Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
What’s the difference between mood and tone?
Mood = The emotional atmosphere of a given piece of literature or media
Tone = The attitude or feeling that the writer expresses through their media
(When parents say they don’t like your tone its because you have attitude)
Difference between connotation and denotation
Connotation = The feelings and associations suggested by the work/writing (more fuzzy). The feelings the word carries or the vibe.
Denotation = The literal DICTIONARY definition
(D for dictionary)
Difference between Euphony and Cacophony
Euphony = When poet uses words that sound pleasant and harmonious.
(Euphoria means happiness and people feel happy when they read euphony poems)
Cacophony = When poet uses UNpleasant sounds and rhymes to create jarring effect
(sounds harsher - possibly like the little coconuts from Moana)
Metaphor
Comparison between two unlike things
Ex: That party was the bomb
(a party and bomb are nothing alike but the sentence makes sense metaphorically- nothing is literal)
directly states that one thing is the other
Anaphora
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of sentences.
I know two annas in different settings (like different sentences) but the same name.
Ex:
**I have a dream **that one day we will find peace. I have a dream that one day we will be happy.
Apostrophe
Addressing something or someone (dead person) who isn’t present and can’t respond
(How an apostrophe in english is hovering over the sentance instead of being on the line/ground such as a ghost hovers over without having a presence on the ground.)
Assonance
Repetition of similar stressed vowel sounds
Sentance should feel like one vowel is being stretched out or continually used throughout the sentance.
Ex: Long “a” sound is repeated throughout in “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”
The word Assonance sounds like what it is has a stretcec sound and two vowels (a)
Consonance
Repetition of similar final consonant sounds
Epigram
Short sentence that holds some form of truth, could be a quick quippy quote.
Like how in elf when he performs a singing telegram for his Dad, it was short and held truth as well as amusing.
Euphemism
Using milder and less harsh words to not risk being offensive.
Ex:
Darn instead of Dam
Eulogy is a collection of nice things about a person said at a funeral, Euphemism is replacing harsh words with nicer words. Think about trying to write a eulogy about someone you don’t like you would use euphemism to help it sound less harsh.
Metonymy
The use of a closely related to represent an object.
Instead of using the name of the actual thing you use something that represents it.
Ex: “The crown will find an heir.”
- Becaus ethe crown is being used to repersent the royal family
Scansion
SCANsion = Scan for syllables
use your hands to fill out a scantron and you use your hands to figure out how many syllables are in a word by clapping.
The process of measuring a verse (marking accented and unaccented syllables)
Breaking it down into syllables
Ex: Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
Shall I I comPARE l Thee TO l a SUM l mers DAY?
Paradox (oldest)
Juxtaposition (middle)
Oxymoron (youngest)
1) Paradox = A statement that sounds contradictory or like it goes against what makes sense, however upon closer evaluation actually has some truth to it.
Less is more
2) Juxtaposition = When two things are placed beside each other with the intentions or highlighting their differences. She was like the night he was like the day.
3) Oxymoron = When two opposite or unlike words are placed TOGETHER to make up a word / thing.
Ex: Jumbo Shrimp
The brother diagram because they are all similar but the concepts get less complicated as it goes down.
Caesura
A pause that occurs within a line of poetry (could be in the form of a comma or a period)
Take a break to eat a cqusedilla
“In fair Verona, where we lay our
scene.”
Concrete
Form of poetry in which the shape and pattern of the poem is for a purpose
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence over a line break
(line break looks like a line cutting off a sentence)
Hello (l) Bob
Synecdoche
Like a stereotype. Calling something a part to singlify the whole.
Referring to business men as Suits (suits would replace businessman in a sentence)
Your calling a thing or person something that is closely related to their title or purpose.
Business men often wear suits
verb and ad-verb (RC)
Describing word to be used with an action, forming the main part of the sentence. Run, Believe, Maintain, IMPLIES, REINFORCE, CONVEYS
You HAVE to find the verb in the reading comp question in order to understand the question.
The verb used is a hint for the answer
(vividly = image)
Adverb = A word that modifies or heightens a verb, making it more specific
Anecdote
A short amusing or interesting story about a person
Persona
The charastics one individual presents to another in hopes of influence the others perception of them.
or
Consciously acting a way so that people will see you in that way.
or
The way you act around others, the way you constructe your personaility for others.
Irony
Events or speech that seems opposite to what was expected or meant.
Could be seen as sarcasm
Ex: Spilling something on your shirt and saying “my day is going great, thanks for asking” (kinda like sarcasm)
1) Situational irony
2) Verbal irony
3) Dramatic irony
1) Situational irony
An difference what one (a person) would expect to happen and what does happen. (goes against what they thought would happen or wanted to happen)
2) Verbal irony
Contradiction between what is said and what is meant. The character says the opposite of what they meant.
3) Dramatic irony
An difference in what the character says and what the audience knows
