EL RHETORIC QUESTIPNS Flashcards
What is antithesis?
- Antithesis : a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
Example: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
Euphemism
A mild or indirect word or expression substitution for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
Example : “Darn” instead of “damn”
Rule of three
a writing principle that suggests that a trio of entities such as events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers.
Bathos
(especially in a work of literature) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.
Example: Her hair was finely curled, her cheeks were lined with rouge, and her dress was a flowing green and blue which made her look rather like a tired, old peacock
Meiosis
a deliberate, euphemistic understatement.
Example: “Ambulance chaser”
Tautology :
the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession ).
Repetition
the action of repeating something that has already been said or written.
Example: That is a very, very, very big balloon!
Parallelism :
the state of being parallel or of corresponding in some way.
Example: What you see is what you get.
Exaggeration :
a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is; an overstatement.
This is the worst dessert in the entire world!
Use of personal pronoun
a short word we use `as a simple substitute for the proper name of a person.
Example: I walked down the street. I was very unhappy.
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Example:He’s a couch potato. She’s got a heart of gold.
Personification
compares a human to objects
Simile
a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more empathic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).
Example:as quiet as a mouse
Rhetorical Question
question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.
Example : Would it kill you to stop chewing your food with your mouth open?
Allusion
an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
Example : Chocolate cake is my achilles heel!
Understatement
e presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is.
Example : The football team lost 10-0, they didn’t do too well. Meaning they did terrible this time.
Paradox
a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Example : You have to spend money to make money.
Listing
listing of facts, events, procedures, steps or ideas.
Example : He called her a melon, a pineapple, a melon tree, and a fox in the snow all within three seconds.
Juxtaposition
he fact of two things being seen or placed close together with a contrasting effect.
Example : Night and day.
Logos
The divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.
Example:Teen pregnancy has decreased in the last five years.
Pathos
usually refers to the element in an experience or in an artistic work that makes us feel compassion, pity, or sympathy
Example : If we don’t move soon, we’re all going to die!
Ethos
The distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.
Example:If my years as a Marine taught me anything, it’s that caution is the best policy in this sort of situation.
