Rhetorical Terms Test #1 Flashcards
Allegory
The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.
Alliteration
The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words. Ex. She sells sea shells.
Allusion
A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Ex. Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
Ambiguity
The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Analogy
A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.
Anaphora
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. Ex. They were masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money.
Ancedote
A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event.
Antecedent
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
Antithesis
Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences. Ex. That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
Aphorism
A terse statement of know authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.
Apostrophe
A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.
Asyndeton
Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. Ex. On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.
Atmosphere
The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described.
Chiasmus
A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax but reverse the order of the analogous words. Ex. The land was ours before we were the land’s.
Clause
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent or main one expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent or subordinate one cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent one.
