Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Pun

Answer 1

A play on the meaning of words

Question 2

Metaphor

Answer 2

An implied comparison between two unlike things

Question 3

Simile

Answer 3

An explicit comparison between two unlike things signaled by the use of like or as

Question 4

Personification

Answer 4

Attributing human qualities to an inanimate object

Question 5

Apostrophe

Answer 5

“A turning away.” You “turn away” from your audience to address someone or
something new—God, the angels, heaven, the dead, or anyone not present

Question 6

Irony

Answer 6

A contract between reality and expectations; takes on another voice or role that states the opposite of what is expressed

Question 7

Sarcasm

Answer 7

Irony that involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule

Question 8

Hyperbole

Answer 8

Exaggeration; deliberate exaggeration for emphasis

Question 9

Understatement

Answer 9

The opposite of exaggeration; a technique for developing irony and/or
humor where the writer describes something as less than what it is

Question 10

Euphemism

Answer 10

A type of understatement where you substitute less pungent words for harsh ones, sometimes with excellent ironic effect

Question 11

Litotes

Answer 11

A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative contrary

Question 12

Synecdoche

Answer 12

Related to classification and division—a part is substituted for the whole, or the
species for the genus

Question 13

Metonymy

Answer 13

Designation of one thing with something closely associated with it

Question 14

Oxymoron

Answer 14

Contradiction; two contradictory terms or ideas used together

Question 15

Paradox

Answer 15

A statement that appears to be contradictory, but, in fact, has some truth

Question 16

Onomatopoeia

Answer 16

Refers to the use of words whose sound reinforces their meaning

Question 17

Rhetorical question

Answer 17

Questions that do not require an answer

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

Expresses similar or related ideas in similar grammatical structures

Question 19

Anthiesis

Answer 19

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas

Question 20

Chiasmus

Answer 20

Grammatical structure of the first clause or phrase is reversed in the second, sometimes repeating the same words

Question 21

Anastrophe

Answer 21

Word order is reversed or rearranged

Question 22

Apposition

Answer 22

The placing next to a noun another noun or phrase that explains it

Question 23

Parenthesis

Answer 23

The insertion of words, phrases, or a sentence that is not syntactically related to the rest of the sentence

Question 24

Asyndeton

Answer 24

Conjunctions are omitted, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose

Question 25

Ellipsis

Answer 25

Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context; it can also be the literal use of a series of three spaced periods to produce the same effect

Question 26

Epanalepsis

Answer 26

Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning

Question 27

Anaphora

Answer 27

The regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

Question 28

Epistrophe

Answer 28

The regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the ends of successive phrases or clauses (opposite of anaphora)

Question 29

Polysyndeton

Answer 29

The use of many conjunctions to slow the pace. In certain circumstances it’s use can also create a childlike sense of excitement

Question 30

Alliteration

Answer 30

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words

Question 31

Consonance

Answer 31

The repetition of consonants in words stressed in the same place (but whose vowels differ). Also, a kind of inverted alliteration, in which final consonants, rather than initial, repeat in nearby words

Question 32

Assonance

Answer 32

Involves the repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words

Question 33

Euphony

Answer 33

Occurs when the use of a sound device produces a pleasant, mellifluous sound

Question 34

Cacophony

Answer 34

Occurs when the use of a sound device produces a harsh, discordant sound

Question 35

Allegory

Answer 35

A work that functions on a symbolic level

Question 36

Allusion

Answer 36

A reference contained in a work to an event in history or to another piece of literature

Question 37

Anecdote

Answer 37

A short, personal story or brief episode told by a writer or character to illustrate a point

Question 38

Attitude/tone

Answer 38

The relationship an author has toward his or her subject and/or audience

Question 39

Connotation

Answer 39

The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning

Question 40

Denotation

Answer 40

The literal or dictionary definition of a word

Question 41

Epigraph

Answer 41

The use of quotation or excerpt at the beginning of a work or chapter that hints at its theme

Question 42

Motif

Answer 42

The repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work used to develop theme or characters

Question 43

Satire

Answer 43

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule

Question 44

Symbol

Answer 44

Something in a literacy work that stand for something else, usually something greater than the thing itself