Rhetorical Terms Sheets #1-6

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

The repetition of an initial consonant sound. (syntax) Ex: She sells sea shells by the sea shore

Question 2

allusion

Answer 2

A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event - real or fictional. (fos) Ex: Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel.

Question 3

anaphora

Answer 3

A type of parallel structure that involves the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses. (syntax) Ex: Go big or go home.

Question 4

colloquialism

Answer 4

Characteristic of writing that seeks the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English. (diction) Ex: “y’all”, “gonna”, and “wanna”

Question 5

connotation

Answer 5

The emotional implications and associations a word may carry; the implied or suggested meaning of a word. (diction) Ex: She’s feeling blue.

Question 6

imagery

Answer 6

Vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses. (diction) Ex: The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.

Question 7

mood

Answer 7

The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. Setting, tone, and events can affect the mood. (diction) Ex: Joyful, Lonely, Ominous, Optimistic.

Question 8

personification

Answer 8

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities. (fos) Ex: The sun smiled down on us.

Question 9

repetition

Answer 9

An instance of using a word, phrase, or clause more than once in a short passage–dwelling on a point. (syntax) Ex: “It’s okay not to be okay”.

Question 10

symbol

Answer 10

A person, place, action, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself. (diction/fos) Ex: white stands for purity, black represents evil, roses stand for romance, etc.

Question 11

tone

Answer 11

A writer’s attitude toward the subject and audience. Tone is primarily conveyed through diction, point of view, syntax, and level of formality. (diction) Ex: airy, comic, condescending, facetious, funny, heavy, intimate, ironic.

Question 12

denotation

Answer 12

The direct or dictionary meaning of a word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings. (diction) Ex: “The blueberry is very blue”

Question 13

dialogue

Answer 13

The conversation between two or more speakers/characters in a text. (syntax) Ex: “The animals are all so funny.” She began to cry and then wailed, “I didn’t even get to see the elephants!”

Question 14

dramatic irony

Answer 14

occurs when the audience (of a movie, play, etc.) understands something about a character’s actions or an event but the characters do not. (fos) Ex: If you’re watching a movie about the Titanic and a character leaning on the balcony right before the ship hits the iceberg says, “It’s so beautiful I could just die”.

Question 15

ellipses

Answer 15

(1) Three dots that indicate words have been left out of a quotation; they also can be used to create suspense.
(2) The omission of words in a phrase or sentence. (syntax)
Ex:
(1) She opened the door . . . and saw . . . a cake!
(2) “Today … we vetoed the bill.”

Question 16

idiom

Answer 16

A figure of speech whose meaning is culturally defined and cannot be directly translated, e.g. “piece of cake” (fos) Ex: When someone has “cold feet,” they’re nervous about something.

Question 17

irony

Answer 17

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea. The three types are situational irony, dramatic irony, and verbal irony. (fos) Ex: A child runs away from someone throwing a water balloon at him and falls into the pool.

Question 18

narrative

Answer 18

a story, or a type of text in which related events are presented to the listeners or readers in words arranged in a logical sequence (other) Ex: When your friend tells a story about seeing a deer on the way to school.

Question 19

polysyndeton

Answer 19

literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed. (syntax) Ex: “I wore a sweater, and a hat, and a scarf, and a pair of boots, and mittens.”

Question 20

sarcasm

Answer 20

A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark. When using sarcasm, the literal meaning of a remark differs from its intended meaning. (See verbal irony). (fos) Ex: A character who hates kale says “I really love kale.”

Question 21

situational irony

Answer 21

occurs when actions or events have the opposite result from what is expected or what is intended. (fos) Ex: a fire station burning down

Question 22

verbal irony

Answer 22

Is when words express something contrary to truth or someone says the opposite of what they really feel or mean. Verbal irony is often sarcastic. (fos) Ex: a character stepping out into a hurricane and saying, “What nice weather we’re having!”

Question 23

anecdote

Answer 23

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person and is often proposed to support or demonstrate some point. (diction) Ex: If a group of coworkers are discussing pets, and one coworker tells a story about how her cat comes downstairs at only a certain time of the night, then that one coworker has just told an anecdote.

Question 24

audience

Answer 24

For whom a text is written, or who is being addressed. Depending on the genre, the audience could be general or very specific. (other) Ex: people who tune in to a specific morning radio show.

Question 25

ethos

Answer 25

A persuasive appeal based on the credibility or character of the speaker or narrator. (diction) Ex: As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results.

Question 26

logos

Answer 26

Employs logical reasoning, combining a clear idea (or multiple ideas) with well-­‐thought-­‐out and appropriate examples and details. These supports are logically presented and rationally reach the writer’s conclusion in order to persuade the intended audience. (diction) Ex: Patients are 95% more likely to recover when using our product.

