Rhetorical Devices to Know

Question 1

is the repetition of identical or nearly identical consonant sounds. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and/or supply a musical sound. EX: A moist young moon hung above the mist of a neighboring meadow.

Answer 1

alliteration

Question 2

is a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical (like referring to Nixon), literary (like referring to Brutus in religious (like referring to Noah and the flood), or mythical (like referring to Atlas). There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.

Answer 2

allusion

Question 3

is the deliberate use of a word or statement in order to suggest more than one meaning.

Answer 3

ambiguity

Question 3

is a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship be-tween them. An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.

Answer 3

analogy

Question 4

is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginnings of successive clauses. This technique is usually used to infuse emotion. (see parallelism) EX: We were going to end the war. We were going to wipe out racism. We were-going to mobilize the poor. We were going to take over the universities. —Jerry Rubin

Answer 4

anaphora

Question 5

is the juxtaposition of ideas, often in parallel structure. EX.- That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. -—Neil Armstrong

Answer 5

antithesis

Question 6

is the repetition of similar vowel sounds. EX: Had Gray written often thus, it had been vain to blame and useless to praise him. –Samuel Johnson

Answer 6

assonance

Question 7

the meanings suggested by or associated with a word, rather than the literal or denotative meaning. The word snake, for instance, has a denotative meaning, but it suggests far more.

Answer 7

connotation

Question 8

the literal or exact meaning of a word or term, as opposed to the suggestive or connotative meanings. Scientific writing is usually thought of as being most denotative, while poetry, fiction, and drama depend greatly on the connotative values given to words and phrases.

Answer 8

denotation

Question 9

concrete examples and quotations of words and phrases from a text—-(denotative)

Answer 9

detail

Question 10

is an author’s choice of words. Diction may be characterized as formal or informal; words may be complex or simple, old or new, long or short. For our purposes, diction is always connotative and helps create an author’s style.

Answer 10

diction

Question 10

is language which is nonliteral or nondenotative, figures of speech, such as metaphor, simile, and personification, and employs much imagery. Figurative language seeks not simply to convey information, but also to evoke various responses and associations.

Answer 10

figurative language

Question 11

from the Greek for “good speech,” euphemisms are a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. The euphemism may be used to adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement.

Answer 11

euphemism

Question 12

is the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect Often, hyperbole produces irony at the same time. EX: “l have gray hair, I really do. The one side of my head—-the right side—is full of —Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye

Answer 12

hyperbole

Question 13

is the figurative language or sensory details used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses; we refer to visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory imagery. On a broader and deeper level, how-ever, one image can represent more than one thing. For example, a rose may present visual imagery while also representing the color in a woman’s cheeks. An author, therefore, may use complex imagery while simultaneously employing other figures of speech, especially metaphor and simile. In addition, this term can apply to the total of all the images in a work.

Answer 13

imagery

Question 13

is the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. It is the difference between what appears to be and what actually is true. In general; there are three major types of irony used in language: (1) In verbal irony, the words literally state the opposite of the writer’s (or speaker’s) true meaning. (2) In situational irony, events turn out the opposite of what was expected. What the characters and readers think ought to happen is not what does happen. (3) In dramatic irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work. Irony is used for many reasons, but frequently, it’s used to create poignancy or humor

Answer 13

irony

Question 14

is to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented. When a multiple-choice question asks for an inference to be drawn from a passage, the most direct, most reasonable inference is the safest answer choice. If an inference is implausible, it’s unlikely to be the correct answer. Note that if the answer choice is directly stated, it is not inferred and is wrong.

Answer 14

inference/infer

Question 15

is when an author places two different ideas or concepts side by side. For instance, in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne juxtaposes the wild rosebush with the dreary prison, just as Melville juxtaposes good and evil in the forms of Billy and Claggart in Billy Budd.

Answer 15

juxtaposition

Question 16

is an implied comparison between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in common. EX: On the final examination, several students went down in flames. EX.- Birmingham lighted a runaway fuse, and as fast as the headlines could record them, demonstrations exploded all over the country.

