Literary and Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
1
Q
Active Voice
A
- The subject of the sentence performs the action. This is a more direct and preferred style of
writing in most cases.
2
Q
Allusion
A
- An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.
3
Q
Alter-ego
A
– 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.
4
Q
Anecdote
A
A brief recounting of a relevant episode.
5
Q
Antecedent
A
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
6
Q
Classicism
A
Art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world; sticks to traditional
themes and structures.
7
Q
Comic relief
A
– when a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood
somewhat.
8
Q
Diction
A
Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types of words have significant effects
on meaning.
9
Q
Colloquial
A
Ordinary or familiar type of conversation.
10
Q
Connotation
A
- Rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a
word.
11
Q
Denotation
A
The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations.
12
Q
Jargon
A
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity. Lawyers
speak using particular jargon, as do soccer players.
13
Q
Vernacular
A
- Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional
clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech
- Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional
14
Q
Didactic
A
- 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.
15
Q
Adage
A
– A folk saying with a lesson.
16
Q
Allegory
A
- A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent
qualities or concepts.
17
Q
Aphorism
A
A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle.
18
Q
Ellipsis
A
- The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
19
Q
Euphemism
A
A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts.
20
Q
Figurative Language
A
writing that is not meant to be taken literally.
21
Q
Analogy
A
An analogy is a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables.
22
Q
Hyperbole
A
Exaggeration.
23
Q
Idiom
A
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
24
Q
Metaphor
A
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
25
Metonymy
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
26
Syncedoche
– A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its
parts, or vice versa.
27
Simile
Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very
different things.
28
Synesthesia
– a description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
29
Personification
Personification: Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
30
foreshadowing
– When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story.
31
genre
- The major category into which a literary work fits.
32
gothic
– Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death.
33
imagery
- Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind.
34
invective
– A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
35
irony
- When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.
36
verbal irony
- When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.
37
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.
38
situational irony
movie. Sometimes it
| makes you laugh because it's funny how things turn out.
39
juxtaposition
- Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.
40
mood
- The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction).
41
motif
– a recurring idea in a piece of literature.
42
oxymoron
– When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox – “wise
fool,” “eloquent silence,” “jumbo shrimp.”
43
pacing
– The speed or tempo of an author’s writing.
44
paradox
A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true.
45
parallelism
Sentence construction which
| places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns.
46
anaphora
- Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or
clauses in a row.
47
chiasmus
– When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of
the words is reversed.
48
antithesis
- Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel
structure.
49
zuegma
- When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the
meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies.
50
parenthetical idea
- Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence.
51
parody
- An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes.
52
persona
- The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story.
53
poetic device
– A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines.
54
alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
55
assonance
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds.
56
consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words.
57
onomatopoeia
The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.
58
internal rhyme
When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line.
59
slant rhyme
When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar.
60
end rhyme
When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme.
61
rhyme scheme
The pattern of a poem’s end rhymes.
62
stressed and unstressed syllables
In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or said with more force
than the other syllable(s).
63
meter
A regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry.
64
free verse
Poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme.
65
iambic pentameter
Poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.
66
sonnet
A 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. Usually divided into three quatrains and a couplet.
67
polysyndeton
– When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions.
68
pun
– When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way.
69
rhetoric
- The art of effective communication.
70
rhetorical question
| aristotles rhetorical triangle
-Question not asked for information but for effect.
-The relationships, in any piece of writing,
between the writer, the audience, and the
subject. All analysis of writing is essentially
an analysis of the relationships between the
points on the triangle.
71
romanticism
– Art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the
world, and an emphasis on nature.
72
sarcasm
- A generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded.
73
satire
- A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect.
74
sentence
- A sentence is group of words (including subject and verb) that expresses a complete thought.
75
appositive
- A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its
meaning.
76
clause
- A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
77
balanced sentence
– A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each
other like equal weights on a scale.
78
compound sentence
- Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent
| clauses.
79
complex sentence
- Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent
clause.
80
cumulative sentence
When the writer begins with an
| independent clause, then adds subordinate elements.
81
periodic sentence
- When the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence.
82
simple sentence
Contains only one independent clause.
83
declarative sentence
- States an idea.
84
imperative sentence
- Issues a command.
85
interrogative sentence
- Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns
86
style
- The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes. Style may be conscious or unconscious.
87
symbol
- Anything that represents or stands for something else.
88
syntax/sentence variety
- Grammatical arrangement of words.
89
theme
- The central idea or message of a work. The theme may be directly stated in nonfiction works,
although not necessarily. It is rarely stated directly in fiction.
90
thesis
- The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning,
or proposition.
91
tone
- A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and
organization.
92
understatement
The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant
than it is.
93
litotes
- a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement
which otherwise would be used.
94
argument
An argument is a piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion.
95
premises
Statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion are premises.
96
conclusion
A conclusion is the end result of the argument – the main point being made. In an
argument one expects that the conclusion will be supported with reasons or premises. Moreover,
these premises will be true and will, in fact, lead to the conclusion.
97
aristotles appeals
The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one’s ideas are valid, or more
valid than someone else's.
98
ethos
Ethos (credibility) means being convinced by the credibility of the author. We tend to
believe people whom we respect.
99
pathos
(emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader's emotions. (Also see
the fallacy of appeal to emotion). An argument that relies too much on emotion, without
any corroborating logos, can become a fallacy.
100
logos
(logical) means persuading by the use of reasoning, using true premises and valid
arguments. This is generally considered the strongest form of persuasion.
101
concession
Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint.
102
conditional statement
A conditional statement is an if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent and a
consequent.
103
contradiction
A contradiction occurs when one asserts two mutually exclusive propositions, such as, “Abortion
is wrong and abortion is not wrong.” Since a claim and its contradictory cannot both be true, one
of them must be false.
104
counterexample
an example that runs counter to (opposes) a generalization, thus falsifying it.
105
deductive argument
An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide a guarantee of the truth of the
conclusion.
106
fallacy
A fallacy is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning.
107
ad hominem
Latin for "against the man". Personally attacking your opponents instead of their
arguments. It is an argument that appeals to emotion rather than reason, feeling rather than
intellect.
108
appeal to authority
The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be
right.
109
appeal to the bandwagon
The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or
used to believe it, or do it.
110
appeal to emotion
An attempt to replace a logical argument with an appeal to the audience’s
emotions.
111
bad analogy
Claiming that two situations are highly similar, when they aren't.
112
cliche thinking
Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no
exceptions.
113
false cause
Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.
114
hasty generalization
A generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data.
115
non sequitur
A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument.
116
slippery slope
The assumption that once started, a situation will continue to its most extreme
possible outcome.
117
inductive argument
An argument in which it is thought that the premises provide reasons supporting the probable truth
of the conclusion.
118
sound argument
A deductive argument is said to be sound if it meets two conditions: First, that the line of
reasoning from the premises to the conclusion is valid. Second, that the premises are true.
119
unstated premises
Not every argument is fully expressed.
120
valid argument
An argument is valid if the conclusion logically follows from the premises.
