Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

references the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

references the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

is a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history.

Question 4

Ambiguity

Answer 4

references a word, phrase, or sentence whose meaning can be interpreted in more than one way.

Question 5

Analogy

Answer 5

references an extended comparison between two things/instances/people that share some similarity to make a point.

Question 6

Anaphora

Answer 6

references the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.

Question 7

Anecdote

Answer 7

references a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.

Question 8

Antithesis

Answer 8

references the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences.

Question 9

Assonance

Answer 9

is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.

Question 10

Asyndeton

Answer 10

omits conjunctions, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose.

Question 11

Chiasmus

Answer 11

is the repetition of ideas in inverted order.

Question 12

Colloquial

Answer 12

is characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech.

Question 13

Connotation

Answer 13

references the set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.

Question 14

Consonance

Answer 14

is the repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, as in assonance.

Question 15

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 15

This reasoning works from the more general to the more specific, beginning with a theory that becomes a hypothesis.

Question 16

Denotation

Answer 16

This is the literal meaning of a word, the dictionary definition.

Question 17

Diction

Answer 17

This refers to a writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning.

Question 18

Didactic

Answer 18

This tone is instructional, designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson.

Question 19

Elegiac

Answer 19

This tone involves mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past.

Question 20

Epistrophe

Answer 20

ends a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words.

Question 21

Ethos

Answer 21

This involves appealing to credibility.

Question 22

Extended Metaphor

Answer 22

differs from a regular metaphor in that several comparisons similar in theme are being made.

Question 23

Imagery

Answer 23

This is descriptive language that provides vivid images that evoke the senses.

Question 24

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 24

This reasoning moves from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories.

Question 25

Irony

Answer 25

states the opposite of what is said or meant.

Question 26

Juxtaposition

Answer 26

places two or more things side by side for comparison or contrast.

Question 27

Logos

Answer 27

This involves appealing to logic.

Question 28

Metonymy

Answer 28

This figure of speech consists of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or associated.

Question 29

Pacing

Answer 29

This is the speed at which a piece of writing flows.

Question 30

Paradox

Answer 30

This is an apparently self-contradictory statement whose underlying meaning is revealed only by careful scrutiny.

Question 31

Parallelism (Parallel Structure)

Answer 31

This is a repetition of sentences using the same grammatical structure emphasizing all aspects of the sentence equally.

Question 32

Pathos

Answer 32

This involves appealing to emotion.

Question 33

Polysyndeton

Answer 33

This involves the use of many conjunctions, slowing the pace or emphasizing numerous words or clauses.

Question 34

Stream of Consciousness

Answer 34

This technique records the thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence.

Question 35

Synecdoche

Answer 35

consists of the rhetorical substitution of a part for the whole.

Question 36

Syntax

Answer 36

This refers to the structure of sentences and/or phrases.

Question 37

Tone

Answer 37

This is the use of stylistic devices that reveal an author’s attitude towards a subject.