Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
Ad Populum
Appealing to irrational fears and prejudices of the audience.
Ad Hominen
Switching argument from a discussion of the issues to a discussion of the person/personality
Anadiplosis
Repetition of the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next.
Analepsis
Flashback
Analogy
A is to B as C is to D
Antithesis
Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, emphasized by parallel structure.
Anaphora
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginnings of successive clauses.
Epistrophe
Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the end of two or more clauses.
Metonymy
Figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it.
Rhetorical Question
Asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something.
Asyndeton
Deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clauses.
Ellipsis
Deliberate omission of a word or of words which are readily implied by the context.
Apophasis
A rhetorical figure in which one makes an assertion while pretending to deny it.
Anastrophe
Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence.
Apostrophe
Calling out to the imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified idea.
Antimetabole
Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order.
Chiasmus
Reversal of grammatical structured in successive phrases or clauses.
Paradox
Statement that initially appears to be self-contradictory, but on closer examination, makes sense.
Periodic Sentence
Usually a complex sentence that has no subordinate or descriptive elements following the main clause.
Euphemism
Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that might offend or express something unpleasant.
Polysyndeton
A sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z.
Parallel Structure
The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.
Loose sentence
One in which the main clause come first, followed by further dependent grammatical units.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Allegory
Story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.
Epanalepsis
Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated both at the begging and at the end of a line.
Litotes
Form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of the negative form.
Telegraphic sentence
Sentence shorter than five words in length.
Hortatory sentence
A statement urging others to join in some action
