Rhetorical Strategies 'A' Terms Flashcards
Amplification
repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over
Ex. In my hunger after ten days of rigorous dieting I saw visions of ice cream–mountains of creamy, luscious ice cream, dripping with gooey syrup and calories.
Analogy
compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea. abstract to concrete, more extensive than simile
Ex. You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables. –Samuel Johnson
Anaphora
repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, usually used w/ parallelism
Ex. 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
Antimetabole
reversing the order of repeated words or phrases (AB-BA)
Ex. All work and no play is as harmful to mental health as all play and no work.
Antiphrasis
one word irony with context
Ex. “Come here, Tiny,” he said to the fat man.
Antithesis
establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure
Ex. That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. –Neil Armstrong
Aphorism
a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life
Ex. The early bird gets the worm
Apophasis
asserts or emphasizes something by pointedly seeming to pass over, ignore, or deny it. This device has both legitimate and illegitimate uses. Legitimately, a writer uses it to call attention to sensitive or inflammatory facts or statements while he remains apparently detached from them:
Ex. We will not bring up the matter of the budget deficit here, or how programs like the one under consideration have nearly pushed us into bankruptcy, because other reasons…
Aporia
expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion. Among its several uses are the suggesting of alternatives without making a commitment to either or any:
Ex. I am not sure whether to side with those who say that higher taxes reduce inflation or with those who say that higher taxes increase inflation.
Apostrophe
interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or personified thing, either present or absent. Its most common purpose in prose is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back:
Ex. O value of wisdom that fadeth not away with time, virtue ever flourishing, that cleanseth its possessor from all venom! O heavenly gift of the divine bounty, descending from the Father of lights, that thou mayest exalt the rational soul to the very heavens! Thou art the celestial nourishment of the intellect . . . . –Richard de Bury
Appositive
a noun or noun substitute placed next to (in apposition to) another noun to be described or defined by the appositive. Don’t think that appositives are for subjects only and that they always follow the subject.
Ex. Henry Jameson, the boss of the operation, always wore a red baseball cap. [This shows the subject (Henry Jameson) with the appositive (the boss of the operation) following the subject. This is the most commonly used variety.]
Assonance
similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants
Ex. “His tender heir might bear his memory” (William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 1”)
Asynedton
consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list of items, asyndeton gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account:
Ex. On his return he recieved medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.
