Rhetoric Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
The recurrence of initial consonant sounds - baby buggy bumpers
Allusion
A reference to an event, literary work or person - I can’t do that because I am superman
Amplification/crescendo
Repeats a word or expression for emphasis - love, real love, takes time.
Anadiplosis
The repetition of the last word of a preceding clause
The word is used at the end of a sentence and then used again at the beginning of the next sentence
Analogy
Compares two different things that have some similar characteristics
He is as flaky as a snowstorm
Anaphora
Repeats a word or phrase in successive phrases
‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle, us do we not laugh?’
Antanagoge
Places criticism and compliment together to lessen the impact
The car is not pretty but it runs great
Atimetabole
Repeats words or phrases in reverse order
Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country
Antipharisis
Uses a word with an opposite meaning
The Chihuahua’s name was Goliath (warrior)
Antithesis
Makes a connection between two things
Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
Appositive
Places a noun or phrase next to another noun for descriptive purposes
Mary, queen of the land, hosted the ball
Enumeratio
Makes a point with details
Renovation included a spa, tennis court, pool and lounge.
Epanalepsis
Repeats something from the beginning of a sentence at the end
My ears heard what you said but I couldn’t believe my ears
Epithet
Using an adjective or adjective phrase to describe
Mesmerising eyes
Epizeuxis
Repeats one word for emphasis
The amusement park was fun, fun, fun.
Hendiadys
The expression of a single idea by words connected with ‘and’
(Nice and warm) when one could be used to modify the other, as in nicely warm.
Hyperbole
An exaggeration
I have done this a thousand times
Litotes
Makes an understatement by denying the opposite of a word that may have been used
The terms of the contract are not disagreeable to me.
Metanoia
Corrects or qualifies a statement
You are the most beautiful women in this town, nay the entire world.
Metaphor
Compares two things by stating one is the other
The eyes are the window to the soul.
Metonymy
A metaphor where something is being compared is referred to by something closely related with it
The knights are loyal to the crown.
Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate the sound they describe
Plunk, whiz, pop
Oxymoron
A two word paradox
Near miss, seriously funny
Parallelism
Uses words or phrases with a similar structure
I went to the store, parked the car and bought a pizza.
Simile
Compares one object to another
He smokes like a chimney
Syntheton
When by convention two words are joined by a conjunction for emphasis (Bread and wine)
Understatement
Makes an idea less important than it really is
The hurricane disrupted traffic
Hypophora
Asking a question and then answering it yourself.
Bathos
Reducing a ground idea/ person to a less important one.
Parenthesis
Added information (usually in brackets or commas) that could be taken out.
Epiphora/epistrophe
The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Chiasmus
Words are repeated in reverse order
“Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate”
Rhetorical Question
Question used to make a point, not get an answer
Synecdoche
Using part of a whole to represent the whole
“Check out my new wheels” = referring to a car
Tautology
The saying of the same thing twice over in different words
“They arrived one after each other in succession”
Tricolon
Three parallel clauses,phrases or words in succession pm with no interruption
Zeugma
A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different ways
“She BROKE is car and his heart.”
