AP Lang -- Rhetorical Devices

repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word

repetition of a vowel sound

repetition of a consonant sound

harsh discordance of sounds (e.g. jack cut crispy carrots)

pleasing sounds from a combination of words

repetition of similar words/phrases/ideas to represent that the ideas are of equal or higher value & importance

parallelism relating to equal length (syllables/word count)

words are repeated in reverse order (e.g. the fire burned, burned the fire)

opposition or contrast of ideas/words in a balanced or parallel structure

height of suspense; turning point in literature; sentence structured in increasing importance

an event/conclusion/statement that is less powerful than built up

a sentence/phrase in which the second half is surprising and causes one to rethink the first half

repetition of the first word/phrase in successive sentences

repetition of a word/phrase at the end of a phrase/sentence

repetition of a word/phrase at regular intervals; a sentence starts & ends with the same word

repetition of the final words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next

attempting to prove a point by repeating it several times in different ways

repetition of a word/phrase without specific purpose/meaning; redundancy

a construction involving a break in grammatical sequence

inversion of typical word order

an aside; an explanatory part of a sentence that cannot stand on its own

two elements, normally noun phrases, placed side-by-side so that one element modifies/defines the other

a figure of speech in what should be last comes first; an inversion of the natural order (e.g. I die! I faint! I fail!)

omission of words when something is implied; can be done without an ellipses (...)

placing of contradictory things next to one another

omission of conjunctions

repetition of conjunctions

a figure of speech in which a word/phrase literally denotes one object/idea in place of another

figure of speech comparing two items with "like" or "as"

giving human/living traits to non-living objects

to lead on by not stating the facts; drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over

to address someone not present; a personified object/idea

one word/phrase substituted for another with which it is closely associated

part of something that refers to the whole; vice-versa (e.g. wheels)

reference to a person/place/etc.

idolizing something/someone; comparing an object to a god

representation of abstract/spiritual meaning through concrete forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another

substitution of one part of speech for another; noun-->verb (e.g. google)

substitution of a descriptive word/phrase for a proper name (e.g. kleenex)

the substitution for an expression that might offend/suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, instead of using an agreeable/less offensive expression

old word/phrase; no longer used at the time

words that sound like what they are

modifies multiple words; use of a word to govern/yoke several words/phrases

repetition of a single word with different usages

pun; wordplay that suggests multiple meanings; words must look/sound the same

sense of a word changes; verb with two meanings; a single word that modifies 2+ words that causes a different meaning

use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas

use of more words than necessary to convey a point

exaggeration

double negative; an idea is expressed by the denial of its opposite

conveying a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

intentionally hurtful satiric or ironic commentary

combination of contrasting words

statement that is apparently self-contradicting or absurd but contains a possible truth

mixing of senses