Literary and Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
Active Voice
Definition: The subject of the sentence performs the action.
Passive Voice
Definition: When the subject of the sentence receives the action
Allusion
Definition: An indirect reference to something usually a literary text, with which the reader is supposed to be familiar
Alter- Ego
Definition: A character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character
Anecdote
Definition: a brief recounting of a relevant episode
Antecedent
Definition: The word, phrase or clause referred to be a pronoun
Active Voice
Effect on Text: This is a more direct and preferred style of writing in most cases.
Active Voice
Example: “Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house.”
Passive Voice
Effect on Text: It is overused and results in lifeless writing.
Passive Voice
Example: “The car was driven by Anthony.”
Allusion
Effect on Text: Gives more interpretation and grasp the importance
Allusion
Example: “You’re acting like a Scrooge!”- From Dickens a Christmas carol
Alter- ego
Effect on Text: Author’s is able to say his point of view and intention through a character.
Alter- Ego
Example: The tempest, Shakespeare talks to the audience about his own upcoming retirement, through the main character of the play, Prospero
Anecdote
Effect on Text: Helps develop a point or injecting humor
Anecdote
Example: Someone giving a speech and decides to put an example of the situation really happening to someone
Antecedent
Effect on Text: Gives expression
Antecedent
Example: “If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it.”
Classicism
Definition: Art of literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world, sticks to traditional themes and structures
Classicism
Effect on Text: Gives historical information and attitude
Classicism
Example: Shakespeare
Comic Relief
Definition: When a humorous scene is inserted into a serous story
Comic Relief
Effect on Text: Lightens the moods somewhat
Comic Relief
Example: The “gatekeeper scene” in Macbeth
Diction
Definition: Word choice, particularly as an element of style
Diction
Effect on Text: Words have significant effects on meaning and should be able to describe the author’s diction whether formal, informal, orante, or plan.
Diction
Example: “Hey, what’s happen?’
Colloquial
Definition: Ordinary or familiar type of conversation
Colloquial
Effect on Text: Distincts and conveys informal language
Colloquial
Example: “ain’t”
“gonna”
Connotation
Definition: Rather than the dictionary definition, the association suggested by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning.
Connotation:
Effect on Text: Give a positive, negative, or neutral effect on the story.
Connotation
Example: “policeman”
and “cop”
Denotation:
Definition: The literal, explicit meaning of a word
Denotation:
Effect on Text: Gives literal meaning.
Denotation:
Example: The fruit is blue.
It isn’t sad it really is blue.
Jargon
Definition: The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity
Jargon
Effect on a Text: Conveys hidden meaning and accepted and understood in that field
Jargon
Example: Lawyers
Vernacular
Definition: Language or dialect in a particular country or regional caln/ group it’s plain everyday speech
Vernacular
Effect on Text: Increase literacy rate and make the text easy to understand.
Vernacular:
Example: medical terms used by doctors
Didactic
Definition: A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
Didactic
Effect on a Text: Teaches about something and instruct you.
Didactic
Example: Children’s literature
Adage
Definition: A folk saying with a lesson
Adage
Effect on a Text: Old sayings can teach you something
Adage
Example: “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Allegory
Definition: A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts
Allegory
Effect on a Text: Reveal and abstract or a truth
Allegory
Example: Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Aphorism:
Definition: A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle
Aphorism:
Effect on a Text: Can be memorable summation of the author’s point
Aphorism:
Example: “God helps them that help themselves.”
Ellipsis
Definition: The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author
Ellipsis
Effect on a Text: Shows omitted text in a quotation
Ellipsis
Example: “The whole day, rain, torrents of rain.”
Euphemism
Definition: A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts
Euphemism
Effect on a Text: Political correctness and can exaggerate correctness to add humor
Euphemism
Example: “Physically changed” instead of “crippled”
Figurative Language
Definition: Writing that is not meant to be taken literally
Figurative Language
Effect on a Text: Can provide the reader with a more complete picture of the scene.
Figurative Language
Example: “She is as big as a house.”
Analogy
Definition: A comparison of one pair of variables to parallel set of variables
Analogy
Effect on a Text: Understand the argument that the relationship between the first pair of variables is the same as the relationship between the second pair of variables
Analogy
Example: “America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle.”
Hyperbole
Definition: Exaggeration
Hyperbole
Effect on a Text: Add amusing text and dramatize it
Hyperbole
Example: “My mother will kill me if I am late.”
Idiom
Definition: A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally
Idiom
Effect on a Text: amplify messages that draw readers
Idiom
Example: “I got chewed out by my couch.”
Metaphor
Definition: Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” “as” or other such words
Metaphor
Effect on a Text:Able to convey powerful qualities using a few words
Metaphor
Example: “John’s suggestion had a Band-Aid for the problem.
