Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

a pattern where words start with the same sound or in certain syllables

Question 2

allusion

Answer 2

a reference to another work/text

Question 3

ambiguity

Answer 3

giving rise to uncertainty with regard for interpretation

Question 4

anadiplosis

Answer 4

when the last word of a phrase is used to begin the next phrase

Question 5

analogy

Answer 5

a logical inference drawing parallels between the comparisons of 2 unlike objects.

Question 6

anaphora

Answer 6

the repetition of word(s) at the beginning of phrases

Question 7

anecdote

Answer 7

a brief story used to illustrate a point

Question 8

antithesis

Answer 8

where two sharply opposing ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced phrase/structure

Question 9

apostrophe

Answer 9

directly addressing a person or personified abstraction, though they are not literally in the piece.
Ex.) Death, be not proud. Love, who needs you?

Question 10

assonance

Answer 10

resemblance of sounds in words, especially the vowels

Question 11

asyndeton

Answer 11

the omission of conjunctions from phrases

Question 12

chiasmus

Answer 12

a type of antithesis where the second half of an expression is the reversal of the words of the first. Ex.) I had a teacher I liked who used to say
good fiction’s job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable

Question 13

connotation

Answer 13

the emotional or associative value of a word

Question 14

euphemism

Answer 14

a mild, indirect, or vague way of saying something harsh, blunt, or offensive

Question 15

figurative language

Answer 15

an umbrella term for nonliteral language

Question 16

hyperbole

Answer 16

a figure of speech that uses exaggeration

Question 17

image

Answer 17

a vivid description

Question 18

irony

Answer 18

1) verbal: saying one thing while meaning another. Sarcasm is one way to use verbal irony. Other ways would be to understate, overstate, or use Socratic irony.
2) situational: when the opposite of what is expected happens
3) dramatic irony: a situation where the audience knows something while the character does not.

Question 19

jargon

Answer 19

terms and phrases specific to a certain field

Question 20

juxtaposition

Answer 20

placing 2 unlike things side by side to show their differences

Question 21

metaphor

Answer 21

a figure of speech where a word/phrase is used to describe another when it would not normally occur. Makes an implicit comparison.
Ex.) all the world’s a stage

Question 22

metonymy

Answer 22

a figure of substitution in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.
Ex.) Washington for the US Government or sword for military power

Question 23

onomatopoeia

Answer 23

formation of words to imitate a sound

Question 24

oxymoron

Answer 24

when contradictory terms are combined
Ex.) deafening silence

Question 25

paradox

Answer 25

a seemingly contradictory statement that may still technically be true. Not necessarily the opposite
Ex.) Less is more; To spend is to earn; The enemy of my enemy is my friend;

Question 26

parallelism

Answer 26

identical syntax of phrases or clauses

Question 27

parody

Answer 27

satiric use: imitating the characteristic style of an author or work to ridicule it

Question 28

personification

Answer 28

where inanimate objects or abstractions are given human qualities or form

Question 29

pun

Answer 29

a play on words

Question 30

rhetoric

Answer 30

persuasive speech/language

Question 31

rhetorical devices

Answer 31

figurative speech/language used for a persuasive/literary effect

Question 32

rhetorical question

Answer 32

questions asked for an argumentative effect

Question 33

rhetorical strategy

Answer 33

a plan to effectively deliver a message in a piece of work

Question 34

satire

Answer 34

the use of irony, parody, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.; using humor to make a serious point
Ex.) Defending politicians when you disagree with them. Mimicking their arguments and tones to show how ridiculous it is.

Question 35

simile

Answer 35

when 2 unlike things are explicitly compared using works such as ‘like’ and ‘as’

Question 36

symbol

Answer 36

something that represents something else through resemblance, association, or convention

Question 37

synecdoche

Answer 37

a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword)

Question 38

syntax

Answer 38

the pattern of formation of sentences/phrases

Question 39

tone

Answer 39

a manner of expression or the feeling of atmosphere

Question 40

understatement

Answer 40

restraint or lack of emphasis