Rhetorical Terms Flashcards
Simile
Figure of speech, compares to unlike things using like, as, than, or resembles
Personification
Figure of speech, attribution of personal nature or human characteristics to something not human
Apostrophe
Speaking to someone that is dead/something like it can understand you like they can hear you
Allusion
A loose reference to a person/thing of historical/political context (literary/historical reference in a text)
Hyperbole
Extravagant exaggeration (not meant to be taken literally)
Irony
Expressions of meaning by using the opposite
- Verbal Irony: saying one thing and meaning another
- Situational Irony: irony of a situation
- Dramatic Irony: audience knows something the characters don’t
Understatement
Make light of a situation (to hide the importance)
Paradox
A seemingly self-contradictory statement or proposition, but in reality expresses a possible truth
Oxymoron
Figure of speech where contradictory terms are put next to each other to create an effect
Epithet
Any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality
Bathos
Falling into inconsequential/absurd metaphors, disruptions, or ideas in an effort to increase emotion or passion
Euphemism
Substitution a mild, indirect or vague expression thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt
Parallelism
Use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter
Rhetorical Question
Figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point, rather than elicit an answer
Antithesis
Contrasting two ideas using similar phrasing. Contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent places, clauses, or sentences
Inversion
Normal order of words reversed for effect or emphasis of meter
Anaphora
Repetition of initial word to create a rhyming scheme/prove a point
Anathema
Something/someone that is intensely disliked/loathed
Aphorism
Brief sentence/phrase that expresses an opinion/makes a statement of wisdom
Epigram
Short and clever poem/witty saying
Satire
A way of using humor to show that someone/something is foolish or bad
Parody
Imitation of someone’s work: mimicking/poking fun at something for comic effect (character)
Mock Heroic
When character/normal event is treated with grandeur (heroic style) for coming effect. (Mocking)
Allegory
A story in which characters/events are symbols that stand for ideas/political/historical situation
Fable
Concise and brief story that uses plants, animals or forces of nature with human traits to teach a moral lesson
Myth
Not factual: relies on religion, superstition, or stories to explain the world
Parable
Children’s short story that teaches a lesson (allegorical)
Logos
A statement/sentence/argument used to persuade the audience by using reason/logic
Pathos
An appeal to emotion/feelings
Ethos
Character, trustworthiness, or credibility of the writer/speaker
Syllogism
A deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and minor premise and a conclusion
Major Premise
Formal logical argument containing the major term. Premise of a syllogism
Minor Premise
Formal logical term containing a minor term. Subject of a syllogism
Induction
A conclusion reached through reasoning
Deduction
Using logic/reason to form an opinion/conclusion
Hasty Generalization
A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by a sufficient or unbiased evidence
Faulty Causality
Event/action that influences another that is not reasonably related
Begging the Question (circular argument)
Fallacy in which the premise concludes that the conclusion is true (indirectly/directly) by assuming the conclusion is true
Equivocation
The use of equivocator ambiguous expressions: especially in order to mislead more than one interpretation
Non Sequitur
A statement that is not connected in a logical or clear way to anything said before it
Ad Hominem
A fallacy in which a claim/argument is rejected based on a fact about the person presenting the argument (attacking the person to weaken argument)
Denotation
The explicit/direct meaning of a word/expression (exact definition)
Connotation
The implied meaning of the word (emotional association)
Elegy
Mournful, melancholy, or planted poem (ex. A funeral song or a lament for the dead)
Alliteration
Repeating of consonant sounds in a word/phrase/sentence
Onomatopoeia
The naming of a thing/action with a vocal immigration of its sound
Anadiplosis
Technique where the last word of the sentence becomes the first word of the next sentence
Epanalepsis
Repeating word or phrase with words in-between that set off repetition and add surprise/emphasis (same word/phrase open and closes a speech
Antimetabole
Repeating words in reverse order for surprise/emphasis
Chiasmus
Words/grammatical constructions/concepts repeated in reverse order for effect
Ellipsis
The artful omniscient of a word implied by a previous clause with “…” (Left out because it is not needed)
Asyndeton
Omission of a conjunction before the last term in a series
Analogy
A comparison in which an idea/thing is compared to another thing that is quite different
Aristotelian Logic
Logos (using reasoning)
Argument as Populem
Popular appeal: an argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it
Bandwagon
A popular activity/effort/cause that becomes popular thought the thought that “everyone is doing it” (propaganda)
Red Herring
Something that distracts attention from the real issue (diversion from the main point)
Aristotelian Concession/Conclusion
Conceding to a point in an argument (agreeing with opponent). Not out of weakness, but as an ethical appeal. Admit opponent is valid, while still upholding your own view
Colloquial
Writing/speaking in an informal or slangy way vs. formal speech (ordinary conversation over formal speech)
Metaphor
Figure of speech, something is applied/compared not literally
Metonymy
One term is substituted for another term with which it is closely associated
Circumlocution
Talking around the subject
Lampoon
Sharp ridicule of the behavior or character of a person or institution
Caricature
A ludicrous exaggeration of persons or things
False Dichotomy
Consideration of only the two extremes and not any of the “middle ground” or intermediate possibilities
Equivocation
Telling part of the truth, while deliberately hiding the entire truth
