Figures of Speech to Know for the AP Latin Exam
The Roman grammarian Quintilian listed 14 tropes or figures of speech: metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, antonomasia, onomatopoeia, catachresis, metalepsis, epitheton, allegory, aenigma, irony, periphrasis, hyperbaton and hyperbole, according to Patristic studies, Volumes 1-5 By Catholic University of America. Not quite the same as Qunitilian's list, The College Board's AP Central page, for the 2012-2013 year, says students should know 34 terms (allegory, alliteration, anaphora, aposiopesis, apostrophe, asyndeton, chiasmus, ecphrasis, ellipsis, enjambment, hendiadys, hyperbaton, hyperbole, hysteron proteron, irony, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, personification, pleonasm, polyptoton, polysyndeton, praeteritio, prolepsis, prosopopoeia, simile, synchesis, synecdoche, tmesis, transferred epithet, tricolon crescens, and zeugma). Below you will find short definitions from a variety of sources. Many of the sources provide examples, but it would help you to look for examples of your own in your AP-Latin study. It would probably help you to restate these definitions in your own words. I've left extra space below each term for your notes on print-outs of this page.
Also see Specific Passages From the Aeneid for the AP Latin Vergil Exam
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Allegory: "metaphor continued so as to form a species of story or tale."
Practical Composition: With Numerous Models and Exercises, by Mary J. Harper -
Alliteration: repetition of the sound of the initial consonant.
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Anaphora: repetition of the same word(s) at the start of successive clauses.
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Aposiopesis: "a figure in which the feelings of the speaker induce him to interrupt the expression and leave the sentence incomplete."
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric," by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Apostrophe: "the speaker, instead of addressing directly his proper hearer, turns himself to some other person or thing, either really or only in imagination present."
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric," by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Asyndeton: The omission of connectives -- as opposed to polysyndeton.
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric," by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Chiasmus: Chiasmus comes from the Greek letter Chi which is represented as an X. Chiasmus is a crossing of words, as in the word order ABBA. It's related to synchesis.
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Ecphrasis: this is a vivid/graphic/dramatic description that allows the reader to visualize the object.
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Ellipsis: "the omission of one or more words"
Practical Composition: With Numerous Models and Exercises, by Mary J. Harper -
Enjambment: In poetry, it's the running on from one line to the next without pause.
Working with Opening Worlds and Opening Lines 2003-8 by Cooper Gregory Paule Michele Paule Steve Cooper Anna Gregory, Michele Paule, Steve Cooper, and Anna Gregory -
Hendiadys: "The name Hendiadys is applied to a construction, in which two nouns are put in the same case, and connected by a copula, while in respect to sense one of them must be taken as a Gen[itive] following the other, or as an adjective qualifying the other."
A Grammar of the Hebrew Language, by Moses Stuart -
Hyperbaton: "the transposition of words in a sentence."
Practical Composition: With Numerous Models and Exercises, by Mary J. Harper -
Hyperbole: "the language of exaggeration."
Practical Composition: With Numerous Models and Exercises, by Mary J. Harper -
Hysteron Proteron: "is when that is put in the former part of the sentence, which, according to the sense, should be in the latter"
Adam's Latin Grammar, by Adam Fisk (1827), by -
Irony: "Irony is a figure in which the speaker represents his thought in a form that properly expresses the directly opposite of his opinion. It is employed mostly for purposes of playfulness or scorn and contempt."
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric," by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Litotes: "deliberate understatement or denial of the contrary"
Figures of Speech -
Metaphor: "by means of the verb "to be," indicates equality, resemblance, or analogy between two things when that relation is imaginatively rather than literally true. The metaphor is generally strong, vivid, and striking in its effect."
The Study and Practice of Writing English, by Gerhard Richard Lomer and Margaret Ashmun -
Metonymy: substitution of one name for another.
The Students Practical Grammar, by Thomas Goodwin -
Onomatopoeia: "forms words so that by their sound they may express their sense."
The Students Practical Grammar, by Thomas Goodwin -
Oxymoron: this occurs when opposed terms are joined.
The Students Practical Grammar, by Thomas Goodwin -
Personification: "a form of expression, in which the attributes, or qualities of living beings are ascribed to inanimate objects.
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Pleonism: "Consists in the use of superfluous words in a sentence. It is the opposite of ellipsis"
Practical Composition: With Numerous Models and Exercises, by Mary J. Harper -
Polyptoton: the repetition of the same word in different ."
St. Augustine, the Orator, by M. Inviolata Barry -
Polysyndeton: repetition of connectives -- as opposed to asyndeton.
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric," by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Praeteritio: "the pretense of the omission of a subject from discussion.".
A Glossary of Terms in Grammar, Rhetoric, and Prosody, by Richard U. Smith -
Prolepsis: flash forward.
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Prosopopoeia: the speaker personates someone else.
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric: Adapted for the Use in Colleges and Academies, by Henry Noble Day (1853) -
Simile: "by means of the word "as" or "like," expresses a comparison or likeness between two things which have some striking point of resemblance. It is not so strong as the metaphor, and is to be preferred when the comparison is not so obvious and complete, or where emphasis is not necessary."
The Study and Practice of Writing English, by Gerhard Richard Lomer and Margaret Ashmun -
Synchesis: "is a confused and intricate arrangement of words" or a total verbal jumble
Adam's Latin Grammar, by Adam Fisk (1827) -
Synecdoche: substitution of part for whole, genus for species, or vice versa.
Figures of Speech -
Tmesis: "is the division of a compound word and the interposing of other words betwixt its parts"
Adam's Latin Grammar, by Adam Fisk (1827) -
Transferred Epithet: (Hypallage) an attribute separated from its own substantive and transferred to another substantive.
A Glossary of Terms in Grammar, Rhetoric, and Prosody, by Richard U. Smith -
Tricolon Crescens: "the accumulation of three parallel phrases or clauses, each of which is at least one syllable longer than that preceding"
Vergil's Aeneid: Selections from Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12, by Barbara Weiden Boyd -
Zeugma: Zeugma occurs when several subjects share the same verb or when several verbs are governed by a single subject.
