Figurative Language and

Argument

Giving style to your substance

Figurative Language
First Strength:

Aids in understanding
by likening
something unknown
to something
known.

Ex: Watson and Crick

 Figurative Language

Aids your argument by making it

extremely memorable.

Ex: Langston Hughes

 Langston Hughes
“Harlem-A Dream Deferred”
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
What do you remember?
Images:

Message:
Two Main Classifications
Tropes Schemes

Involve a change in A special arrangement

the ordinary of words
signification, or
meaning, of a word
or phrase
Tropes
 Metaphor

Offers an IMPLIED comparison between

two things and thereby clarifies and
enlivens many arguments.

See page 289

Tropes
Simile

A DIRECT comparison between two

things

Easy to spot… “like” and “as”

p. 289-290
Tropes

Analogy

Compare two different or dissimilar

things for special effect

p. 290
Tropes
Hyperbole

The use of overstatement for special

effect. Often used in comedy, but
definitely has a place in serious writing.

ex: page 292

Tropes
Understatement

Requires a muted, quiet message to

make its point. Can be used well in
humor or serious writing.

p. 293
Tropes
Rhetorical Questions

These questions don’t require answers.

They are used to assert or deny
something about an argument.

ex: p. 294
Tropes
Antonomasia

Shorthand substitutions of a descriptive

word or phrase for a proper name.

p. 294
 Tropes
Irony

EDUCATION Princeton Cuts Number of A's

Given to Students Down to 41%

Hopes lower grades will produce a future president.

Source: Ironic Times

irony
Wal-Mart Accused in Court of
Denying Workers Lunch Breaks

“They can't afford lunch on what we're

paying them,” explains company
lawyer.

Source: Ironic Times

Schemes
Schemes are figures that depend on word
order…SYNTAX

Here are a few you are likely to see

Schemes
Parallelism

Uses grammatically similar words,

phrases, or clauses for special effect.

p. 296
Schemes
Antithesis

Use of parallel structures to mark contrast

or opposition

p. 296
Schemes
Inverted word order

Parts of a sentence or clause are not in

the usual subject-verb-object order.

p. 296
Schemes
Anaphora

Effective repetition for emphasis

p. 297
Schemes
Reversed Structures

Changing the structure of a sentence for

special effect, or to make it more
memorable

p. 297
Caution:

While these techniques are extremely

effective, if you over use them you will
not achieve your goals. (“stacking the
deck”)

Watch the connotations of words

Caution
The AP exam is not a “scavenger hunt”
for language.

AP essays are weakened by mere listing

of fancy terms

Always mark off style, but comment on

how it relates to the substance!!!