AP Latin Rhetorical Terms

intentional repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds

lengthy metaphor using a person/object outside of the text (Fama)

repetition of words/phrases for emphasis (hic…hic…)

reversal of normal order order - usually w/ prepositions following their objects (Italiam contra)

sudden interruption in the middle of a sentence

addressing someone/something that is not actually there

repetition of vowel/syllable sounds. occurs in later segments of a word rather than first syllable/sound

absence of conjunctions

pause between words between 4th and 5th metrical feet

pause between words occurring within a metrical foot (3rd, 2nd, 4th)

ABBA word order

one long syllable followed by two shorts

pause between words coinciding w/ the end of a metrical foot

additional description or details which connect to main narrative (e.g. the description of Aeneas + men land near Carthage)

omission of one or more words that can be understood from context (usually sum or verbs of speech/thought)

delay of final word/phrase of a sentence/clause to the beginning of the following verse

placement of two associated words (noun + adj.) at the beginning and end of a sentence/clause

placement of a verb in the middle with adjectives preceding and nouns following

two nouns connected by a conjunction/preposition to express a single idea (molemque et montis)

lack of elision where two syllables would usually be elided (often at the end of a clause)

separation of words that agree together grammatically (noun-adj. pairs)

overstatement

line of verse with an extra syllable at the end which elides with the first syllable of the following verse

description of events reversed from from logical sequences (e.g. I die and then rush in arms)

verse accent/beat on the first syllable of each foot

ABAB word pattern

use of language w/ a meaning opposite from that suggested/expected (so like verbal)

double negative for an understatement

use of one word for another

use of a word to suggest another closely related word (arma + bellum)

use of words whose sounds suggest meaning

contradictory words within the same phrase or clause

human traits attributed to plants, animals, objects, or ideas

description that uses more words than required, redundant

repetition of a word (often a name) with changes in form

use of more conjunctions than what’s necessary

implication that a topic will be avoided but the topic is thereafter discussed

noting a characteristic of someone/something before that characteristic can be sensibly applied

depiction of an absent, dead, or historical person as speaking or acting (e.g. depiction of Laocoon)

expecting no answer, to emphasize one’s point

comparison using velut or ut

metrical foot with two long syllables

omission of a short, unaccented vowel

substitution of a part of something for the whole of the thing (e.g. spumas salis for the ocean)

contraction of two vowels into one syllable (e.g. Laviniaque)

shortening of a vowel which is usually long

separation of a word into various parts (e.g. prius…quam)

description of a noun with an adjective that normally would apply to a different noun (e.g. memorem Iunonis ob iram)

series of three or more examples which grow in seriousness and length

words that are arranged into a phrase to depict the description visually

single word that applies to one or both of a pair of things but in different ways (e.g. moresque viris et moenia ponet)