AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
Amplification Strategies
Rhetorical Term
Apophasis
ah-POF-ah-sis
Apposition
AP-uh-ZISH-un
Auxesis
og-ZEE-sis
All the ways that an argument, an explanation, or a description can be expanded and enriched. In short, this is how you amplify your stance.
Definition
Etymology
Example
"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out
The mention of something in disclaiming intention of mentioning it – or
Greek:
then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. And I’m not blaming
pretending to deny what is already validated/affirmed.
“denial”
this on President Obama. I just think it’s an interesting coincidence."
(Republican Representative Michele Bachmann, April 28, 2009)
Placing side-by-side two coordinate elements, the second of which
Latin:
Gussie, a glutton for punishment, stared at himself in the mirror."
serves as an explanation of modification of the first
“to put near”
(P.G. Wodehouse, Right Ho, Jeeves, 1934)
A gradual increase in intensity of meaning with words arranged in
ascending order of force or importance
Commoratio
Repetition of a point several times in different words
Latin:
“dwelling”
Explicit references to various meanings of a word – usually for the
purpose of removing ambiguities
Latin:
“distinguishing,
distinction,
difference”
Personal description; a head-to-toe inventory of a person’s physical
attributes or charms
Latin:
“to fashion”
ko mo RAHT see oh
Distinctio
dis-TINK-tee-o
Effectio
ee-FEK-tee-oh
Greek:
“growth,
increase,
amplify”
"It's a well hit ball, it's a long drive, it might be, it could be, it IS . . . a home run."
(American baseball broadcaster Harry Carey)
"He's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He's expired
and gone to meet his maker! He's a stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! If you
hadn't nailed him to the perch he'd be pushing up the daisies! His metabolic
processes are now history! He's off the twig! He's kicked the bucket, he's
shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir
invisible! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!"
(John Cleese in "The Dead Parrot Sketch," Monty Python's Flying Circus)
"It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If 'is' means 'is and never
has been,' that's one thing. If it means 'there is none,' that was a completely
true statement."
(President Bill Clinton, Grand Jury testimony, 1998)
"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go-My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare."
(William Shakespeare, Sonnet 130)
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
Euphemism
Elaborately patterned prose style
Greek:
“to grow, to
bring forth”
Emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it
Greek:
“to disregard”
The insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the
normal syntactic flow of the sentence
Latin:
“to insert beside”
Redundancy; use of words to emphasize what is clear without them
Greek:
“excessive,
abundant”
YOO-few-izm
Paralepsis
pa-ra-LEP-sis
Parenthesis
pa-REN-thi-sis
Pleonasm
PLEE-en-IZ-m
"The freshest colours soonest fade, the teenest razor soonest turneth his edge,
the finest cloth is soonest eaten with moths, and the cambric sooner stained
than the coarse canvas: which appeared well in this Euphues, whose wit,
being like wax, apt to receive any impression, and bearing the head in his own
hand, either to use the rein or the spur, disdaining counsel, leaving his country,
loathing his old acquaintance, thought either by wit to obtain some conquest,
or by shame to abide some conflict; who, preferring fancy before friends and
his present humour before honour to come, laid reason in water, being too salt
for his taste, and followed unbridled affection, most pleasant for his tooth."
(John Lyly, from Euphues, 1579)
"The music, the service at the feast,
The noble gifts for the great and small,
The rich adornment of Theseus's palace . . .
All these things I do not mention now."
(Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale," The Canterbury Tales)
"My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I
was three."
(Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, 1955)
"The most unkindest cut of all."
(William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)
Argumentation Strategies
Rhetorical Term
Allegory
AL-eh-gor-ee
Definition
Extending a metaphor so that objects, persons, and actions in a text are
equated with meanings with meanings that lie outside the text
Analogy
Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases.
Greek:
"proportion"
A short account of an interesting or amusing incident, often intended to
illustrate or support some point
Greek:
“unpublished
accounts”
ah-NALL-ah-gee
Anecdote
ANN-ik-dote
Etymology
Greek:
"to speak so as
to imply
something
other"
Example
Think of novels…
• Animal Farm
• Lord of the Flies
"If I had not agreed to review this book, I would have stopped after five
pages. After 600, I felt as if I were inside a bass drum banged on by a
clown."
(Richard Brookhiser, "Land Grab." The New York Times, Aug. 12, 2007)
"There was something elusively whimsical about Einstein. It is illustrated by
my favorite anecdote about him. In his first year in Princeton, on Christmas
Eve, so the story goes, some children sang carols outside his house. Having
finished, they knocked on his door and explained they were collecting
money to buy Christmas presents. Einstein listened, then said, "Wait a
moment." He put on his scarf and overcoat, and took his violin from its case.
Then, joining the children as they went from door to door he accompanied
their singing of 'Silent Night' on his violin."
(Banesh Hoffman, "My Friend, Albert Einstein." Reader's Digest, January
1968)
，
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
Apophasis
Aporia
eh-POR-ee-eh
Aposiopesis
AP-uh-SI-uh-PEE-sis
Categoria
CAT-ee-GOR-ee-ah
Dehortatio
de-hor-TA-see-o
Distinctio
Enthymeme
EN-tha-meem
Hyperbole
hi-PURR-buh-lee
Hypophora
hi-PAH-for-uh
Invective
in-VEK-tiv
Metonymy
me-TON-uh-me
See previous for information.
