Rhetoric Terms 1-45 Flashcards
Allusion
An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event
Analogy
An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things
Anaphora
The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses
Anecdote
A short account of an interesting event
Antimetabole
The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast
Antithesis
Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas
Aphorism
A short, astute statement of a general truth
Archaic diction
The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language
Assertion
An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.
Asyndeton
Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
Colloquialism
an informal or conversational use of language
Concession
A reluctant acknowledgement or yielding
Counterargument
a challenge to a position; an opposing argument; credible worthy of belief; trustworthy
Elegiac
mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone
Epigram
A brief witty statement
Hortatory
Urging, or strongly encouraging
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis
Imagery
Vivid use of language that evokes a reader’s sense
Inversion
A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject
Irony
A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result
Juxtaposition
Placement of two things side by side for emphasis
Metaphor
A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken as if it were something else, thus making the comparison
Metonymy
Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole
Narration
Retelling an event or series of events
Nominalization
Turing a verb or adjective into a noun
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms
Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true
Parallelism
The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns
Parody
A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule
Persona
The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author in a piece of writing
Personification
Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects
Polemic
An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion
Polysyndeton
the deliberate use of a series of conjunctions
Propaganda
A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information
refutation
A denial of validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.
Rhetorical question
a question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer
Scheme
A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect
Simile
a figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to compare two things
straw man
a logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent’s position
tone
the speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience
Topic sentence
A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph that announces the paragraph’s idea and often unites it with the work’s thesis
Trope
Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech
Understatement
lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect
Voice
In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing
Zeugma
A construction in which one word(usually a verb) modifies or governs–often in a different, sometimes incongruent ways– two or more words in a sentence.
