English Rhetorical Terms Test One

Question 1

The device of using character and or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning

Answer 1

Allegory

Question 2

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words

Answer 2

Alliteration

Question 3

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.

Answer 3

Allusion

Question 4

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

Answer 4

Ambiguity

Question 5

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them

Answer 5

Analogy

Question 6

One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences

Answer 6

Anaphora

Question 7

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event

Answer 7

Anecdote

Question 8

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun

Answer 8

Antecedent

Question 9

Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure

Answer 9

Antithesis

Question 10

A terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Answer 10

Aphorism

Question 11

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified distraction, such as liberty or love

Answer 11

Apostrophe

Question 12

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Answer 12

Asyndeton

Question 13

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the authors choice of objects that are described

Answer 13

Atmosphere

Question 14

A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse in the order of the analogous words

Answer 14

Chiasmus

Question 15

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb

Answer 15

Clause

Question 16

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

Answer 16

Colloquial

Question 17

A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible

Answer 17

Coherence

Question 18

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects

Answer 18

Conceit

Question 19

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word, the implied meaning

Answer 19

Connotation

Question 20

Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase

Answer 20

Diacope

Question 21

Related to style, refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

Answer 21

Diction

Question 22

Means teaching, has the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral or ethical principles

Answer 22

Didactic

Question 23

Figure of amplification in which a subject is divided into constituent parts or details, and may include a listing of things

Answer 23

Enumeration

Question 24

Figure of emphasis in which a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal speech, is used to lend emphasis to the words on either side of the word

Answer 24

Expletive

Question 25

More agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept

Answer 25

Euphemism

Question 26

The purpose is to explain something, one of the four chief types of composition

Answer 26

Exposition

Question 27

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout the work

Answer 27

Extended metaphor

Question 28

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid

Answer 28

Figurative language

Question 29

A device used to produce figurative language, many compare dissimilar things

Answer 29

Figure of speech

Question 30

The term describes traditions for each genre, they help define each genre

Answer 30

Generic conventions

Question 31

The major category into which a literary work fits

Answer 31

Genre

Question 32

Means sermon, can also mean any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice

Answer 32

Homily

Question 33

A fire of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

Answer 33

Hyperbole

Question 34

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions are asked and then answered

Answer 34

Hypophora

Question 35

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions

Answer 35

Imagery

Question 36

The draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented

Answer 36

Inference/infer

Question 37

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attach using strong, abusive language

Answer 37

Invective

Question 38

The contacts between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant

Answer 38

Irony/ironic

Question 39

When two words, phrases, images, ideas are placed close together or side by side for comparison or contrast

Answer 39

Juxtaposition

Question 40

Means simple or plain, a figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite, special form of understatement

Answer 40

Litotes

Question 41

A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses

Answer 41

Loose sentence

Question 42

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity

Answer 42

Metaphor

Question 43

Meaning changed label or substitute name, figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it

Answer 43

Metonymy

Question 44

Different meanings: grammatical and deals with verbal units and speaker's attitude/ literary and deals with the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work

Answer 44

Mood

Question 45

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events

Answer 45

Narrative

Question 46

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words

Answer 46

Onomatopoeia

Question 47

A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox

Answer 47

Oxymoron

Question 48

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity

Answer 48

Paradox

Question 49

Refers to grammatical or rhetorical frame of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity

Answer 49

Parallelism