영어에, 그것도 영문학에 진심이라면...
Ap English Language and Composition
Introduction
I am a high school freshman who is going up to sophomore in coming up 2022. And I'm planning to study for AP exams this winter vacation. I searched a lot about the textbooks that might help me. Not the things that have exams on it, but some guidebook to lead me through the whole concept. But there was none. So I'm going to build one. And plus, by researching the US education process, I watched a lot of high schools English classes, and I think we need more broad sight to actually 'think' through what we are learning. So, I won't be just l lying to some definition and memorizing it, I will leave the trace of my thought on this blog and wish it would help somebody who is also struggling with English.
This doesn't indicate just "somebody" who studies AP, but "somebody" who wants to study English by heart. So don't be so narrow-minded. Now, I'll cut my babbling and start the Lesson!
Stylistic Devices
First I'm going to start with Stylistic Devices.
Authors use Stylistic Devices to send deeper meanings hidden in writing to readers. Like HAMLET isn't a simple story about a prince, it has wonder about death and the weakness of being human inside it. Like HAMLET, literature often conveys more meanings than just one to readers and shows a deeper world and thoughts. And to do this trick, authors use Stylistic Devices.
Allusion
is an indirect way to mention something.
For example, this is famous, Achilles’ heel is the only part of Achilles' body that is vulnerable. So when you say, "Math is my Achilles' heel", it means that Math is your weakness. Here, you are not directly mentioning weakness, but we all know what you're saying. You mentioned your weakness indirectly, and that is an Allusion.
Let's take a look at more complicated Allusion here, a poem, "All Overgrown by Cunning Moss" by Emily Dickinson.
All overgrown by cunning moss,
All interspersed with weed,
The little cage of "Currer Bell"
In quiet "Haworth" laid.
In this poem, the author is making an allusion to Charlotte Bronte considering the fact that Charlotte Bronte's pen name was "Currer Bell" and "Harworth" was where she died and was buried. And in case you wonder, this poem is a remembrance for Charlotte Bronte. You can search for the complete whole poem.
Simile
is to compare something to something else by using 'like' or 'as'.
For a quick example, "You are brave as a lion" used a simile.
Hyperbole
is to explain things in a more exaggerated way.
To give a tip, the sentence where Hyperbole is used doesn't make sense in logic, but you can agree with it in emotion. Plus, 'kill', 'die' mostly which are related to death is Hyperbole. Also so many of weight, time, or length.
"One hour felt like million years."
"I almost died of embarrassment."
This is a quote from TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD by Harper Lee. A little tricky one.
"A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County."
You can see that hyperbole is used in this passage because there's no way there's nothing outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. The author is only describing the dull feeling of the town.
Polysyndeton
is a repetition of conjunction mostly like 'and, or, nor'.
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers."
In this postal creed, 'nor' is the conjunction used in Polysyndeton.
Anaphora
has two different meanings.
1. The use of a word that refers to or replaces another word used earlier in a sentence. This meaning is the more grammatical meaning.
"If a man has talent and can't use it, he's failed."
– Thomas Wolfe
In this quote, 'man' is replaced with 'he', and 'talent' is replaced with 'it'.
2. Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning (of sentences or clauses). It is for emphasis.
“Tired with all these, for restful death I cry,
As to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And gilded honour shamefully misplac'd,
And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
And right perfection wrongfully disgrac'd,
And strength by limping sway disabled
And art made tongue-tied by authority,
And folly - doctor-like - controlling skill,
And simple truth miscall'd simplicity,
And captive good attending captain ill”
As you can obviously see, 'And's in front of the sentences are repeating endlessly. Such like this, repetition of a word or sentence, are Anaphora.
So, these are the Five Sylistic devices that I learned for studying AP English Language & Composition. I mostly study AP without any plan, literally. I just search when I found something that I don't know. And that way, though it's hard, it's worth it. I came to know things by heart. I'll share those kinds of things a lot. So Visit me anytime!
Thank you for reading!
앞으로 영어 AP 공부하면서 이런 컨탠츠를 자주 올릴 예정이에요! 영어, 진심이라면 깊게 알아갑시다.
