AP Language Worksheet Literary Terminology 2

FIVE CANONS—Invention:

Speaker (persona--ethos)—the character that the speaker/writer presents to the

audience—to establish credibility

Audience—the audience or readers. The speaker/writer must take this into account in

order to decide how best to communicate/influence this group

Purpose—the aim or goal

Argument—the carefully organized and well-supported claim that the speaker/writer is

making on a topic

Style

Schemes—any artful variation from the typical arrangement of words in a sentence

I. Schemes involving balance

Parallelism—Using the same grammatical structure for similar items

Ex.—He likes to swim, to read, and to meditate.

Antithesis-- When parallelism is used to juxtapose words, phrases, or clauses that

contrast

Ex.—Place yourvirtues on a pedestal; place your vices under a rock.

Antimetabole—A scheme similar to antithesis, in which words are repeated in different

grammatical forms

Ex.—Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for

your country. (clause subject/object of preposition)

Chiasmus—A term often used interchangeably with the antimetabole, the “criss-cross”

or “reversible raincoat”

Another ex.—“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see

how a slave was made a man.”—Frederick Douglass

II. Schemes involving interruption

Parenthesis—insertion of material that interrupts the typical flow of a sentence

Ex.—The woman (actually my sister) screamed at us to leave.

Appositive—words a writer uses to interrupt the sentence, to provide necessary, on-

the-spot information

Ex.—My guest, the national tennis champion, naturally beat me 6-0.

Aphorism—a short saying embodying a general truth or astute observation

Ex.—“No pains without gains.”—Benjamin Franklin

Anecdote—A short account of an event or incident told for a specific purpose

Digression/Aside—A temporary departure from the topic

III. Schemes involving omission

Ellipsis—Any omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall

content of the passage.

Ex.—In a hockey power play, if you pass the puck to the wing, and he to

you, then you can close in on the goal. (The phrase “and he to you” omits

the words passes it, but a reader can clearly infer the meaning.)

Asyndeton—Leaving out words to accelerate the rhythm

Ex.—I came, I saw, I conquered.

IV. Schemes involving repetition

Anaphora—Repetition of a word or group of words at the beginning of successive

sentences (similar to parallelism)

Ex.—Exercise builds stamina in teens; exercise builds stamina in older

adults.

Epistrophe—Repetition of a group of words at the end of successive clauses

Ex.—I thought like an athlete; I trained like an athlete; I ate like an athlete.

Alliteration—Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

Ex.—a strenuous, satisfying sport

Assonance—Repetition of vowel sounds in words that do not rhyme

Ex.—a kind, reliable, right-minded man

Anadiplosis—repetition of the last words of one clause at the beginning of the

following clause.

Ex.—Mental preparation leads to training; training builds muscle tone

and coordination; muscle tone and coordination produces excellence.

Climax—Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses in order of importance

Ex.—Excellent athletes need to be respectful of themselves, their

teammates, their schools, and their communities.

Tautology—Needless repetition that adds nothing to meaning

Ex.—widow woman, free gift

Tropes—any artful variation from the typical or expected way a word or idea is

Expressed

  1. Referring to one thing as another

Allusion—an unexplained reference to something literary, mythological, or religious (the

speaker or writer assumes the audience understands without explanation)

Ex.—Here’s to the red, white, and blue.

Analogy -- extended comparison of two dissimilar things for special effect, such as the

heart to a pump

Epithet-- adjective or phrase applied to a person or thing to emphasize a quality or

attribute. Ex.—Richard the Lion-Hearted

Metaphor -- A comparison between two dissimilar things without using like or as

Ex.—He is a lion on the football field.

Simile --A comparison between two dissimilar things, using like or as

Ex.—He is as fearsome as a lion on the football field.

Metonymy—an entity is referred to byoneof its attributes

Ex.—The White House announced….

Synecdoche—a part of something used to refer to the whole

Ex.—I have a new set of wheels.

Personification—The giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects

Ex.—The sun smiled at us while we walked through the meadow.

Apostrophe (a type of personification)—the act of speaking directly to an absent or

imaginary person, object, or abstraction. Ex.—“Where is death’s sting/

Where, grave, thy victory?”—Henry Francis Lyte

  1. Substitutions

Antonomasia (also called periphrasis)—use of a descriptive word or phrase to refer to a

proper noun. Ex.—Big Apple for New York City

Euphemism—language used to substitute for words that may be found offensive or

upsetting Ex.—He passed on (instead of “he died”)

  1. Wordplays

Aphorism—a concise statement expressing a general truth. Ex.—“Necessity never made

a good bargain”—Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac

Pun—a play on words, usually for humorous effect. Ex.—When Sybil’s boyfriends

started fighting, friends referred to it as the Sybil War.

Onomatopoeia—Sounds referring to meaning. Ex.—tick tock

Zeugma (pronounced zoog’-ma, in Greek means yoking)—applies to expressions in

which a single word (often a verb) connects two other words not related in

meaning. Ex.—He maintained a business and his innocence.

  1. Overstatement/Understatement

Hyperbole --An overstatement Ex.—I ate so much at lunch I gained 50 pounds.

Litotes --An understatement Ex.—My parents were not pleased when I arrived

home two hours past curfew time.

  1. Semantic Inversions

Rhetorical Question—a question asked, not to secure an answer, but to move forward the

development of an idea

Irony --verbal—words actually intending the opposite of what is meant

Ex.—That’s a great diet (to someone gorging on cake and candy).

Oxymoron --Words placed near each other thata have apparently contradictory meanings

Ex.—tough love; jumbo shrimp

Paradox -- a seemingly self-contradictory statement that also makes sense

Ex.—Children are the poor person’s wealth.

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