"I don't think it's proving anything, Doc. As a matter of fact, I don't even know
Greek:
what it means. It's just one of those things that gets in my head and keeps
“without
rolling around in there like a marble."
The expression of real or simulated doubt or perplexity
passage”
(Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo in the episode "Double Exposure."
Columbo, 1973)
Greek:
"All quiet on Howth now. The distant hills seem. Where we. The
An unfinished thought or broken sentence
“becoming
rhododendrons. I am a fool perhaps."
silent”
(James Joyce, Ulysses)
"I accuse General Billot of having held in his hands absolute proof of
Dreyfus’s innocence and covering it up, and making himself guilty of this
Greek”
Direct exposure of an adversary’s faults
crime against mankind and justice, as a political expedient and a way for the
“accusation”
compromised General Staff to save face. . . .
(Emile Zola, "J'Accuse," Jan. 13, 1898)
"Never look a gift lion in the mouth."
Latin:
Dissuasive advice given with authority
(Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid. HarperCollins,
“urging”
2007)
See previous for information.
Greek:
"With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."
“piece of
An informally stated syllogism with an implied premise
(slogan of Smucker's jams, jellies, and preserves)
reasoning”
"I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from
An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose
Greek:
head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so
of emphasis or heightened effect
“excess”
far."
(Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi")
(similar to a
rhetorical
"Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education
question – not
is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't."
Raising questions and answering them
etymology
(Pete Seeger in Loose Talk, ed. by Linda Botts, 1980)
available)
"A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow,
beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lilylivered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable, finical
Latin:
Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on
rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good
"to inveigh
somebody or something
service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward,
against"
pander, and the son and heir to a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into
clamorous whining if thou deni'st the least syllable of thy addition."
(Kent addressing Oswald in William Shakespeare's King Lear, II.2)
"In a corner, a cluster of lab coats made lunch plans."
Greek:
(Karen Green, Bough Down. Siglio, 2013)
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another
“change of
with which it is closely associated (such as: “crown” for “royalty”)
name”
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
A statement that appears to contradict itself
Greek:
"incredible,
contrary to
opinion or
expectation"
Emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it
Greek:
“disregard”
Paradox
PAR-a-dox
Paralepsis
pa-ra-LEP-sis
Prolepsis
pro-LEP-sis
Simile
SIM-i-lee
Synecdoche
si-NEK-di-key
(1) Foreseeing and forestalling objections in various ways.
(2) Figurative device by which a future event is presumed to have already
occurred.
A stated comparison (usually with “like” or “as”) between two dissimilar
things that have certain qualities in common.
A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole the
whole for a part, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or
the material for the thing made from it
Greek:
"preconception,
anticipation"
Latin:
"likeness" or
"comparison"
Greek:
"shared
understanding"
"The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot."
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854)
"The music, the service at the feast, The noble gifts for the great and small,
The rich adornment of Theseus's palace . . . All these things I do not
mention now."
(Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale," The Canterbury Tales)
"In 1963, Nobel Prize-winning economist William Vickrey suggested that
[automobile] insurance be included in the purchase of tires. Anticipating the
objection that this might lead people to drive on bald tires, Vickrey said
drivers should get credit for the remaining tread when they turn in a tire.
Andrew Tobias proposed a variation on this scheme in which insurance
would be included in the price of gasoline. That would have the added
benefit of solving the problem of uninsured motorists (roughly 28% of
California drivers). As Tobias points out, you can drive a car without
insurance, but you can't drive it without gasoline."
(Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff, "Would You Buy Car Insurance by the Mile?"
Forbes, 2005)
"When he lifted me up in his arms I felt I had left all my troubles on the floor
beneath me like gigantic concrete shoes."
(Anne Tyler, Earthly Possessions. Random House, 1977)
"Take thy face hence."
(William Shakespeare, Macbeth)
Balance, Antithesis, and Paradox Strategies
Rhetorical Term
Definition
Antimetabole
A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced
against the first but with the words in reverse grammatical order (ABC CBA)
an-tee-meh-TA-bo-lee
Antithesis
Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases
an-TITH-uh-sis
Auxesis
Hypophora
Litotes
LI-toe-teez
Oxymoron
ox-see-MOR-on
Etymology
Greek:
"turning about in
the opposite
direction"
Greek:
“opposition”
Example
"We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on us."
(Malcolm X)
"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing."
(Goethe)
See previous for information.
See previous for information.
Greek:
"Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an
"plainness,
consider to be an exemplary attendance record?"
affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite
simplicity"
(Jeffrey Jones as Principal Ed Rooney, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986)
A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear
Greek:
"How is it possible to have a civil war?"
side by side
"sharp-dull"
(George Carlin)
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
Paradox
Polsyndeton
See previous for information.
