Rhetorical Terms Pt. 1

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

Using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words (as in “she sells sea shells). The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical.

Question 4

Ambiguity

Answer 4

Ambiguity is the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Question 5

Anadiplosis

Answer 5

Anadiplosis is a form of repetition where the last word or phrase of one clause, sentence, or line is repeated at the beginning of the next.

Question 6

Analogy

Answer 6

Analogy is a comparison of two things to help explain an idea or concept.

Question 7

Anaphora

Answer 7

One of the devices of repetition in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. The structural opposite of anaphora is epistrophe.

Question 8

Anecdote

Answer 8

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person. Used to provide a concrete example or to humanize an abstract concept.

Question 9

Atanaclasis

Answer 9

Atanaclasis is the repetition of a word in two different senses

Question 10

Antithesis

Answer 10

Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; antithesis creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas.

Question 11

Antimetabole

Answer 11

The repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.

Question 12

Aphorism

Answer 12

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.)

Question 13

Apostrophe

Answer 13

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. effect is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back:

Question 14

Asyndeton

Answer 14

Asyndeton consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. This can give the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account. Asyndetic lists can be more emphatic than if a final conjunction were used.

Question 15

Chiasmus

Answer 15

(From the Greek word for “criss-cross,” a designation based on the Greek letter “chi,” written X). Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Question 16

Colloquial/colloquialism

Answer 16

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.