Figures Of Speech Flashcards
Repetitio
-a word/phrase is repeated almost verbatim a number of times, hammering it home to the audience
Anaphora
-a repetitio at the start of a number of sentences or lines of verse
The rule of three
- a discourse (rede) has three phases
- use of three arguments
Chiasmus
-two related sentences or phrases are each other’s syntactical mirror image
Rhetorical question
- question which is a definite statement in the shape of a question
- sometimes an exclamation mark rather than a question mark is used
- is not meant to be answered
Metaphor
-you call something by another name directly, comparing that which you really mean with that which you call it
Tautology
- concept is repeated using a different word that has (roughly)the same meaning
- both words belong to the same lexical category
Pleonasm
- an obvious quality of an object or a concept is repeated
- two words or concepts used in a pleonasm belong to two different lexical categories
- carelessly used Pleonasms are also considered to be stylistic errors
Hyperbole
- more or less appropriate exaggeration
- often has a comical effect
Enumeration
- a number of names, facts, arguments follow each other up
- giving each element of the enumeration an emphatic and convincing ring
Paradox
- an apparent contradiction
- something appears not to be right, but upon closer reading the phrasing turns out to be correct after all
Understatement
- opposite of hyperbole
- intentional trivialization
Euphemism
- a term which sounds too harsh or unkind is replaced with another, less direct term
- euphemisms are mostly used for fear of calling something by its real name
- often used ironically
Oxymoron
-combination of two contradiction terms
Litotes
- special kind of understatement
- something is strongly emphasized by denying the opposite
She went to church, but to the bar went he
Chiasmus
Adam, first men,
To first women, eve
Chiasmus
Let us never negotiate out of fear,
But let us never fear to negotiate
Chiasmus
We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us
Chiasmus
“Men always want to be a woman’s first love; women want to be a man’s last romance.”
Chiasmus
Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind
Chiasmus
