allegory: extended metaphor; narrative where abstract ideas are expressed as circumstances or charactersEffect: adds interest, teaches moral lesson, explains abstract via concreteEnglish: Aesop's Fables, Lord of the Flies, Animal FarmLatin: story of Rumor (IV. 173-197)
alliteration: repetition of the same consonant sound, usually at the beginning of 2 or more successive words.Effect: emphasis, enlivens it, creates soundsEnglish: "Let us go forth to lead the land we love." -JFKLatin: "magno cum murmure montis" (I. 55)
anaphora: repetition of a word(s) at the beginning of successive phrases/clausesEffect: emphasizes particular concept - thing that is repeated is importantEnglish: Beatitudes ("Blessed are the...") - BibleLatin: "Tu..., tu..., tu..." (I. 78-79)
aposiopesis: an abrupt break in a sentence; an unfinished thought - usually the speaker is overwhelmed with emotionEffect: to create dramatic energyEnglish: "what the- "Latin: "Quos ego- sed motos..." (I. 135)
apostrophe: a "turning away" from one addressee to another (often absent)Effect: shows emotion, draws reader into situationEnglish: "Judge, ye gods, how Caesar loved him." -Shakespeare, Julius CaesarLatin: "O patria, o divum domus Ilium" (II. 241)
asyndeton: the omission of connecting wordsEffect: accelerates, shows nonstop actionEnglish: "We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground." -Lincoln, Gettysburg AddressLatin: "ubi ingens sarpedon, ubi tot Simois,..." (I. 99)
chiasmus: criss-cross patter of words, usually nouns/adjectives in ABBA arrangementEffect: to create contrastEnglish: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." - MacbethLatin: "steterunt comae et vox...haesit." "his hair stood up and his voice clung..." (II. 774)
ecphrasis: a digression vividly describing a place, object, or eventEffect: often a transition to new scene or concept; adds vividness, interestEnglish: Ode on a Grecian Urn - KeatsLatin: Catullus 64, description of harbor (I. 159-169)
ellipses: omission of easily understood or assumed wordEffect: to accelerate narrative, avoids repetitionEnglish: "..."Latin: "Aeolus haec contra (dixit)" (I.76)
enjambment: postponing to next line a significant word/s related to previous lineEffect: suspenseEnglish: "All the AP Latin class fail at | life. I love enjambment."Latin: "litora...|vi superum..." (I. 3-4)
hendiadys: the use of 2 nouns connected by a conjunction and having idea of single noun (2 for 1)Effect: amplifies idea, adds forceEnglish: "the kingdom, the power, and the glory" -Bible; "the sound and the fury" -Shakespeare/FaulknerLatin: "molemque et montes" (I. 61)
hyperbaton: significant distortion of normal word order; separation of word that normally belong togetherEffect: emphasize the first of a separated pair; create imageEnglish: Yoda; "Why should their liberty than ours be more?" - ShakespeareLatin: "tantae animis caelestibus irae?" (I. 11)
hyperbole: exaggeration for emphasis or rhetorical effect; overstatementEffect: stress importance/gravity of a situationEnglish: "...a million ____"Latin: "fluctus ad sidera tollit" (I. 103), "aqae mons" (I. 105)
hysteron proteron: the reversal of normal or expected or sequence of events to put the more important idea firstEffect: emphasizes particular idea, stresses resultEnglish: shoes and socks; lock and loadLatin: "fatisque...Sinon" (II. 257-259: he releases the Greeks and the bolts)
irony: expression of something contrary to what is intendedEffect: add humor, sarcasmEnglish: "Brutus is an honorable man." -Shakespeare, Julius CaesarLatin: "scilicet in superis labor est" (IV. 379)
litotes: understatement/double negativeEffect: emphasisEnglish: "not a bad ___" "I kid you not"Latin: "non simili poena" (I.136)
metaphor: implied comparison made through figurative use of words that suggest likeness between 2 thingsEffect: creates interest, explains unfamiliar by way of familiarEnglish: "all the world's a stage" -ShakespeareLatin: Dido's "wound" of love
metonymy: use of one noun for another which it suggestsEffect: creates variety, avoids commonplace terms, expresses abstract through concreteEnglish: "The White House reported today..." "The pen is mightier than the sword."Latin: "arma virumque cano" (I. 1), Bacchus = wine, Ceres = grain
onomatopoeia: poetic use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning (often with alliteration)Effect: creates more interest, reinforces meaning of wordEnglish: buzz, hiss, murmur, swish, quackLatin: "magno cum murmure montis" (I. 55) "femineo ululatu" (IV. 667)
oxymoron: juxtaposition of opposite or contradictory words in same phraseEffect: creates surprise, curiosityEnglish: pretty ugly; jumbo shrimp; definite maybe; uninvited guest;Latin: "festina lente" = "make haste slowly" -Augustus
personification: attribution of human qualities to animals, inanimate objects, concepts Effect: stimulates imagination, creates vividness, makes abstract concreteEnglish: "mother nature"Latin: "Rumor suadent cadentia sidera somnos" (II. 9)
pleonasm: use of redundant, unnecessary, or superfluous wordsEffect: reinforces something, clarifiesEnglish: PIN number; I saw it with my own eyes; ATM machine; I wept tears of joy;Latin: "sic ore effeata" = "thus having spoken with his mouth" (I. 524)
polysyndeton: use of more conjunctions than neededEffect: produces a 'cumulative' effectEnglish: "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"Latin: "spemque metumque inter" (I.218)
polyptoton: repetition of word in different (grammatical) formsEffect: clarifies, adds interestEnglish: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."Latin: "amant amantur" -Catullus
prolepsis: speaking of something in the future as if it's already done; anticipationEffect: prioritizes later action/resultEnglish: antebellum homeLatin: "summersas obrue puppes" (I. 69)
simile: expressed comparison using "like" or "as"Effect: describe the unfamiliar with the familiarEnglish: "light as a feather" (+ hyperbole)Latin: Neptune simile
synecdoche: a type of metonymy; use of a part of something to describe the wholeEffect: creates variety, emphasizes important feature of nounEnglish: threads = clothing, wheels = car, shades = sunglassesLatin: "tecti" = roofs = houses, "puppes" = decks = ships
synchysis: interlocking word order - one word of a pair is placed between words of another pair: ABAB orderEffect: create variety, emphasize association of pairsEnglish: Abraham George Lincoln WashingtonLatin: "saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram" "mindful anger of savage Juno
tmesis: the separation of parts of compound verb by one/more intervening wordsEffect: stress enclosed words, create picture (splitting, surrounding, ...)English: a-whole-nother; abso-bloody-lutely; Massa-freaking-chusettsLatin: "circum dea fudit" (I. 412)
transferred epithet: an adjective that grammatically agrees with one noun, but is placed close to, and shares meaning with another nounEffect: reinforces, emphasizesEnglish: "the weary journey"Latin: "mare velivolum" (I. 24)
tricolon crescens: use of three closely connected descriptive elements, increasing in size and emphasis (often with anaphora)Effect: builds intensity, excitementEnglish: "of the people, by the people, for the people" - LincolnLatin: "nec...amor, nec...quondam, nec...Dido" (IV. 307-308)
zeugma: the use of one part of speech (usually verb) with two words, when it can really only be applied to one of themEffect: condensesEnglish: "The gentlemen and his driver's license expired." "You held your breath and the door for me."Latin: "fatisque...Sinon" (II. 257)