Question 27

metaphor

Answer 27

A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. (fos) Ex: Life is a highway.

Question 28

parallelism

Answer 28

The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. Involves the repetition of verb forms, parts of speech, phrases, clauses, etc. (syntax) Ex: My dog not only likes to play fetch, but he also likes to chase cars.

Question 29

pathos

Answer 29

The means of persuasion that appeals to the audience’s emotions. (diction) Ex: A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child’s safety they’d upgrade him.

Question 30

purpose

Answer 30

The reason why an author decides to write a text. Some common examples of author’s purpose include “to inform,” “to entertain,” and “to persuade.” (other) Ex: If the purpose is to amuse, he will use jokes or anecdotes in his writings.

Question 31

refutation

Answer 31

The part of an argument wherein a speaker or writer anticipates and counters opposing points of view. (Also referred to as a counterargument or counterclaim) (diction) Ex: There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?”

Question 32

rhetoric

Answer 32

The study and practice of effective persuasion in speaking or writing. (diction) Ex: Politicians deliver rallying cries to inspire people to act.

Question 33

rhetorical question

Answer 33

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. (syntax) Ex: “What’s not to like?”

Question 34

simile

Answer 34

A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by “like” or “as.” (fos) Ex: “It’s as soft as a pillow”

Question 35

antithesis

Answer 35

Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. (syntax) Ex: “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”

Question 36

asyndeton

Answer 36

The omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton). (syntax) Ex: Julius Caesar used asyndeton when he famously wrote, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” or “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Question 37

chiasmus

Answer 37

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed. (syntax) Ex: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”

Question 38

climax

Answer 38

Mounting by degrees through words or sentences of increasing weight and in parallel construction with an emphasis on the high point or culmination of a series of events. (other) Ex: in “The Lottery,” the climax occurs when Tessie discovery that she had “won” the lottery and was to be stoned to death.

Question 39

epiphany

Answer 39

The moment when there is a sudden realization that leads to a new perspective that clarifies a problem or situation. (fos) Ex: In the middle of a typical argument with his wife, a man realizes he has been the one causing every single argument, and that in order to keep his marriage, he must stop being such an aggressive person.

Question 40

epistrophe

Answer 40

A type of parallel structure that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. (Also known as epiphora). (syntax) Ex: “…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Question 41

extended metaphor

Answer 41

A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. (fos) Ex: “You’re a snake! Everything you hiss out of your mouth is a lie.

Question 42

hyperbole

Answer 42

A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement. (fos) Ex: “I’ve seen this movie a hundred times”

Question 43

juxtaposition

Answer 43

Placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. (syntax) Ex: You can see the light of the stars at night only because of the darkness of space.

Question 44

paradox

Answer 44

A statement that appears to contradict itself but actually contains a degree of truth. (fos) Ex: Nobody goes to Murphy’s Bar anymore — it’s too crowded.

Question 45

point of view

Answer 45

The perspective from which a speaker or writer tells a story or presents information. The most common forms are 1st and 3rd person. (other) Ex: “I’ve come to this coffee shop so often, the barista knows me.”

Question 46

understatement

Answer 46

A figure of speech in which a writer deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is. (fos) Ex: You scrape the entire side of your car. An understatement would be: “It is only a small scratch.”

Question 47

allegory

Answer 47

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. A story with both a literal and symbolic meaning. (diction) Ex: Animal Farm, by George Orwell.

Question 48

analogy

Answer 48

Reasoning or arguing from parallel cases. (diction) Ex: “Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Question 49

assonance

Answer 49

The identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words. (syntax) Ex: “Clap your hands, and stamp your feet”.

Question 50

consonance

Answer 50

Typically used to refer to the repetition of ending sounds that are consonant sounds within the word as well. Often, consonance is used to create a rhyme or cadence. (syntax) Ex: Mike likes his new bike.

Question 51

dialect

Answer 51

A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary. (diction) Ex: A Northern American might say, “hello.” A Southern American might say, “howdy.”

Question 52

didactic

Answer 52

Intended or inclined to teach or instruct, often excessively. (diction) Ex: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” by Aesop

Question 53

euphemism

Answer 53

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit. (diction) Ex: “Passed away” instead of “died” “Let go” instead of “fired”

Question 54

flashback

Answer 54

A shift in a narrative to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological development of a story. (other) Ex: A woman is about to get married. As she puts on her veil, she remembers her fiancé three years before, swearing he would make her his wife someday. A tear comes to her eye and she prepares to walk down the aisle. Here, the flashback is the memory of the woman’s fiancé three years before.