Metonymy
Definition: Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept
Metonymy
Effect on a Text: Creates concrete and vivid images in place of generalities
Metonymy
Example: “I could not understand his tongue.”
Synecdoche
Definition: A kind of menyomy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa
Synecdoche
Effect on a Text: Helps achieve purpose and use everyday language
Synecdoche
Example: “Check out my wheels.”
Simile
Definition:Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things
Simile
Effect on a Text: Just a comparison and helps things more understandable and relatable
Simile
Example: “My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles.”
Synesthesia
Definition: A description involving a “crossing of the senses”
Synesthesia
Effect on a Text:Shows association between letters and colors
Synesthesia
Example:” A purplish scent filled the room.”
Personification
Definition: Giving human- like qualities to something that is not human
Personification
Effect on a Text:Connects the reader with object being personified and came up with readers understand and feel the emotion
Personification
Example: “The tired old truck groaned as it inched up the hill.”
Foreshadowing
Definition: When an author gives hints about what will occur later in the story
Foreshadowing
Effect on a Text: Adds dramatic tension and build anticipation
Foreshadowing
Example: A pipe is going to burst, but before it does, the author writes a scene where the family notices a small dark spot on the ceiling, but ignores it.
Genre
Definition: The major category into which a literary work fits
Genre
Effect on a Text: Helps establish working relationship with readers
Genre
Example: drama, poetry
Gothic
Definition: Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death
Gothic
Effect on a Text: Makes it gloomy and dark
Gothic
Example: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Imagery
Definition: Word or words that create a picture in the reader’s mind
Imagery
Effect on a Text: Can something abstract and seem more concrete and tangible
Imagery
Example:The concert was so loud that her ears rang for days afterward.(Sound)
Invective
Definition: A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong abusive language
Invective
Effect on a Text: reiterate the significance of the deeply felt emotions of the writer.
invective
Example:”You dirty rotten scoundrel.”
Irony
Definition: When the opposite of what you expect to happen does
Irony
Effect on a Text: Can keep the story moving and deepening the meaning.
Irony
Example: In response to a bad idea someone would say “Yes, that is a good idea.”
Verbal Irony
Definition: When you say something and mean the opposite/ something different.
Verbal Irony
Effect on a Text:Use this when speaking directly to the reader in order to emphasize a point
Verbal Irony
Example: If your gym teacher wants you to run a mile in eight minutes or faster, but calls it a “walk in the park.”
Dramatic Irony
Definition: When the audience of a drama, play, move,etc knows something that the character doesn’t and would be surprised to find out
Dramatic Irony
Effect on a Text: Increase intense suspense and Humor
Dramatic Irony
Example: In many horror movies, the audience knows who the killer is and the victim has no idea who the killer is.
Situational Irony
Definition: Found in the plot of a book, story, or movie,etc.
Situational Irony
Effect on a Text: Creates more relatable situations
Situational Irony
Example: Johnny spent two hours planning on sneaking into the movie theater and missed the movie. We he finally did manage to sneak inside he found out that kids were admitted free that day.
Juxtaposition
Definition: Placing things side by side for purposes of comparison
Juxtaposition
Effect on a Text: Helps make point.
Juxtaposition
Example: An author may juxtapose the average day of a typical American with that of someone in the third world in order to make a point of social commentary.
Mood
Definition: The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through the word choice
Mood
Effect on a Text: Sets the mood, tone, and events.
Mood
Example: A cheerful mood
Motif
Definition: A recurring idea in a piece of literature
Motif
Effect on a Text: Gives clues to themes and reinforces ideas
Motif
Example: In to Kill a Mockingbird, the idea that you never really understand another person until you consider things from his or her point of view
Oxymoron
Definition: When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox
Oxymoron
Effect on a Text: Makes a dramatic feeling
Oxymoron
Example: “Jumbo Shrimp” or “Eloquent Silence”
Pacing
Definition: The speed or tempo of author’s writing
Pacing
Effect on a Text: Keeps reader interested
Pacing
Example: Fast, Sluggish, Stabbing, Vibrato, Staccato, and measured
Paradox
Definition: A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true
Paradox
Effect on a Text: To get attention and provoke fresh thoughts.
Paradox
Example: “ You can get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without getting a job.
Parallelism
Definition: Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns
Parallelism
Effect on a Text: Adds emphasis, organization, or sometimes pacing to write
Parallelism
Example: “Cinderella swept the floor, dusted the mantle, and beat the rugs
Anaphora
Definition: Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row
Anaphora
Effect on a Text: Deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent
Anaphora
Example: “ I came, I saw, I conquered. “
Chiasmus
Definition: the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words reversed
Chiasmus
Effect on a Text: Makes a significant point or quote to balance sentences.
