Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Not related to the concrete properties of an object; pertaining to ideas, concepts, or qualities, as opposed to physical attributes

Answer 1

abstract

Question 2

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

Answer 2

allegory

Question 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

Answer 3

alliteration

Question 4

A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader or to apply a symbolic meaning to the character or object of which the allusion consists

Answer 4

allusion

Question 5

Use of language in which multiple meanings are possible. It can be unintentional through insufficient focus on the part of the writer; in good writing, it is frequently intentional in the form of multiple connotative meanings, or situations in which either the connotative or the denotative meaning can be valid in reading.

Answer 5

ambiguity

Question 6

Use of historically inaccurate details in a text; for example, depicting a 19th-century character using a computer. Some authors employ this for humorous effect, and some genres, such as science fiction or fantasy, make extensive use of this

Answer 6

anachronism

Question 7

A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

Answer 7

anecdote

Question 8

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data.

Answer 8

annotation

Question 9

Character or force in a literary work that opposes the main character, or protagonist

Answer 9

antagonist

Question 10

Protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero (e.g., honor, bravery, kindness, intelligence)

Answer 10

antihero

Question 11

The presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be…” “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country….”

Answer 11

antithesis

Question 12

Rhetorical argument in which the speaker claims to be an expert or relies on information provided by experts

Answer 12

appeals to authority

Question 13

Rhetorical argument in which the speaker attempts to affect the listener’s personal feelings

Answer 13

appeals to emotion

Question 14

Rhetorical argument in which the speaker attempts to persuade the listener through use of deductive reasoning

Answer 14

appeals to logic

Question 15

Writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of this

Answer 15

argumentation

Question 16

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words.

Answer 16

assonance

Question 17

The person(s) reached by a piece of writing.

Answer 17

audience

Question 18

A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character.

Answer 18

bildungsroman

Question 19

Descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality

Answer 19

caricature

Question 20

Ordinary language; the vernacular

Answer 20

colloquial

Question 21

A word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing

Answer 21

colloquialism

Question 22

Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities.

Answer 22

concrete language

Question 23

What is implied by a word, not just by the word’s dictionary definition

Answer 23

connotation

Question 24

The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels

Answer 24

consonance

Question 25

A direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency

Answer 25

contradiction

Question 26

A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or a difficult problem

Answer 26

conundrum

Question 27

The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

Answer 27

deduction

Question 28

The reasoning process by which a conclusion is drawn from set of premises and contains no more facts than these premises

Answer 28

deductive

Question 29

The dictionary definition of a word; the direct and specific meaning

Answer 29

denotation

Question 30

The picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of discourse

Answer 30

description

Question 31

A particular word pattern or combination of words used in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arouse a desired reaction in the reader

Answer 31

devices

Question 32

An author's choice of words to convey a tone or effect

Answer 32

diction

Question 33

Intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson

Answer 33

didactic

Question 34

Spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of discourse are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion.

Answer 34

discourse

Question 35

Ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego

Answer 35

doppleganger

Question 36

An imaginary place where people live dehumanized, often fearful

Answer 36

dystopia

Question 37

When a writer appeals to readers' emotions to excite and involve them in the argument

Answer 37

emotional appeal; pathos

Question 38

A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience

Answer 38

epiphany

Question 39

A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person

Answer 39

epitaph

Question 40

When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in this, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience's confidence.

Answer 40

ethical appeal; ethos

Question 41

A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an oration in honor of a deceased person

Answer 41

eulogy

Question 42

Substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one that is harsh or blunt

Answer 42

euphemism

Question 43

An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern

Answer 43

example

Question 44

The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. This usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.

Answer 44

explication

Question 45

The immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse

Answer 45

exposition

Question 46

To hint at the present things to come in a story or play

Answer 46

foreshadow

Question 47

Language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal

Answer 47

formal language

Question 48

Term used to describe literary forms, such as tragedy, comedy, novel, or essay

Answer 48

genre

Question 49

Anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, it meant a person's temperament

Answer 49

humor

Question 50

An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language

Answer 50

hyperbole

Question 51

A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. It is always a concrete representation.

