Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
(25 cards)
Alliteration (assonance or consonance)
“Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” (consonance)
“It beats…as it sweeps as it cleans” (assonance)
Repetition is usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.
Allusion
“It’s time to fight back that’s what they said, two shots in the dark now they’re dead” (Tupac, Changes)
- reference to Huey P. newton (known for being cofounder of Black Panther Party)
An implied or indirect reference especially in literature.
Anadiplosis
“Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith…” - Jesse Jackson
Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word of one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next phrase or clause.
Analogy
In is to out as up is to down
Comparison of two otherwise unlike things based on resemblance of a specific aspect.
Anaphora
“ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise… I have a dream that one day on the red hills…” - MLK Jr.
Repetition of a word/expression at beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses.
Apostrophe (grammar and lit. Term)
Grammar Ex. : “Athena’s book”
Lit. Ex. : “Oh, rose, how sweet you smell and how bright you are!”
Grammar: a mark used to indicate the omission of letters or figures
Lit. = figure of speech sometimes represented by an exclamation. Speaks directly to someone not present/inanimate object
Appeal to Fear
Ex. A commercial for a presidential candidate that argues that his opponent’s support of illegal immigrants will open a country to terrorism.
When fear is used as the primary motivator to persuade others to support an idea
Antithesis
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” - Neil Armstrong
The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences.
Aristotelian Appeals
Ethos = as a Doctor, I am qualified to tell you to take this new medication
Pathos= if you don’t adopt this dog, it will never find a home
Logos= Doctors all over the world recommend this vaccine
Three strategies used to persuade audiences
Ethos= ethical appeal (morals)
Logos= logical appeal (statistics, etc.)
Pathos = emotional appeal (emotions)
Cause-effect
Ex. Cause = smoking cigarettes
Effect = lung cancer
When something happens that makes something else happen as a result
Classification/Division
Ex. Classification of schools:
- divides by types (private,public,etc.)
Classification of weight loss:
- divided by options (exercise, diet, surgery,etc.)
Method of paragraph or essay development in which a writer arranges people, objects, or ideas with shared characteristics into classes or groups
Diction
Ex. “I regret to inform you that I will be resigning” vs. “I quit”
Choice of words especially with regard to correctness or effectiveness
Ellipsis (rhetorical strategy)
“In the football game, the EO Jags scored six touchdowns, the other team, only three.”
Omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader for the sentence to be understood.
Em-dash
“You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me”
Sets off a word or clause and adds emphasis
Epistrophe
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”
Repetition of a word/expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses
Example/illustration
Ex. Police brutality is still an issue because the system does little to protect Black people. For instance, a police Officer apathetically killed an African-American man when he was supposed to arrest him.
Example: Explains, clarifies, or justify a point.
Illustration: picture or drawing used to prove something.
Irony
Ex. The name of Erika’s biggest cat is tiny.
Literary device in a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality.
Juxtaposition
Ex. All’s fair in love and war.
The act or an instance of placing two or more things side-by-side often to compare or contrast want to create an interesting affect.
Mesodiplosis
“She was nervous get excited; she was uncertain yet prepared.”
Repetition of a word in the middle of each phrase or clause.
Passive Voice
The cookies had been made.
A subject is a recipient of a verb’s action.
Personification
The roses danced in the gentle breeze.
Figure of speech in which a thing — an idea or an animal — is given human attributes.
Problem-Solution
Problem: Jim Crow Laws
Solution: Civil Rights act of 1964
- Legally ended segregation that was institutionalized by Jim Crow laws.
A pattern of organization where information in a passage is expressed as a dilemma in something that was, can be, or should be done to remedy this issue.
Rhetorical question
“Is rain wet?”
“ you didn’t think I would say yes to that, did you?”
Question asked for effect or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed.
Simile/Metaphor
Metaphor: his voice is music to my ears.
Simile: his smell was as soothing as incense.
Simile: figure of speech that makes a comparison with the words like or as.
Metaphor: figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things.
