figurative language and argument giving style to your substance
TRANSCRIPT
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 upLike 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 sagsLike a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
What do you remember?
Images:
Message:
Two Main Classifications
Tropes
Involve a change in the ordinary signification, or meaning, of a word or phrase
Schemes
A special arrangement of
words
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'sGiven 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!!!