AP Language Worksheet Literary Terminology
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 your virtues 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, onthe-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.
1
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
A. 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
2
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
B. 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”)
C. 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.
D. 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.
E. 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.
3