Rhetorical Techniques/Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
Repeats the same sound or letter beginning several words in sequence
Ex: “Let us go forth to lead the land we love”
Allusion
Short reference to as famous person or event. It is also important that it explains, or enhances the subject under discussion without sidetracking the listener. —-> indirect reference
Ex: “you must borrow me Gargantua’s mouth first.”
Amplification
Repeats a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize something.
Ex: “I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman ; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England too”
Anadiplosis
Repeats in or several words that end one clause and begin another.
Ex: “some men are born with greatness, some men achieve greatness, and some men have greatness thrust upon them.”
Analogy
Is a king of extended metaphor or long simile in which a comparison is made between two things in order to develop a line of reasoning. While it is similar to simile, similes are generally more artistic and brief, while and analogy explains a thought process.
Ex: “knowledge always desires increase: it is like fire, which much first be kindle by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself.”
Anaphora
Repeats the same word or wowed beginning with successive phrases, or often sentences, often alongside climax and parallelism and using a tricolon.
Ex: “to think on death is a misery, to think on life it is a vanity, to think on the world verily it is.”
Anastrophe
A departure from normal word order for sake of emphasis.
Ex: “four score and seven years ago.”
Antistrophe
Repeats the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
Ex: “in 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo— without warning.”
Antithesis
Is a figure of balance In which two contrasting ideas are deliberately used in consecutive phrases or sentences.
Ex: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content on their character”
Assonance
Is a successive use of different syllables with the same or similar vowel sounds in words with different consonants. It is similar to rhyme, but can be used without similar sounding words.
Ex: “I feel the need, the need for speed.”
Asyndeton
Is a lack of conjunctions between successive phrases or words.
Ex: “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe….”
Chiasmus
Is a very commonly used and effective technique where the words in one phrase or clause are reversed in the next.
Ex: “it’s not the men in my life that counts: it’s the life in my men.”
Climax
Words or phrases in order of increasing importance or emphasis. It is often used with parallelism because it offers a sense of continuity, order and movement up the ladder of importance.
Ex: “for the good of all of us, for the love of this great nation, for the family of America, for the love of God.”
Diacope
Repeated a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase,
Ex: “free at last, free at last ; thank God alright, free at last”
Distinctio
Is an elaboration on a particular meaning of a word in order to prevent any misunderstanding or ambiguity.
Ex: “in modern times, (and *here I am referring to the post-World War Two era)…”
Epistrophe
Repeats the last word(s) in one phrase or sentence at the end of successive ones.
Ex: “And that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
Eponym
Substitution of the name of a famous person recognized for a particular attribute. Border cliché.
Ex: “you don’t need to be einstein to see that..”
Expletive
Is a word or short phrase that interrupts normal speech in order to lend emphasis to the words immediately next to it.
Ex: “and this city, this Golden City which is both ancient and youthful — stands as a living moment in your unconquerable spirit.”
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Opposite of Meiosis
Ex: “this steak isn’t rare: I’ve seen cows * hurt worse than this get up and get well*.”
Hypophora
Is a figure of reasoning in which one or more questions or objections is/are asked or stated and then answered by the speaker, reasoning aloud.
Ex: “When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do?”
Meiosis
Is a deliberate understatement, I.e the opposite of hyperbole.
“The situation has developed, not necessarily to our advantage”
Metabasis
Is a brief statement of what has been said and what will follow; a kind of traditional summary.
Ex: “so far I have connected only one on the costs of the proposal. I now want to turn to the benefits.”
