Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
Allegory
The use of a character or story element to symbolically represent something
Alliteration
Repetition of the same sound or letter, beginning several words in a sequence
Allusion
An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work
Amplification
A figure of speech that repeats the word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize something.
I.e. I have the heart of the King, and a king of England, too.
Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of a successive phrase
Analogy
An extended metaphor or a long simile
Anadiplosis
The repetition of the last word of a clause or sentence at the beginning of the next.
I.e. I am Sam, Sam I am.
Antanagoge
Placing a good point or benefit next to a fault or criticism in order to reduce the impact of the negative part
I.e. The new filtration system may be more expensive but it is a cleaner alternative
Anastrophe
Unusual word order for the sake of emphasis
I.e. This much we pledge, and more.
Apostrophe
Directly addressing someTHING that cannot answer, I.e. an idea or object
Aporia
Expression of doubt (often feigned) where a person is unsure as to what they should say, think, or do
Aposiopesis
Form of ellipses where speaker comes to an abrupt halt, seemingly overcome with emotion
Asyndeton
Omitting conjunctions between words or phrases
Appositive
A noun or noun phrase that comes directly after the noun or pronoun it is describing or providing information for
Conceit
An extended metaphor or analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects
Catachresis
Incorrect usage of words as an extravagant metaphor
I.e. I will speak daggers to her
Chiasmus
Reversal of words in one phrase in the next
I.e. When the going gets tough, the tough get going
Assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound in words
Diacope
Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase
Enumeratio
Detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point
I.e. I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips
Distinctio
Elaboration on a particular meaning of a word in order to prevent any misunderstanding
Antithesis
Consecutive phrases with opposite ideas.
I.e. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
Epistrophe
Opposite of anaphora; repeats word or phrases at end of sentence
Epithet
An adjective or expressive phrase used to describe a quality of a mentioned person or thing
I.e. Eric the Brave or Untroubled waters
Invective
Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language
Eponym
The substitution of the name of a famous person recognized or famous for a particular attribute, for that attribute
Expletive
A word or short phrase that interrupts normal speech in order to give emphasis to the words immediately next to it
Euphemism
Substituting a potentially offensive phrase with a milder or gentler one
Hypophora
(Rhetorical question) A question is asked and then answered by the speaker
Hyperbole
Dramatic exaggeration
Meiosis
Opposite of hyperbole; a deliberate understatement
I.e. ‘Tis just a flesh wound
Mesodiplosis
The repetition of the same words in the middle of successive sentences
Metanoia
Qualifies a statement by recalling it and expressing it any better, milder, or stronger way, often through negative
I.e. She was the smartest of all the girls, nay of all the children
Litotes
A form of understatement that denies the opposite of the word which would otherwise be used
I.e. She’s not the friendliest person I know
Metonymy
The name of an object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it
I.e. The White House declared
Pedantic
Overly academic or obsessed with details
Parallelism
Similarly expressed phrases to show importance
Oxymoron
A combination of contradictory words into a single phrase
Paraleipsis
A pretended omission; pretending to pass over something
I.e. It would be unkind to mention his drinking problem or womanizing habits, so I won’t.
Polemic
“Hostile” (Greek); aggressive argument that tries to establish superiority over others; does not concede
Rhetorical Question
A question used to make the audience think. Not meant to be answered
Polysyndeton
Opposite of asyndeton; use of conjunction between each word or phrase
Paradox
An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense but may have truth in it
Paronomasia
Use of similar sounding words, often as a form of word play. I.e.: gold cache, cold cash, culled cache
Onomatopoeia
Words that are sounds
Pleonasm
Superfluous use of words in order to explain; redundancy
Rhetorical Triangle
Illustrates relationship between reader, speaker, and subject
Synecdoche
Fig. of speech; part used to represent whole I.E. He’s got nice wheels
Syllepsis
Usage of a word multiple times with each use meaning something different
Tricolon
A series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses I.E. “I came, I saw, I conquered”
Symploce
Combination of anaphora and epistrophe; repetition of the first and last words from one phrase or sentence in the successive ones
Understatement
Expressing an idea to a lesser extent than its usual case
