Literary and Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action.
Active Voice
This is a more direct and preferred style of
writing in most cases.
Active Voice
“Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house.”
Passive Voice
When the subject of the sentence receives the action.
Passive Voice
“The car was driven by Anthony.”
Passive Voice
Passive voice is often overused, resulting in lifeless writing.
Allusion
An indirect reference to something
Allusion
Literary text, although it can be other things
commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events
Allusion
With which the reader is supposed to be familiar.
Alter-ego
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.
Alter-ego
In Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest.
Alter-ego
Shakespeare
talks to his audience about his own upcoming retirement, through the main character in the play, Prospero.
Anecdote
A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
Anecdote
Anecdotes are often inserted into fictional or non
fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor.
Anecdote
A politician who is arguing for a different type of healthcare program.
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
Antecedent
The AP language exam occasionally
asks for the antecedent of a given pronoun in a long, complex sentence or in a group of sentences.
Antecedent
“If I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting my finger, I would not pay such a price for it.”
Classicism
Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world.
Classicism
Sticks to traditional themes and structures
Classicism
Dante, Petrarch, and Shakespeare in poetry and theatre.
Comic relief
When a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story
Comic relief
In order to lighten the mood somewhat.
Comic relief
The “gatekeeper scene” in Macbeth
Diction
Word choice, particularly as an element of style.
Diction
Different types of words have significant effects
on meaning. An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise
than street slang.
Diction
Formal or informal, ornate or plain.
Colloquial
Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
Colloquial
A “colloquialism” is a common or
familiar type of saying, similar to an adage or an aphorism.
Colloquial
Ex. Yall, wanna, gonna
Connotation
The associations suggested by a word.
Connotation
Implied meaning rather than literal meaning.
Connotation
“policeman,” “cop,” and “The
Man” all denote the same literal meaning of police officer, but each has a different connotation.
Denotation
The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.
Denotation
Bear - Teaches people to fish and pick berries.
Eagle - Rules the sky and can transform into a human.
Denotation
Helps readers understand a word, phrase, or sentence in its literal form, without other implied, associated, or suggested meanings.
Jargon
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.
Jargon
Lawyers speak using particular jargon, as do soccer players.
Jargon
Jargon becomes essential in prose or verse or some technical pieces of writing, when the writer intends to convey something only to the readers.
Vernacular
Language or dialect of a particular country.
Vernacular
Language or dialect of a regional clan or group.
Vernacular
Plain everyday speech
Didactic
A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry
Didactic
Teaches a specific lesson or moral or
provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Didactic
Every textbook and “how-to” book is an example of didacticism, as their explicit purpose is to instruct and educate.
Adage
A folk saying with a lesson.
Adage
“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Adage
Similar to aphorism and colloquialism.
Allegory
A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts.
Allegory
The interaction of these characters, things, and events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth.
Allegory
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is an allegory.
Aphorism
A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.
Aphorism
An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author’s point.
Aphorism
Ben Franklin wrote many of these in Poor
Richard’s Almanac, such as “God helps them that help themselves,” and “A watched pot never
boils.”
Ellipsis
The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
Ellipsis
“The whole day, rain, torrents of rain.”
Ellipsis
The term ellipsis is related to ellipse, which is the three periods used to show omitted text in a quotation.
Euphemism
A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.
Euphemism
Sometimes they are used for political correctness. Sometimes a euphemism is used to exaggerate correctness to add humor.
Euphemism
“Physically challenged,” in place of “crippled.” “Vertically challenged” in place of “short.”
Figurative Language
“Figurative Language” is the opposite of “Literal Language.” Literal language is writing that makes complete sense when you take it at face value.
Figurative Language
“Figurative Language” is the opposite:
writing that is not meant to be taken literally.
Figurative Language
Ex. metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, and symbolism.
Analogy
An analogy is a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables. Similes and metaphors are sometimes also analogies.
Analogy
When a writer uses an analogy, he or she argues that the relationship between the first pair of variables is the same as the relationship between the second pair of variables.
Analogy
“America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle.”
Hyperbole
Exaggeration.
Hyperbole
“My mother will kill me if I am late.”
Hyperbole
Is quite common in poetry and everyday speech to convey emphasis.
