AP Lit Quiz: Rhetorical Devices PDF

AP Lit Quiz: Rhetorical Devices Note: Sound devices, figures of speech, and other rhetorical devices are covered in other handouts. anachronism: An event, object, custom, person or thing that is out of its natural order of time. (Ex: A clock strikes in Julius Caesar.) analogy: A comparison of simi...

AP Lit Quiz: Rhetorical Devices Note: Sound devices, figures of speech, and other rhetorical devices are covered in other handouts. anachronism: An event, object, custom, person or thing that is out of its natural order of time. (Ex: A clock strikes in Julius Caesar.) analogy: A comparison of similar things, often to explain something unfamiliar with something familiar. (Ex: the branching of a river system is often explained using a tree and its branches.) analysis: A detailed splitting up and examination of a work of literature; a close study of the various elements and the relationship between them. anaphora: Repetition of words or phrases to create a powerful and poetic effect. Example from N. Scott Momaday’s poem “The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee”: I stand in good relation to the earth, / I stand in good relation to the gods, I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful… anecdote: A short narrative story to illustrate a point. aphorism: A short, usually witty statement of a principle or truth. Ex: “She knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing”. OR: “Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster.” archaism: The use of deliberately old-fashioned language. aside: A speech (usually just a short comment) made by an actor to the audience, as though momentarily stepping outside of the action on stage. bathos, pathos: When a scene evokes feelings of dignified pity and sympathy, pathos is at work. When writing strains for grandeur it can’t support and tries to create tears from every little hiccup, that’s bathos. caricature: A portrait (verbal or otherwise) that exaggerates a facet of personality. chiasmus: A rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect. Example: “Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.” 1 coinage (neologism): A new word, usually one invented on the spot. “Doomscrolling” and “cheap fakes” are contemporary neologisms. chronology: The arrangement of occurrences or incidents in a narrative, a timeline of events that characters undergo. In a narrative, chronology does not always adhere to a strictly linear structure. colloquialism: A word or phrase used in everyday conversational language that isn’t a part of accepted academic language. Ex: “Y’all ready for this?” comparison: This is a broad term for describing the relationship between two or more things. Analogies, juxtaposition, and metaphor are all types of comparisons. details, choice of details: The items or parts that make up a larger picture or story. Writers can use details to develop a character, for example. [PR] diction: Word choice (Consider: is the diction vivid and vigorous or dull? Is it denotative or connotative? Conversational or formal and ornate? Is it abstract or concrete, general or specific, modern or archaic, elevated/lofty or simple? Is it euphemistic? Polysyllabic or monosyllabic?) Additional style terms to describe and analyze diction: baroque: a grand and exuberantly ornamental style invective: direct denunciation or name-calling digression: A portion of a written work that interrupts or pauses the development of the theme or plot. epigram: A pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way. epigraph: The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. ethos: The appeal to credibility; establishing common ground and trust with an audience. inversion: Switching the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase. Example: “Mine it is” rather than “It is mine.” 2 juxtaposition: Placing two things close together or side by side in order to compare and contrast the two. In literature, juxtaposition occurs when two images that are otherwise not commonly brought together appear side by side or structurally close together, thereby forcing the reader to stop and reconsider the meaning of the text through the contrasting ideas. --opposition: One of the most useful concepts in analyzing literature. It means that you have a pair of elements that contrast sharply. It is not necessarily “conflict” but rather a pairing of images (or settings or appeals, for example) whereby each becomes more striking and informative because it’s placed in contrast to the other one. This kind of opposition creates mystery and tension. [PR} logos: An appeal to logic. non sequitur: Literally means “it does not follow”. parallelism: Repeated syntactical similarities used for effect. (“I like fishing, swimming, and boating” is in parallel form; “I like fishing, to swim, and a boating excursion” is unparallel.) parenthetical phrase: A phrase set off by commas that interrupts the flow of a sentence with some commentary or added detail. Jack’s three dogs, including that miserable little spaniel, were with him that day. pathos: An appeal to emotions. periodic sentence: See loose sentence. rhetorical question: A question that suggests an answer. In theory, the effect of a rhetorical question is that it causes the listener to feel she has come up with the answer herself. [PR} rhetorical techniques: The devices used to create effective or persuasive language. Common examples of these techniques include contrast, repetition, paradox, understatement, sarcasm, and rhetorical questions. syllogism: A form of logical reasoning, consisting of two premises and a conclusion. Ex: All humans are mortal. Ms. Crandell is human. Therefore, Ms. Crandell is mortal. 3 synaesthesia: The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another. “He is wearing a loud shirt.” syntax: The structure and pattern of sentences (consider: are the sentences periodic, loose, simple, complex, parallel, short, long, questions, exclamations, imperative, elliptical, declarative, rhetorical, fragmented, inverted) --anastrophe: Inverted syntax as in “Blessed are the meek.” (Yoda-speak: “Great this class is.”) Always analyze the EFFECT. Anastrophe tends to create a sage-like or Biblical effect. --anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of two or more successive clauses, verses, or sentences, in order to create a rhetorical or poetic effect: “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen…” --from Henry Lee’s eulogy for George Washington --polysyndeton: Uses repeating coordinating conjunction such as ‘and’ to join phrases. Ex: We have ships and stores and men. tag: Words used repeatedly throughout the poem to describe something. tautology: Needless repetition of an idea, creating a circular sort of rhetoric, without imparting additional force or clearness. (Ex: parents at the end of their rope saying, “Why can’t you go? Because I said so!”) tone: Speaker’s manner or emotion in expressing their attitude toward the subject and implied audience based on syntax, diction, and/or details. (Tone: emotional judgment. Attitude: intellectual judgment) 4