Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Aesthetic

Answer 1

references artistic elements or expressions within a textual work.

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

references the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of successive words.

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Ambiguity

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Analogy

Answer 6

references an extended comparison between two things/instances/people that share some similarity to make a point.

Question 7

Anaphora

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Anecdote

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Antithesis

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Assonance

Answer 10

is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.

Question 11

Asyndeton

Answer 11

omits conjunctions, producing a fast-paced and rapid prose.

Question 12

Chiasmus

Answer 12

is the repetition of ideas in inverted order.

Question 13

Colloquial

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Connotation

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Consonance

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 16

This reasoning works from the more general to the more specific, beginning with a theory that becomes a hypothesis.

Question 17

Denotation

Answer 17

This is the literal meaning of a word, the dictionary definition.

Question 18

Diction

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Didactic

Answer 19

This tone is instructional, designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson.

Question 20

Elegiac

Answer 20

This tone involves mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past.

Question 21

Epistrophe

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Ethos

Answer 22

This involves appealing to credibility.

Question 23

Extended Metaphor

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Imagery

Answer 24

This is descriptive language that provides vivid images that evoke the senses.

Question 25

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 25

This reasoning moves from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories.

Question 26

Irony

Answer 26

states the opposite of what is said or meant.

Question 27

Juxtaposition

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Logos

Answer 28

This involves appealing to logic.

Question 29

Metonymy

Answer 29

This figure of speech consists of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or associated.

Question 30

Pacing

Answer 30

This is the speed at which a piece of writing flows.

Question 31

Paradox

Answer 31

This is an apparently self-contradictory statement whose underlying meaning is revealed only by careful scrutiny.

Question 32

Parallelism (Parallel Structure)

Answer 32

This is a repetition of sentences using the same grammatical structure emphasizing all aspects of the sentence equally.

Question 33

Pathos

Answer 33

This involves appealing to emotion.

Question 34

Polysyndeton

Answer 34

This involves the use of many conjunctions, slowing the pace or emphasizing numerous words or clauses.

Question 35

Rhetorical Question

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Stream of Consciousness

Answer 36

This technique records the thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence.

Question 37

Synecdoche

Answer 37

consists of the rhetorical substitution of a part for the whole.

Question 38

Syntax

Answer 38

This refers to the structure of sentences and/or phrases.

Question 39

Thesis

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Tone

Answer 40

This is the use of stylistic devices that reveal an author’s attitude towards a subject.