rhetorical list two Flashcards
anaphora
The repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism.
Example: “To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss.” –Peacham
antithesis
A device that establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure.
Example: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” –Neil Armstrong
asyndeton
A stylistic device that consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
Example: “This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely…” –Aristotle
chiasmus
A rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
Example: “Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink so that they may live.” –Socrates
diacope
The repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase as a method of emphasis.
Example: “We will do it, I tell you; we will do it.”
ellipsis
A stylistic element used to omit some parts of a text that allows the reader to fill in the gaps by the use of context clues.
Example: “To be or not…that is the question.”
Inverted Syntax (Inversion)
Reversing the normal order of a sentence.
Example: “What they talked of all evening long, no one remembered next day.” –Ray Bradbury
Litotes
A figure in which the affirmative is expressed by the negation of the contrary; it employs an understatement by using double negatives.
Example: “It is no ordinary city.”
Parable
A short story from which a moral or spiritual lesson may be drawn.
Example: “Parable of the Good Samaritan” – Luke 10:25-37
Parallel Syntactic Structures
Using the same part of speech or syntactic structure in each element of a series, before and after coordinating conjunctions, and after each of a pair of correlative conjunctions.
Example: “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.”
Parenthesis
A word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage that is grammatically complete without it.
Example: “But the new calculations (and here we see the value of relying upon up-to-date information) showed that man-powered flight was possible with this design.”
Periodic Sentence Structure
A sentence written so that the full meaning cannot be understood until the end.
Example: “To believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Polysyndeton
A stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect.
Example: “Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns …let the have their whiteness.” –Maya Angelou
Syntax
The organization and patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words.
Example: “Parallelism falls under the category of syntax because it is a way the words are formed and organized within a sentence.”
Zeugma
A figure of speech in which a word applies to more than one noun, blending together grammatically and logically different ideas.
Example: “Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion.” –Peacham
