Rhetorical devices Flashcards
allegory
- the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning
alliosis(a)
- presenting alternatives:”You can eat well or you can sleep well”.
- While such a structure often results in the logical fallacy of the false dichotomy(division) or the either/or fallacy(false belief), it can create a cleverly balanced and artistic sentence
alliteration
- repetition of a sound in multiple words: buckets of big blue berries.
-If we want super technical, alliteration comes in two forms. - Consonance is the repetition of constants that alliterate, the technique is often called head rhyme.
- Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds; refresh your zest for living. Often assonance can lead to outright rhymes
allusion
a direct or indirect reference to something, which is presumably commonly known such as an event, book, myth, place or work of art
ambiguity(many…)
the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage
anaphora(not alternatives)
- repetition of beginning clauses.
- for instance Churchill declared, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost shall be.”
anecdote(story)
- a short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event
antithesis
- (plural antitheses)– contrary ideas expressed in a balanced sentence.
-can be a constant of opposite:”Evil men fear authority, one giant leap for all mankind.”
aposiopesis
(sad)
- breaking off as unable to continue
-“ The fire surrounds them while–I cannot go on”
apostrophe
(not the punctuation mark)
- addressing someone or some abstraction that is not physically present: “Oh Death, be not proud”(John Donne)”Ah Mr. Newton, you would be pleased to see how far we have progressed into physics.”
asyndeton(no..?)
- using no conjunctions to create an effect of speed or simplicity: Veni. Vidi. Vici.” I came. I saw. I conquered.” (not I came, and then I saw, and then I conquered.)
- been there. done that. bought the t-shirt
catachresis (crazy)
- a completely impossible figure of speech ,especially one breaking the limits or realism/ grammar
- example: may figures of speech describe something biologically or physically impossible: “Joe will kittens when he hears this!”
- “I will sing victories for you”
- catachresis is all about “blind mouths”
- closely related to hyperbole and synesthesia
chiasmus (a letter)
(from Greek,”cross” or “x”): A literary scheme involving a specific inversion of word order.
- involves taking parallelism and deliberately turning it inside out, creating a “crisscross” pattern
- example: “By day the frolic, and the dance by night.” If we draw the words as a chart, the words form an “x” (literally what it means in greek)
colloquial/colloquialism(y2k)
- the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing that gives the work a conversational, familiar tone; not generally acceptable for formal
connotation
- the nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning
