Rhetorical Devices

Question 1

Bombast

Answer 1

High sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people
Ex: Politician, Football Coach, Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Question 2

Invective

Answer 2

Abusive Language used to attack
Ex: Calling someone a chicken for not doing something, calling someone retarded when they are not handicapible, “A vile beastly rottenheaded foolbegotten brazenthroated pernicious piggish screaming, tearing, roaring, perplexing, splitmecrackle crashmecriggle insane ass of a woman is practicing howling below-stairs with a brute of a singingmaster so horribly, that my head is nearly off.”(Edward Lear, “Letter to Lady Strachey”)

Question 3

Synecdoche

Answer 3

A larger group represents a smaller group or a smaller group on represents a larger group
A person calling someone out on their characteristics (grey hair, boots) (small group representing a large group)

Question 4

Tmesis

Answer 4

Separating a compound word by putting a word or words in between them
“A whole other story”
“Another story”

Question 5

Asyndeton

Answer 5

When you take out conjunctions from a sentence

The tragic events left the man hurt, confused, disoriencted

Question 6

Pedantic

Answer 6

Someone who is really concerned with a subject while flaunting their knowledge in a boring way
A person at a party boring people by taking about poetry

Question 7

Metaplasmus

Answer 7

the deliberate misspelling of a word

Elizabeth, Liz

Question 8

Litotes

Answer 8

Employs an understatement by using double negatives for a positive statement
“not too bad” for “very good”

Question 9

Climax

Answer 9

Figure of repetition in which words or phrases or sentences are arranged in order of increasing intensity or importantance

Question 10

Apostrophe

Answer 10

imaginary idea, occurs when a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience
“Like a diamond in the sky”

Question 11

Zeugma

Answer 11

Figure of speech where a word, usually a verb or adjective, to blend two or more ideas together
“Conner hurt his feelings and his face”

Question 12

Epistrophe

Answer 12

Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses
An that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”

Question 13

Bathos

Answer 13

Hyping a story up and just letting it die at the end

“I had the best day but idk what happened”

Question 14

Antithesis

Answer 14

Two oppisote ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting statement
I small step for man, one big step for man kind”

Question 15

Anthimeria

Answer 15

Involves using one part of speech as another part of speech, such as a noun as a verb
turtling

Question 16

Aposiopesis

Answer 16

The device of suddenly breaking off in speech

Dont go there or else

Question 17

Epanalepisis

Answer 17

Repeating the first word at the end of the sentence

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering

Question 18

Ellipsis

Answer 18

the omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader
EX: So…what happened?

Question 19

Aporia

Answer 19

The expression of doubt

Who is the true animal?

Question 20

Anastrophe

Answer 20

literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.
Strong in the force you are

Question 21

Juxaposition

Answer 21

literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side for comparisons and contrasts.
EX: Better late than never

Question 22

Polysyndeton

Answer 22

when conjunctions are used over and over; often without commas, even when the conjunctions could be taken out
EX: “And Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and

Question 23

Anaphora

Answer 23

Replacing a word in a sentence to avoid repetition

Question 24

Diacope

Answer 24

Literary device that repeats a phrase or word but is separated by other words
William Shakespeare’ Hamlet, “to be, or not to be!”

Question 25

Synesthesia

Answer 25

refers to a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one senses like hearing, seeing, smell etc. at a given time.
is a figurative use of words that intends to draw out a response from readers stimulating multiple senses

Question 26

Alliosis

Answer 26

-While such a structure often results in the logical fallacy of the false dichotomy or the either/or fallacy, it can create a cleverly balanced and artistic sentence

My definition- using a either/or between two decisions
“You can eat well or you can sleep well.”

Question 27

Metonymy

Answer 27

The substitution of a name for the thing it meant

Ex: track for horse racing

Question 28

Anapodoton

Answer 28

An incomplete sentence

EX: Molehill

Question 29

Antimetabole

Answer 29

A phrase is repeated but in reverse order

EX: Fair is foul and foul is fair