Term
in the context of tragedy, a fatal flaw or error that brings about the downfall of someone of a high status.
click below
click below
Term
An author's deliberate use of hints and suggestions to give a preview of events or themes that do not develop until later in the narrative.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
AP Lang Rhet Terms1
Mrs. Wendy Scruggs's AP Rhetorical Devices Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Hamartia(Tragic Flaw) in the context of tragedy, a fatal flaw or error that brings about the downfall of someone of a high status. | In Shakespeare's Romeos and Juliet, the rashness of the two young lovers-especially Romeo-leads to their deaths. |
Foreshadowing An author's deliberate use of hints and suggestions to give a preview of events or themes that do not develop until later in the narrative. | In Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, the nightmares Lockwood has the night he sleeps in Catherine's bed prefigure later events in the novel. |
Expert Opinion The citation of accredited authorities in support of an argument | Four out of five dentists surveyed recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum. |
Euphemism The use of decorous language to express unpleasant or vulgar ideas, events, or actions. | Saying "ethnic cleansing" instead of "genocide". |
Epizeuxis Repetition of the same word with no other words in between for emphasis | She, she it was who broke my heart. |
Epithet An adjective or phrase that describes a prominent or distinguishing feature of a person or thing. | "Richard the Lionheart." "Shoeless Joe Jackson." "The Brooklyn Bomber." |
Emblem A concrete object that represents something abstract; unlike a symbol it has a fixed meaning and does not change over time. | The image of a serpent to represent evil. |
Ellipsis A figure of speech in which a word or short phrase is omitted but easily understood from the context. | Romeo and loves Juliet and Juliet, Romeo. |
Dramatic Irony(Tragic Irony) A technique in which the author lets the reader in on a characters situation while the character remains in the dark; thus the characters words and action carry a significance that he or she is not aware of. | In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus vows to discover his father's murderer, not knowing, as the audience does, that he himself is the murderer. |
Delayed Sentence A sentence that delays introducing the subject and verb (or independent clause)until the end. | In the prime of his life, he was cut down. |
Deductive Reasoning Reasoning in which derives a specific conclusion from something generally or universally understood to e true. | Chicken is supposed to be healthy. This sandwich contains chicken, so it is probably healthy. |
Cliche An expression that has been used so frequently it has lost its expressive power. | Turn over a new leaf. |
Chiasmus Two phrases in which the syntax is the same but the placement of words is reversed. | When the going gets tough, the tough get going. |
Canon An evolving group of literary works considered essential to a cultures literary tradition. | The works of Homer, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Bronte, and other great writers. |
Biography The nonfictional story of an individual's life, written by someone else. | James Boswell's life of Samuel Johnson. Plato's The Death of Socrates. George Kent's A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. |
Bildungsroman A novel about the education or psychological growth of the protagonist(main character) | Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Monica Ali's Brick. J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye |
Auxesis Arranging words or clauses in a sequence of increasing force. | Get that dog! |
Autobiography The narrative of a person's life written by that person | Richard Wright's Black Boy. Helen Keller's The Story of My Life. Anne Frank's The Diary of a young Girl. |
Argument from cause and effect A form of argument in which a cause-and-effect relationship is support of another proposition | Children's television programs should not run advertisements are contributions to an increase in sugar consumption and diabetes among children |
Argument by definition Form of argument in which the writers defines a term by placing it in a particular category, thereby claiming that what is true for the whole category is true for the particular term. | Women must have the right to vote because they are individuals, and all individuals are endowed with certain inalienable rights, including the right to vote. |
Argument by comparison A means of argument by which two situations are presented as similar(or dissimilar), usually to suggest that what is valid for one situation should be valid for another | Congress was right to lower the voting from twenty-one to eighteen, because if you are old enough to join the army and fight in a war, then you are old enough to vote. |
Archetype A theme, motif, symbol, or character that holds a familiar and fixed place in a cultures consciousness. | The color white usually signifies purity, while black usually signifies evil |
Appeal to the probable or likely A form of argument in which a claim is supported by reference to what seems mot plausible or what one would expect in a given situation. Such appeals are usually made when more solid or factual evidence is unavailable. | We should not spend our budget surplus this year, because we are likely to need it for unseen expenses. |
Apostrophe A direct address to an absent or dead person, or to an object, quality, or idea. | Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain, My Captain" was written upon the death of Abraham Lincoln |
Aposiopesis A breaking off speech, usually due to rising emotion or excitement | Why i oughtta..... |