Answer 16

metaphor

Question 17

is a term from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name” metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is Substituted for that of another closely associated with it A news release that claims “the White House declared” rather than “the President declared”.is using metonymy

Answer 17

metonymy

Question 18

is a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds Of words. Simple examples include such words as “buzz,” “hiss,” “hum,” “crash,” and squeak”. EX: Strong gongs groaning as the-guns boom far. –G. K. Chesterton

Answer 18

onomatopoeia

Question 19

is from the Greek for “pointedly foolish”. An oxymoron is a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox. EX: jumbo shrimp, thunderous silence, freezer burn, conspicuous by her absence

Answer 19

oxymoron

Question 19

is the way in which an author structures his work.

Answer 19

organization

Question 20

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth. The first scene of Macbeth for example, closes with the witches’ cryptic “Fair is foul, foul is fair…” EX: Art is a form of lying in order to tell the truth.–Pablo Picasso

Answer 20

paradox

Question 21

comes from Greek roots meaning “beside one another”. Parallelism is the similarity of structure in a pair of series of related words, phrases, or clauses. The effects of parallelism are numerous, but frequently, they act as an organizing force to attract the reader’ s attention, add emphasis and organization, or simply provide a musical rhythm. EX: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…” ,-Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities

Answer 21

parallel structure (parallelism)

Question 22

is a figure of speech which attributes human characteristics to objects, animals, natural events, or abstract ideas. Personification is used to make these objects appear more vivid to the reader. EX: The handsome houses on the street to the college were not fully awake, but they —Lionel Trilling

Answer 22

personification

Question 23

is the perspective from which a story is told. There are two general divisions of point of view and many subdivisions within those: (l) The first-person narrator tells the story with the first-person pronoun, “I,” and is a character in the story. This narrator can be the protagonist, a secondary character or an observer who merely watches the action. (2) The third-person narrator relates the events with the third-person pronouns, “he, she,” and “it.” There are two main subdivisions to be aware of: omniscient and limited omniscient. In the “third-person omniscient” point of view, the narrator, with godlike knowledge, presents the thoughts and actions of any or all characters. This all-knowing narrator can reveal what each character feels and thinks at any given moment. The “third-person limited omniscient” point of view, as its name implies, presents the feelings and thoughts of only one character, presenting only the actions of all remaining characters. When one is asked to analyze an author’s point of view, the appropriate point to address is the author’s attitude.

Answer 23

point of view

Question 24

is asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer, but as an effective persuasive device. It can subtly influence the kind of response one wants from an audience or a reader. EX: A good student-body is perhaps the most important factor in a great university. How —Anonymous

Answer 24

rhetorical question

Question 24

is the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. When repetition is poorly done, it bores, but when it’s well done, it links and emphasizes ideas while allowing the reader the comfort of recognizing something familiar. EX: Antony’ use of “honorable men” in Julius Caesar

Answer 24

repetition—

Question 25

is from the Greek for “orator”. This term describes the principles governing the an of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively.

Answer 25

rhetoric

Question 26

is a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. Regardless of whether or not the work aims to reform humans or their society, satire is best seen as a style of writing rather than a purpose for writing. The effects of satire are Varied, depending on the writer’s goal, but good satire, often humorous, is thought provoking and insightful about the human condition. EX: George Orwell’s Animal Farm Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”

Answer 26

satire

Question 27

is from the Greek meaning “to tear flesh”. Sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic, that is, intending to ridicule. When well done, sarcasm can be witty and insightful; when poorly done, it’s simply cruel.

Answer 27

sarcasm

Question 28

is a directly expressed comparison usually introduced by the words “like” or “as” EX: Like an arrow, the prosecutor went directly to the point EX: She was as happy as a butcher’s dog.

Answer 28

simile

Question 29

is a schematic device that Aristotle invented to analyze and test deductive reasoning. The syllogism reasons from statements or propositions. These propositions are called premises. The reasoning follows this course: if” a “ is true, and “b” is true, then “c” must be true. The following syllogism has become Exhibit A in almost every book of logic: All men are mortal beings. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is a mortal being.

Answer 29

syllogism

Question 30

is something which stands for or is emblematic of something else. In literature, a symbol is a concrete element which suggests a range of meanings and associations in rich, deep, and suggestive ways. If a writer can use snow, for example, to suggest a whole range of associations such as cold, ice, frigidity, sleep, peacefulness, innocence, and death, the snow no longer just means frozen, wet, white stuff. It is a symbol of all these many associations.

Answer 30

symbol/symbolism

Question 31

is the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but one can differentiate between them by thinking of syntax as the group of words, while diction refers to the individual words.

Answer 31

syntax