Rhetorical devices

Question 1

Aesthetic

Answer 1

This rhetorical device references to artistic elements or expressions within a textual work. *Note, not a specific device; it is a bigger picture.

Describing flapper culture.

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

This rhetorical device references the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence.

Example) In Animal farm, the animals run a society that mirrors that o

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

This rhetorical device references the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words.

“face the fire at the freedom’s front”

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

This rhetorical device is a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history.

In King’s speech, King begins with “five score years ago” like Lincoln.

Question 5

Ambiguity

Answer 5

This rhetorical devices references a word, phrase, or sentence whose meaning can be interpreted in more than one way.

“Good-by- because I love you” words last said by a character.

Question 6

Analogy

Answer 6

This rhetorical device references an extended comparison between two things/instances/people/etc, that share some similarity to make a point.

Comparing students to oysters to change perception of how to treat them.

Question 7

Anaphora

Answer 7

This rhetorical device references repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.

“I have a dream” is a phrase repeated in MLK’s dream speech.

Question 8

Anecdote

Answer 8

This rhetorical device references a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.

An experience of someone.

Question 9

Antithesis

Answer 9

This rhetorical device references the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences.

“That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

Question 10

Assonance

Answer 10

The repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.

“Sicker, I, kilt” Repeition of “i”,

Question 11

Asyndeton

Answer 11

Conjuctions are ommitted, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose.

“Duty, Honor, Country.”

Question 12

Chiasmus

Answer 12

Repetition of ideas in inverted order

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do […]

Question 13

Collquial

Answer 13

Characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech.

“Woke” term in Obama’s speech.

Question 14

Connotation

Answer 14

The set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.

Connotating an idea to create a false expectation to the audience.

Question 15

Consonance

Answer 15

The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, as in assonance.

“Explosive consonants”: B,C, CH, D, G, J, K, P, Q, T, X.

Question 16

Deductive reasoning

Answer 16

Reasoning that works from the more general to the more specific, beginning with a theory that becomes a hypothesis, and using observations to confirm the original theory.

Question 17

Denotation

Answer 17

The literal meaning of a word, the dictionary definition.

Question 18

Diction

Answer 18

A writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning.

Question 19

Didactic

Answer 19

Tone;instructional, designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson.

The chastising tone of parents.

Question 20

Elegiac

Answer 20

A tone involving mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past.

“Today is a day for mourning and remembering.”

Question 21

Epistrophe

Answer 21

Ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words.

“If you aim high enough”, “But no matter.”

Question 22

Ethos

Answer 22

Appealing to credibility

Mentioning being president/teacher/etc.

Question 23

Extended metaphor

Answer 23

Differs from a regular metaphor in that several comparisons similar in theme are being made.

Using technologic adjectives to compare a brain to a computer/machine.

Question 24

Imagery

Answer 24

Descriptive language that provides vivid images that evoke senses.

Describing a surrounding scenery in detail.

Question 25

Inductive reasoning

Answer 25

Reasoning that moves from specific observations to broaer generalizations and theories; uses observations to detect patterns and regularities, and develops a hypothesis and later broader theories based on these observations (Bottom-up approach).

Question 26

Irony

Answer 26

Stating the opposite of what is said or meant.

Question 27

Juxtaposition

Answer 27

Placing two or more things side by side for comparison or contrast.

Comparing the present and future themes of a scene.

Question 28

Logos

Answer 28

Appealing to logic

Citing specific data that proves/supports an idea.

Question 29

Metonymy

Answer 29

A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.

‘The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Question 30

Pacing

Answer 30

The speed at which a piece of writing flows - use when discussing organization; point out where action/syntax begins to speed up, slow down, is interrupted, etc.

Writing in a list format to move ideas more quickly.

Question 31

Paradox

Answer 31

Apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny; its purpose is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought.

Question 32

Parallelism (parallel structure)

Answer 32

A repetition of sentences using the same grammatical structure emphasizing all aspects of the sentence equally.

Sentences following the same structure.

Question 33

Pathos

Answer 33

Appealing to emotion

Question 34

Polysyndeton

Answer 34

The use of many conjunctions has the effect of slowing the pace or emphasizing the numerous words or clauses.

And it was dark and there was water and there were windows broke and,”

Question 35

Rhetorical question

Answer 35

A question presented by the author that is not meant to be answered.

Question 36

Stream of consciousness

Answer 36

A technique that records the thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence; reflects all the forces, internal and external, affecting the character’s psyche at the moment.

Lack of strucutre that details a steady stream of ideas.

Question 37

Synecdoche

Answer 37

The rhetorical substitution of a part for the whole.

Refers to “beams and girders and columns’ as parents and a crib.

Question 38

Syntax

Answer 38

The structure of sentences and/or phrases.

Question 39

Thesis

Answer 39

A statement of purpose, intent, or main idea in a literary work.

Question 40

Tone

Answer 40

The use of stylistic devices that reveal an author’s attitude towards a subject.