(rla) writing styles Flashcards
(34 cards)
aposiopesis
writer deliberately leaves a sentence incomplete to make reader imagine the rest.
(or) breaking off mid sentence as if writer realise sth
e.g., If you say that again, I’ll—
polysyndeton
using several conjunctions in close succession
e.g., he ran and jumped and laughed for joy
simile
a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds
e.g., usually formed with ‘like’ or ‘as’
paradox
a statement that contradict itself
e.g., the beginning of the end, less is more
synecdoche
substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa
e.g., he got new wheels yesterday [ wheels = car ]
(whole <-> part) * metonymy is more than whole, concept
pathetic fallacy
the fallacy (false misconception) of attributing human feelings to inanimate
e.g., the friendly sun
hyperbole
extravagant exaggeration
e.g., i am so hungry i could eat a horse
oxymoron
conjoining contradictory terms
e.g., deafening silence, bittersweet
motif
something (/word) appear repeatedly under different context and made up a whole thing when put together the underlying meaning
e.g., in a story, water might appear in various forms (rain, rivers, oceans) but consistently symbolize change or transformation
doesn’t have to be exact same word
anthropomorphism
the attribution of human characteristics to non-human or inanimate things
e.g., animals talking or cars crying in a story
allegory
use of a story or extended metaphor to make a philosophical or moral point
e.g.,George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
animal farm is the story but the whole story is to indicate what happened in Russia Revolution
cliche
a phrase that’s become trite or worn out from overuse
epiphany
a sudden realization, often experienced by a character at the end of a short story, that changes someone’s life
metonymy
substitution of one word for another word that’s commonly associated with it
e.g., using ‘throne’ to discuss a monarchy
*the term is connected in concept or association,
not like synecdoche which is part of a whole
aphorism
a short pithy instructive saying to convey truth
{ pithy=few words but effective (meaningful) }
e.g., actions speak louder than words
the early bird catches the worm
ellipsis
the deliberate omission of one or more words for the purpose of concision; sometimes has “…” mark but sometimes not
aside
lengthy speech delivered to or for the benefit of the audience and not the other characters
e.g., a character won’t say his thought in story but will be written because write want audience to know what he/she is thinking
metaphor
a figure of speech where one thing is directly compared to another, implying they are alike
alliteration
repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words close together
e.g., Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
*can mix up with ‘consonance’
this one: 1-repetition is the initial letters,2-no need to rhyme
irony
a contrast between expectation and reality, often where the opposite of what is expected occurs
personification
like upper level or broader chain for
anthropomorphism and pathetic fallacy
allusion
not “illusion”
pass reference or indirect mention
(of work, literature, person)
e.g., a Herculean task
[no mention or hint word for reference, due to use of presumably widely known entities)
symbolism
use of symbols to represent ideas or quantities
e.g., ‘dove’ as a symbol of peace
juxtaposition
placement of two elements side by side in sentence to show differences or similarities (comparison)