Idiom
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
Idiom
“I got chewed out by my coach.”
Idiom
Can amplify messages in a way that draws readers in and helps to awaken their senses.
Metaphor
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
Metaphor
“My feet are popsicles.”
Metaphor
An extended metaphor is when the metaphor is continued later in the written
work. If I continued to call my feet “my popsicles” in later paragraphs, that would be an extended
metaphor. A particularly elaborate extended metaphor is called using conceit.
Metonymy
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
Metonymy
“Relations between London and Washington have been strained,”. “I could not understand his tongue”
Metonymy
Does not literally mean relations between
the two cities, but between the leaders of The United States and England.
Synecdoche
A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.
Synecdoche
“The cattle rancher owned 500 head.” “Check out my new wheels.”
Synecdoche
Is a rhetorical device where the speaker/writer uses a part of something in the place of the whole thing.
Simile
Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things.
Simile
“My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles.”
Simile
Sometimes they are simply needed to accurately describe emotions and feelings, as well as keep the readers guessing about what is being hinted.
Synesthesia
A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
Synesthesia
Examples: “A purplish scent filled the room.” “I was deafened by his brightly-colored clothing.”
Synesthesia
Refers to a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters, or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one sense, like hearing, sight, smell, and touch at a given time.
Personification
Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
Personification
“The tired old truck groaned as it inched up the hill.”
Personification
Can help readers understand, sympathize with, or react emotionally to non-human characters.
Foreshadowing
When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story.
Foreshadowing
It gives the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense
Foreshadowing
I think a storm is coming.” This can signify a physical storm or a metaphorical storm that is coming in the story.
Genre
The major category into which a literary work fits.
Genre
The basic divisions of literature are prose,
poetry, and drama. However, genres can be subdivided as well (poetry can be classified into lyric, dramatic,
narrative, etc.).
Genre
Ex. autobiography, biography, diaries, criticism, essays, and journalistic, political, scientific, and nature writing.
Gothic
Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death.
Gothic
Also refers to an architectural style of the middle ages, often seen in cathedrals of this period.
Gothic
Ex. Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Imagery
Word or words that create a picture in the reader’s mind.
Imagery
Usually this involves the five senses.
Authors often use imagery in conjunction with metaphors, similes, or figures of speech.
Imagery
Ex. The old man took the handful of dust, and sifted it through his fingers.
Invective
A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
Invective
“A knave, a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave “
Invective
Often making them seen either more human because they have strong emotions or, sometimes, more dislikable.
Irony
When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.
Irony
Can play a key role in moving a story forward and deepening its meaning.
Irony
Ex. A fire station burns down.
A marriage counselor files for divorce.
The police station gets robbed.
Verbal irony
When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.
Verbal irony
Ex. If your gym teacher wants you to run a mile in eight minutes or faster, but calls it a “walk in the
park” it would be verbal irony. If your voice tone is bitter, it’s called sarcasm.
Verbal irony
One character says or does the opposite of what he thinks, making verbal irony very similar to sarcasm or a figure of speech.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn’t and would be surprised to find out.
Dramatic Irony
For example, in many horror movies, we (the audience) know who the killer is, which the victim-to-be has no idea who is doing the slaying.
Dramatic Irony
Sometimes the character trusts the killer completely when (ironically) he/she shouldn’t.
Situational Irony
Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie.
Situational Irony
Sometimes it makes you laugh because it’s funny how things turn out.
Situational Irony
(For example, Johnny spent two hours
planning on sneaking into the movie theater and missed the movie. When he finally did manage to
sneak inside he found out that kids were admitted free that day).
Juxtaposition
Placing things side by side for the purposes of
comparison.
Juxtaposition
Authors often use juxtaposition of ideas or examples in order to make a point.
Juxtaposition
(For example, an author my 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
The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction).
Mood
Syntax is often a creator of mood since word order, sentence length and strength and complexity also affect pacing and therefore mood. Setting, tone, and events can all affect the mood.
Mood
Ex. Cheerful: This light-hearted, happy mood is shown with descriptions of laughter, upbeat song, delicious smells, and bright colors.
Motif
A recurring idea in a piece of literature.
Motif
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” is a motif, because the
idea is brought up several times over the course of the novel.
Motif
A motif can be seen as an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme.
