rhetorical devices #1

Question 1

Ad Hominem

Answer 1

in a way that is directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

Narrative form in which characters and actions have meanings outside themselves;
characters are usually personifications of abstract qualities ex. animal farm characters

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds within a formal grouping,
such as a poetic line or stanza, or in close proximity in prose

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary
figure, event, or object

Question 5

Ambiguity

Answer 5

Use of language in which multiple meanings are possible

Question 6

Analogy

Answer 6

Comparison of two things that are alike in some respects. Metaphors and similes are both
types of analogy

Question 7

Anadiplosis

Answer 7

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause. For example,
“The crime was common, common be the pain.”

Question 8

Anaphora

Answer 8

regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or
clauses. For example, “We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the oceans. We
shall fight in the sky.”

Question 9

Anastrophe

Answer 9

which the normal word order of the subject, the verb, and the object is changed ex. yoda

Question 10

Antithesis

Answer 10

The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases.

Question 11

Apostrophe

Answer 11

A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present;
for example, the invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry.

Question 12

Apotheosis

Answer 12

climax

Question 13

Appositive

Answer 13

An appositive is a noun or phrase that renames or describes the noun to which it is next. For ex- ample: In the first sentence, the appositive “my brother” renames Richard, thus identifying who he is

Question 14

Assonance

Answer 14

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate
words. ex. the potś rocky, pocked

Question 15

Asyndeton

Answer 15

The practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list, it
gives a more extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be incomplete. For
example, “He was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing.”