Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
Abstract
refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). The observable or “physical” is usually described in concrete language.
Allegory
an extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric.
Anecdote
a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.
Annotation
explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data.
Antithesis
the presentation of two contrasting images. The ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs. “To be or not to be…” “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country….”
Aphorism
a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life: “Early bird gets the worm.”
Apostrophe
usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction.
Cacophony; Dissonance
harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony.
Caricature
descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person’s appearance or a facet of personality.
Colloquialism
a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (cool, swag)
Coherence; Unity
quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle
Concrete Language
language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities.
Connotation
implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader’s mind.
Consonance
repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong
Conundrum
a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem
Deduction
The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example
Denotation
Literal meaning of a word as defined
Description
the picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of discourse
Diction
word choice, an element of style; Diction creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang.
Didactic
writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach. A didactic work is usually formal and focuses on moral or ethical concerns. Didactic writing may be fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Epigraph
the use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme. Hemingway begins The Sun Also Rises with two epigraphs. One of them is “You are all a lost generation” by Gertrude Stein.
Euphemism
a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. “He went to his final reward” is a common euphemism for “he died.” Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses “collateral damage” to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation.
Euphony
a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony
Explication
The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text. Explication usually involves close reading and special attention to figurative language.
Generalization
When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable. Sweeping generalizations occur when a writer asserts that a claim applies to all instances instead of some.
Humor
Anything that causes laughter or amusement (duh). But pay attention to its effect.
Hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis (Example: He was so
hungry he could have eaten a horse.)
Imagery
words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture
Induction
The process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization.
Inference
A conclusion one can draw from the presented details.
Invective
A verbally abusive attack
Jargon
the special language of a profession or group. The term jargon usually has pejorative associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders. The writings of the lawyer and the literary critic are both susceptible to jargon.
Lyrical
Song like; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination.
Mood
similar to tone, mood is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere).
Objectivity
an impersonal presentation of events and characters. It is a writer’s attempt to remove himself or herself from any subjective, personal involvement in a story. Hard news journalism is frequently prized for its objectivity, although even fictional stories can be told without a writer rendering personal judgment.
Oversimplification
When a writer obscured or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument.
Oxymoron
a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as “wise fool,” bitter-sweet, “pretty ugly,” “jumbo shrimp,” “cold fire”
Pacing
The movement of a literary piece from one point or one section to another.
Parable
A short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory
Paradox
a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning, as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau; “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
Parallelism
the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form. Parallel structure may be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a row to describe the same noun or verb; it may take the form of two or more of the same type of phrases that modify the same noun or verb. Or, parallel structure may be a complex bend of single-word, phrase, and clause parallelism all in the same sentence.
Example (from Churchill): “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields.”
Parody
a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements. It can be utterly mocking or gently humorous. It exaggerates and distorts the original style and content.
Pedantic
a term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly and academic and often overly difficult and distant
Regionalism
an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot
Repetition
Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity
Rhetorical Question
one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.
Sarcasm
Harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle that irony
Satire
A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Satire doesn’t simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). Satire targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.
Speaker
The voice of a work; an author may speak as himself or herself or as a fictitious persona
Stereotype
a character who represents a trait that is usually attributed to a particular social or racial group and who lacks individuality; a conventional patter, expression or idea.
Style
an author’s characteristic manner of expression – his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style
Subjectivity
a personal presentation of evens and characters, influenced by the author’s feelings and opinions
Syllogism
A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. A syllogism is the format of a formal argument that consists of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
Example:Major Premise: All tragedies end unhappily.
Minor Premise: Hamlet is a tragedy.
Conclusion: Therefore, Hamlet ends unhappily.
Synecdote
a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using “boards” to mean a stage or “wheels” to mean a car – or “All hands on deck.”
Syntactic Fluency
Ability to create a variety of sentence structures, appropriately complex and/or simple and varied in length.
Syntax
the grammatical structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence. Syntax includes length of sentence, kinds of sentences (questions, exclamations, declarative sentences, rhetorical questions, simple, complex, or compound).
Theme
The central idea or “message” of a literary work
Thesis
the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author’s assertion or claim. The effectiveness of a presentation is often based on how well the writer presents, develops, and supports the thesis
Tone
the characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters, subject, and audience (anger, sarcastic, loving, didactic, emotional, etc.)
Understatement
the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.
Voice
refers to two different areas of writing. One refers to the relationship between a sentence’s subject and verb (active and passive voice). The second refers to the total “sound” of a writer’s style.
Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases or sentences.
Anadipolis
Repeats the last word of one phrase or sentence at the beginning of the next phrase or sentence.
Asyndeton
Omitting conjunctions between words and phrases.
Polysyndeon
The use of a conjunction between each word or phrase. Opposite of an asyndeon.