Question 55

genre

Answer 55

A category of artistic composition, as in film or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form, or content. (syntax) Ex: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, etc.

Question 56

jargon

Answer 56

The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders. (diction) Ex: Due diligence.

Question 57

metonymy

Answer 57

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as “crown” for “royalty”). (diction) Ex: Referring to the President of the United States or their administration as “the White House” or “the Oval Office”

Question 58

onomatopoeia

Answer 58

The formation or use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. (diction) Ex: “ boing, gargle, clap, zap, and pitter-patter”.

Question 59

oxymoron

Answer 59

A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side. (fos) Ex: “Awfully good”

Question 60

parody

Answer 60

A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. (syntax) Ex: Space Balls

Question 61

prose

Answer 61

Ordinary writing (both fiction and nonfiction) as distinguished from verse. (syntax) Ex: most human conversation, textbooks, lectures, novels, short stories, fairy tales, newspaper articles, and essays.

Question 62

pun

Answer 62

a word employed in two senses, or a word used in a context that suggests a second term sounding like it. Puns are usually used for comic effect. (diction) Ex: “A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two-tired”.

Question 63

satire

Answer 63

A text or performance that uses irony, derision, or wit to expose or attack human vice, foolishness, or stupidity. (other) Ex: The famous comic strip Calvin & Hobbes was renowned for its satire.

Question 64

style

Answer 64

Narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament speech or writing; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing. (syntax) Ex: An author needs to describe a situation where he witnessed a girl picking a flower: She picked a red rose from the ground. Scarlet was the rose that she plucked from the earth.

Question 65

synecdoche

Answer 65

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, the whole for a part, the specific for the general, the general for the specific, or the material for the thing made from it. (diction) Ex: “wheels” referring to a car.

Question 66

thesis

Answer 66

a statement or central idea that a writer puts forward (usually at the beginning of an argument) and will support throughout the following text. (syntax) Ex: if you’re writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say: World hunger has many causes and effects.

Question 67

voice

Answer 67

(1) The quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice).
(2) The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narrator. (diction) Ex: a novel’s main character might be affable and loquacious so much so that words spill from their mouth seemingly without end, perhaps to the annoyance of the other characters.

Question 68

Amplification

Answer 68

the way a writer embellishes a sentence in order to emphasize or exaggerate certain points. In general, amplification involves making something stronger or louder. In writing, amplification means using literary devices like metaphor, imagery, and hyperbole to draw extra attention to the subject. Ex: “The dog is an excellent breed, full of intelligence, loyalty, and overall healthfulness.”

Question 69

Antanagoge

Answer 69

a figure in rhetoric, in which, not being able to answer the accusation of an adversary (an opponent), a person instead makes a counter-allegation or counteracting an opponent’s proposal with an opposing proposition in one’s own speech or writing. Ex: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”

Question 70

Antimetabole

Answer 70

(rhetoric) the repetition of the same words in reverse order. Ex: “You like it; it likes you.”

Question 71

Antiphrasis

Answer 71

rhetoric the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal one, esp for ironic effect. Ex: “Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money–and a woman–and I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman.

Question 72

Appositive

Answer 72

a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. Renames or describes a noun to which it is next. Ex: My brother’s car, a sporty red convertible with bucket seats, is the envy of my friends.

Question 73

Enumeration

Answer 73

a rhetorical device that occurs when a writer chooses to list out items, events, ideas, or other parts of a story/setting Ex: At the store, I bought salt, pepper, flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Question 74

Epanalepsis

Answer 74

the repetition of a word or phrase after intervening language Ex: “Nothing is worse than doing nothing.”

Question 75

Epithet

Answer 75

An epithet is a literary device that describes a person, place, or object by accompanying or replacing it with a descriptive word or phrase. Ex: In the Odyssey, Odysseus is repeatedly called “many-minded.”

Question 76

Epizeuxis

Answer 76

a form of repetition in which a word is repeated immediately for emphasis Ex: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time…”

Question 77

Hypophora

Answer 77

a figure of speech wherein a writer raises a question and then immediately answers it. Ex: “Thirty-one cakes, dampened with whiskey, bask on window sills and shelves. Who are they for? Friends.

Question 78

Litote

Answer 78

a figure of speech and a form of understatement in which a sentiment is expressed ironically by negating its contrary. Ex: saying “It’s not the best weather today” during a hurricane

Question 79

Metanoia

Answer 79

A self-correction. When a writer or speaker deliberately goes back and modifies a statement that they just made, usually either to strengthen it or soften it in some way. Ex: Fido was the friendliest of all St. Bernards, nay of all dogs.