AP Exam Prep Rhetorical Terms. Basic Rhetorical Terms.

AP Exam PrepAP Exam PrepRhetorical TermsRhetorical Terms

Basic Rhetorical TermsBasic Rhetorical Terms

The AppealsThe Appeals• Appeal to Logos: appeal to the logical

• Appeal to Ethos: appeal to the authority or honesty of the speaker.

• Appeal to Pathos: appeal to the emotions

Repetition

Simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line.

Today, as never before, the fates of men are

so intimately linked to one another that adisaster for one is a disaster for everybody.

--Natalia Ginzburg, The Little Virtues, 1962

ToneTone

• How the author feels (or seems to feel).

The author’s tone shifts in line 9 where he employs the words “dark,” and “night,” to convey a sense of sadness.

MetaphorMetaphor• A direct comparison not using like or as.

The author involves metaphor, comparing a bird to a sense of spiritual freedom, in order to convey his desire to move away from the suffocating environment he is stuck in.

SimileSimile• A direct comparison using like or as.

The author uses a simile in line 8 (Her eyes were as wide as a Parisian Boulevard) to communicate the surprise his main character felt when she realized her condition.

Juxtaposition Juxtaposition

• The placement of two dissimilar objects, ideas, or symbols side by side. Often this creates a sense of ironic humor.

JuxtapositionJuxtapositionThe author juxtaposes the mouse and the

elephant (lines 20-24) in order to demonstrate his feelings of inadequacy towards his sister.

The author uses juxtaposition in lines 20-24 to contrast himself and his sister, and to communicate the inadequacy he has always felt by comparing himself to a mouse, and her to an elephant.

IronyIrony• Incongruity between expected outcome

and actual outcome.

• Many forms:– Situational– Dramatic– Sarcasm

IronyIronyIrony is employed through the use of

sarcasm in lines ten through twelve “-----------,” to create the wry sense of humor that pervades the piece.

The fact that the main character dies one day before marrying her, after waiting his entire life to do so, creates the sense of irony that concludes the novel.

IronyIronyIrony is used...

His ironic humor is seen in lines 8-10, “----------,” when the author wants to create contrast between the character’s naïve hopes for a perfect performance, and the reality of his awful final presentation.

Alliteration Alliteration

• The use of repeated consonants with the same sounds to create a particular emotion in a poem, or in a piece of creative prose.

AlliterationAlliterationThe author uses alliteration, “she silently

sweeps sands behind the slippery slope” (lines 2-4) to create a sense of secrecy. The softness of the “s” sounds massage the reader’s ear, highlighting the personal and secretive experience of the woman featured in the poem.

Personification Personification • To give human

qualities to a non-human object.

PersonificationPersonification

The author uses personification, “the car trumpeted repeatedly on the street below,” in order to show the demanding methods the main character used to get Jennifer’s attention.

Difficult Difficult Rhetorical Analysis Rhetorical Analysis

TermsTerms

ParallelismParallelism

The repetition of syntax (word order) to emphasize, contribute to the reader’s memory or add a poetic quality

Martin Luther King Jr. uses parallelism in his famous quote: “When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative” (128).

Isocolon Figure of speech in which parallelism is

reinforced by members that are of the same length.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Three Forms of Three Forms of ParallelismParallelism

1.1. AnaphoraAnaphora

2.2. EpistropheEpistrophe

3.3. ZeugmaZeugma

Anaphora Anaphora The repetition of words or phrases, usually

found at the beginning of a line or phrase.

Malcolm X incorporates anaphora into his speech to emphasize his key points. He says, “We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary.”

Epistrophe Epistrophe The repetition of words or phrases, usually

found at the end of a line or phrase.

Lyndon B. Johnson persists, “there is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.“ His use of epistrophe is pointed and effective.

ZeugmaZeugma Omission of words which are easily

understood and parallelism (balance of several words/phrases)

"You held your breath and (you held) the door for me.“ -- Alanis Morissette

ZeugmZeugmaaIn The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses

zeugma to poetically express the weight his character holds: "He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men."

AllusionAllusion• Reference to a novel, author, artist, historical

period, religion, or popular cultural symbol. Authors make allusions in order to widen their audience, or to lend validity to their ideas.

The author alludes to Leo Tolstoy in paragraph three in order to lend validity to his work. The author’s allusion to John Lennon helps to widen his audience by attracting old hippies as well as young Beatles fans.

Hyperbole Hyperbole • The use of exaggeration, for a dramatic

and often humorous effect.

Emerson’s poetic use of hyperbole, “here once the embattled farmers stood,And fired the shot heard round the world,” conveys the dramatic moment when the American Revolution began.

Hyperbole Hyperbole

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together." -- Kent Brockman “The Simpsons”

Kent Brockman uses hyperbole to illustrate the use of hyperbole.

AsyndetonAsyndeton• Speeding up the rhythm by leaving out

conjunctions such as “and.”

The author uses asyndeton to create a rhythm which powerfully sends her message.

AsyndetonAsyndeton

“See no evil,

hear no evil,

speak no evil."

PolysyndetonPolysyndeton• Slowing down the rhythm by using many

conjunctions.

James Joyce writes, “We lived and laughed and loved and left,” which is an example of polysyndeton. By using polysyndeton, Joyce emphasizes the importance of his verbs.

ParadoxParadox• Large scale contradiction of ideas

– “The only way to overcome death is to die.”

The last line is a paradox; it forces the reader to think deeply about the author’s message.

OxymoronOxymoron• Figure of speech that combines two

normally contradictory terms

The theater was overcome with a deafening silence.

DictionDiction• The choice and use of words

Thoreau uses a high level of diction, and appeals to an educated audience.

Assonance Assonance The matching of internal vowel sounds to

create internal rhyme

Edgar Allen Poe skillfully weaves internal rhyme into his phrases. This assonance, “Hear the mellow wedding bells...” (line 24) is demonstrated by the matching of the vowel “e” sound.

Imagery Imagery • Descriptive language that evokes a

sensory experience.– Historical imagery– Religious imagery– Dystopian imagery– Natural imagery

Figurative LanguageFigurative Language• Language which is not to be understood

literally. – Imagery– Hyperbole– Simile– Metaphor– Symbolism

Using the Word “Rhetoric”Using the Word “Rhetoric”

The author’s rhetoric contains a great deal of asyndeton. He uses this to quicken the pace of his writing.

The author’s rhetorical style is seasoned by his sense of humor. His sense of humor is created by his use of juxtaposition like “(example).”

Useful Words for Useful Words for Rhetorical AnalysisRhetorical Analysis

• Argues• Conveys• Implies• Suggests• Offers• Maintains• Intimates • Elaborates• Debates• Persists

• Insinuates• Elucidates• Hints• Indicates• Proposes• Creates• Imagines• Establishes• Provides• Penetrates