘ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 72. **Satire –** a technique that points out the fallacies in both people and societal institutions, using iron wit and exaggeration 73. **Setting –** the time and place in which events in a short story novel, play, or narrative poem take place 74. **Shift or Turn –** a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader 75. **Simile –** a figure of speech involving a comparison using like or as EX: ―She is as lovely as a summer‘s day <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">‖ 76. **Spin –** twist and turn so as to give an intended interpretation EX: "The President's spokesmen had to spin the story to make it less embarrassing" 77. **Stichomythia –** dialogue in which the endings and beginnings of each line echo each other, taking on a new meaning with each new line EX: from Shakespeare‘s //Hamlet:// QUEEN: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. HAMLET: Mother, you have my father much offended. QUEEN: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. HAMLET: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. 78. **Style –** the author‘s characteristic manner of expression 79. **Syllepsis** (a type of zeugma) - occurs when a single word that governs or modifies two or more others must be understood differently with respect to each of those words. A combination of grammatical parallelism and semantic incongruity, often with a witty or comical effect. EX: [a] He //grabbed// his hat from the rack by the stairs and a kiss from the lips of his wife. [b] She //stole// his heart and his car on their first date. 80. **Syllogism –** a particular kind of argument containing three categorical propositions, two of them premises, one a conclusion. Logical form allows one to substitute subjects and predicates for letters (variables). EX: If all humans are mortal, and all Greeks are humans, then all Greeks are mortal. 81. **Symbol –** something concrete (such as an object, person, place, or event) that stands for or represents something abstract (such as an idea, quality, concept, or condition) 82. **Symploce** – repetition of the first and last words in a clause over successive clauses (combines anaphora and epistrophe) EX: "**Much of what I say might sound** bitter, **but it's the truth**. **Much of what I say might sound** like it's stirring up trouble, **but it's the truth**. **Much of what I say might sound** like it is hate, **but it's the truth**." -- Malcolm X 83. **Synecdoche** (sih-NECK-duh-kee)– a type of figurative language in which the whole is used for part of the part used for the whole EX: "Give us this day our daily bread." -- Matthew 6:11 Note: In this case, the part (bread) stands in for the whole (food and perhaps other necessities of life) 84. **Syntax –** the pattern or structure of the word order in a sentence or phrase: the study of grammatical structure 85. **Tone –** the attitude of the writer or speaker toward his subject 86. **Voice –** the implied personality the author chooses to adopt 87. **Zeugma (zoog'-ma) –** A general term describing when one part of speech (most often the main verb, but sometimes a noun) governs two or more other parts of a sentence (often in a series). EX: [a] Mr. Glowry was horror-struck by the sight **//of//** a round, ruddy **//face//** and a pair of laughing **//eyes//**. [b] The little **//baby//** from his crib, the screaming **//lady//** off the roof, and the **//man//** from the flooded basement **//were all rescued//**.
 * AP Rhetorical Terms **