Rhetoric Vocab Flashcards
Diction
A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words
Connotation
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Imagery
Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
simile
A comparison of two unlike things using like or as
metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things without using like or as
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
Anecdote
a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
Tone
A writer’s attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases
Rhetorical Question
A question asked merely for rhetorical effect and not requiring an answer
parallelism
similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses
anaphora
the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
speaker
A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing
purpose
the goal the speaker wants to achieve