Answer 51

image

Question 52

Sensory details in a work; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an object. This involves any or all of the five senses

Answer 52

imagery

Question 53

The process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization

Answer 53

induction

Question 54

Conclusion or type of reasoning whereby observation or information about a part of a class is applied to the class as a whole

Answer 54

inductive

Question 55

A conclusion one can draw from the presented details

Answer 55

inference

Question 56

A situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. It is frequently humorous, and can be sarcastic when using words to imply the opposite of what they normally mean

Answer 56

irony

Question 57

The special language of a profession or group. It usually has pejorative associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders

Answer 57

jargon

Question 58

Placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose

Answer 58

juxtaposition

Question 59

When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons, the process of reasoning

Answer 59

logical appeal; logos

Question 60

Songlike; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.

Answer 60

lyrical

Question 61

The method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written

Answer 61

mode

Question 62

The feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator's attitude and point of view. The effect is created through descriptions of feelings or objects that establish a particular feeling such as gloom, fear, or hope.

Answer 62

mood

Question 63

Recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of a character or event

Answer 63

motif

Question 64

The telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse

Answer 64

narration

Question 65

Desire to return in thought or fact to a former time

Answer 65

nostalgia

Question 66

An impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer's attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective. personal involvement in a story

Answer 66

objectivity

Question 67

A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes

Answer 67

onomatopoeia

Question 68

When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument

Answer 68

oversimplification

Question 69

A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements

Answer 69

oxymoron

Question 70

A short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory

Answer 70

parable

Question 71

A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true

Answer 71

paradox

Question 72

Recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences equal in importance; adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence

Answer 72

parallelism

Question 73

A satirical imitation of a work of art for the purpose of ridiculing its style or subject

Answer 73

parody

Question 74

When a writer tries to persuade the audience by appealing to their emotions. The aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience. May be used as means to persuade

Answer 74

pathetic appeal; pathos

Question 75

The voice or figure of the author who tells and structures the story and who may or may not share the values of the actual author

Answer 75

persona

Question 76

Treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by giving it human qualities

Answer 76

personification

Question 77

A character's view of the situation or events in the story

Answer 77

perspective

Question 78

A form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion

Answer 78

persuasion

Question 79

The view the reader gets of the action and characters in a story

Answer 79

point of view

Question 80

Information or rumor deliberately spread to help or harm a person, group, or institution

Answer 80

propaganda

Question 81

The ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse

Answer 81

prose

Question 82

The chief character in a work of literature

Answer 82

protagonist

Question 83

Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity

Answer 83

repetition

Question 84

Exposition, description, narration, argumentation

Answer 84

rhetorical modes

Question 85

Rhetorical modes

Answer 85

exposition, description, narration, argumentation

Question 86

A question that does not expect an explicit answer, used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience

Answer 86

rhetorical question

Question 87

A sharp caustic remark, A form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical

Answer 87

sarcasm

Question 88

A literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness

Answer 88

satire

Question 89

The voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona null

Answer 89

speaker

Question 90

A character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality; a conventional patter, expression, or idea

Answer 90

stereotype

Question 91

An author's characteristic manner of expression - his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to this

Answer 91

style

Question 92

A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions

Answer 92

subjectivity

Question 93

The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It is sentence structure and how it influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing.

Answer 93

syntax

Question 94

The central or dominant idea or concern of a work; the main idea or meaning

Answer 94

theme

Question 95

Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view or discussion in the essay is based

Answer 95

thesis

Question 96

The attitude a literary work takes towards its subject and theme, reflects a narrator's attitude

Answer 96

tone

Question 97

A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph

Answer 97

transition

Question 98

Words and devices that bring unity and coherence to a piece of writing

Answer 98

transition words

Question 99

The opposite of exaggeration, a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended

Answer 99

understatement

Question 100

An imaginary place of ideal perfection

Answer 100

utopia

Question 101

The acknowledged or unacknowledged source of words of the story; the speaker, a "person" telling the story or poem

Answer 101

voice