A style that employs a great many conjunctions
pol-ee-SIN-di-tin
Greek:
“bound together”
"[I]t is respectable to have no illusions--and safe--and profitable--and dull."
(Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, 1900)
Emotional Appeals
Rhetorical Term
Aposiopesis
Apostrophe
ah-POS-tro-fee
Bdelygmia
de-LIG-me-uh
Categoria
Epiplexis
e-pi-PLEX-is
Definition
Etymology
Example
See previous for information.
Rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are.
Greek:
or thing, some abstract quality, an inanimate object, or a nonexistent
Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky."
“turning away”
character
(Jane Taylor, "The Star," 1806)
"If I had sufficient provocation to rail at the public, as Ben Jonson did at the
Greek:
audience in the Prologues to his plays, I think I should do it in good set
A litany of abuse – a series of critical epithets, descriptions, or attributes.
"a cutting" or
terms, nearly as follows: There is not a more mean, stupid, dastardly, pitiful,
A type of invective.
"filth, nastiness"
selfish, spiteful, envious, ungrateful animal than the Public."
(William Hazlitt, "On Living to One's Self")
See previous for information.
"Have you no shame, coming in as Gandhi and stuffing yourself with Buffalo
Greek: "strike at,
wings? Why didn't you come as FDR and go around with crazy legs?"
Asking questions to reproach rather than to elicit answers
rebuke"
(George Segal as Jack Gallow in "Halloween, Halloween." Just Shoot Me!
2002)
Metaphorical Substitutions and Puns
Rhetorical Term
Catachresis
KAT-uh-KREE-sis
Euphemism
Hyperbole
Metaphor
MET-ah-for
Metonymy
Paranomasia
Definition
Etymology
Example
"The moon was full. The moon was so bloated it was about to tip over.
Imagine awakening to find the moon flat on its face on the bathroom floor,
An extreme, far-fetched, or mixed metaphor; strained or deliberately
like the late Elvis Presley, poisoned by banana splits. It was a moon that
Greek, "misuse"
paradoxical figure of speech; substitution of an inexact word in place of
could stir wild passions in a moo cow. A moon that could bring out the devil
or "abuse"
the correct one
in a bunny rabbit. A moon that could turn lug nuts into moonstones, turn
little Red Riding Hood into the big bad wolf."
(Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker, 1980)
See previous for information.
See previous for information.
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have
something important in common
Greek:
“carry over”
See previous for information.
Punning, playing with words
par-oh-no-MAZE-jah
Simile
Synecdoche
"Between the lower east side tenements the sky is a snotty handkerchief."
(Marge Piercy, "The Butt of Winter")
Greek:
"word-shunting"
See previous for information.
See previous for information.
"Get that bird a glass of water--he’s perched!"
(Magilla Gorilla on Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law)
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices
Omission of Words, Phrases, and Clauses
Rhetorical Term
Asyndeton
ah-SIN-di-ton
Ellipsis
ee-LIP-sis
Syllepsis
si-LEP-sis
Definition
Etymology
Example
Omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses
Greek:
"unconnected"
"He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac."
(Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957)
Omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or
reader
Greek:
"to leave out" or
"fall short"
"Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity a greater."
(William Hazlitt)
A kind of ellipsis in which one word (usually a verb) is understood
differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or
governs.
Greek:
“a taking”
"When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes."
(E.B. White, "Dog Training")
Repetition of Letters, Syllables, and Sounds
Rhetorical Term
Alliteration
Definition
Repetition of initial consonant sound
ah-lit-err-RAY-shun
Assonance
AS-son-a-nins
Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring
words.
Etymology
Latin:
"putting letters
together"
Latin:
“sound”
Example
"Good men are gruff and grumpy, cranky, crabbed, and cross."
(Clement Freud)
"It beats . . . as it sweeps . . . as it cleans!"
(advertising slogan for Hoover vacuum cleaners, 1950s)
Repetition of Words, Phrases, Clauses, and Ideas
Rhetorical Term
Anadiplosis
anna di PLO sis
Anaphora
ah-NAF-oh-rah
Commoratio
Diacope
di AK oh pee
Epizeuxis
ep-uh-ZOOX-sis
Pleonasm
Polysyndeton
pol-ee-SIN-di-tin
Definition
Etymology
Example
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.
Greek:
Repetition of the last word of one line or clause to begin the next
Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you."
“doubling back”
(Frank Oz as Yoda in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menance)
"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I
Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive
Greek:
needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
clauses or verses.
“carrying back”
(Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, 1940)
See previous for information.
"Life is not lost by dying! Life is lost
Greek:
Minute by minute, day by dragging day,
Repetition broken up by one or more intervening words
“a cutting of two”
In all the thousand, small, uncaring ways."
(Stephen Vincent Benét, A Child Is Born, 1942)
Greek:
"I undid the lantern cautiously--oh, so cautiously--cautiously."
Repetition of a word for emphasis (usually with no words in between).
“fastening
(Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart," 1843)
together”
See previous for information.
A style that employs a great many conjunctions.
Greek:
“bound together”
"[I]t is respectable to have no illusions--and safe--and profitable--and dull."
(Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, 1900)
AP English Language & Composition Rhetorical Devices