Chiasmus
Example: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
Antithesis
Definition: Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structures
Antithesis
Effect on a Text: Strengthens an argument and make a sentence more memorable.
Antithesis
Example: “ It was the best of times, it was the worst times.”
Zuegma (Syllepsis)
Definition: When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change fr each of the other words it governs or modifies
Zuegma (Syllepsis)
Effect on a Text: Can confuse the reader or inspire to think deeply.
Zuegma (Syllepsis)
Example: “ I quickly dressed myself and the salad.”
Parenthetical Idea
Definition: Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of sentence
Parenthetical Idea
Effect on a Text: Used for sparingly for effect sets off dates and numbers
Parenthetical Idea
Example: “In a short time (and the time is getting shorter by the gallon) America will be out of oil.”
Parody
Definition: An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes
Parody
Effect on a Text: Brings exaggeration and humor
Parody
Example: Saturday Night Live also parodies famous persons and events
Persona
Definition: The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story
Persona
Effect on a Text: The author’s voice is heard
Persona
Example: A business wants others to know she is professional.
Poetic Device
Definition: A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines
Poetic Device
Effect on a Text: Gain reader’s attention
Poetic Device
Example: Alliteration, Assonance
Alliteration
Definition: The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
Alliteration
Effect on a Text: Creates rhythm and mood and can have a connotation
Alliteration
Example: “ Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore.”
Assonance
Definition: The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
Assonance
Effect on a Text: Grab reader’s attention and make something intriguing.
Assonance
Example: “From the molten- golden notes.”
Consonance
Definition: The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words
Consonance
Effect on a Text: Emphasize sounds or words and add rhythm
Consonance
Example: “Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.”
Onomatopoeia
Definition: The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.
Onomatopoeia
Effect on a Text:
Onomatopoeia
Example: Snap, rustle, boom, murmur
Internal rhyme
Definition: Allows reader to hear and understand and also bring humor
Internal rhyme
Effect on a Text: Makes a story unified
Internal rhyme
Example: “To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!”
Slant Rhyme
Definition: When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly they are merely similar
Slant Rhyme
Effect on a Text: Create a certain rhythm without using direct rhyme
Slant Rhyme
Example: “I sat upon a stone, / And found my life has gone.”
End Rhyme
Definition: When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme
End Rhyme
Effect on a Text: Pleasant to ear and gives the poem rhythm.
End Rhyme
Example: “Roses are red, violets are blue, / Sugar is sweet, and so are you.”
Rhyme Scheme
Definition: The pattern of a poem’s end rhymes.
Rhyme Scheme
Effect on a Text: Helps establish format
Rhyme Scheme
Example: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? a
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. a
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. b
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines c
And often is his gold complexion dimmed d
And every fair from fair sometime declines c
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed d
Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
Definition:In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force
than the other syllable(s).
Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
Effect on a Text: Reinforces
Stressed and Unstressed Syllables
Example: In the name “Nathan,” the first syllable is stressed. In the word
“unhappiness,” the second of the four syllables is stressed.
Meter
Definition: A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.
Meter
Effect on a Text: Gives poetry a rhythmical and melodically sound
Meter
Example:Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go.
Free Verse
Definition: Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme
Free Verse
Effect on a Text: More like a story, not a remembered
Free Verse
Example: Yummy, Green balls of nutrition, I love them. Drizzling in butter, I want more.
Iambic Pentameter
Definition: Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables
Iambic Pentameter
Effect on a Text: Used to makes things interesting and monotonous
Iambic Pentameter
Example: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Sonnet
Example: Romeo and Juliet
Polysyndeton
Definition:When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions
Polysyndeton
Effect on a Text: To make the rhythm faster or slower
Polysyndeton
Example: “I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows.”
Pun
Definition: When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way
Pun
Effect on a Text: To let readers understand clearly
Pun
Example: “My dog has a fur coat and pants!”
Rhetoric
Definition: The are of effective communication
Rhetoric
Effect on a Text: Affects the text for a specific audience, in a specific place, and during a specific time
Rhetoric
Example: Political speech
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Definition: The relationships, in any piece of writing,
between the writer, the audience, and the
subject
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Effect on a Text: Persuasion
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Example: ethos, pathos
Rhetorical Question
Definition: Question not asked for information but for effect
Rhetorical Question
Effect on a Text: Draw attention
Rhetorical Question
Example: “The angry parents asked the child, Are you finished interrupting me?”
Romanticism
Definition: Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the
world, and an emphasis on nature
Romanticism
Example: Lyrical Ballads
Sarcasm
Definition: A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded. However, not all satire and
irony are sarcastic
Sarcasm
Effect on a Text: It is bitter and verbal irony and satire.
Sarcasm
Example: “ I don’t know, am I brother.”
