STYLISTICS Flashcards
Change the usual meaning of words to convey vivid picture
Literary Tropes
Identify:
“I rather recommend buying the children alive and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.”
In this satirical essay, Swift ironically suggests that the poor Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to the rich. This act is saying the opposite of what is actually meant.
A. Antiphrasis
B. Antimetabole
Antiphrasis (Verbal irony)
Despite Alice’s groaning stomach, she replied “No thanks, I just ate and I’m quite full” when she was offered a meal by the queen of hearts.
This displays coyness.
A. Antanaclassis
B. Accismus
B. Accismus
What do both the lines: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” and John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost
“Yet not all lost: th’ unconquerable Will, / And study of revenge, immortal hate, / And courage never to submit or yield.” have in common?
In this passage, Satan reflects on his downfall, but quickly counters his defeat with the idea that his will and resolve remain unconquered.
Antanagoge
Antana (👎🏻) GOge! (👍🏻)
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his I Have a Dream speech:
“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.”
Here he King urges his audience to return to their homes, continue their struggle, and remain hopeful for change. He is encouraging them to take action while giving them a sense of optimism.
Adhortatio
(ADvice)
A rhetorical device in which a word is repeated, but its meaning changes each time.
William Shakespeare’s Henry V:
“If we don’t hang together, we shall most assuredly hang separately.”
In this line, “hang” is used first to mean “stick together” and then to mean “be executed.”
Benjamin Franklin:
“Your argument is sound, nothing but sound.”
In this example, “sound” is used first to mean “logical” or “solid,” and then the second time, it means “empty noise.”
Antanaclasis
(Antana-“Class-Class”-is)
Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
This famous opening line presents a series of opposing ideas (best vs. worst, wisdom vs. foolishness). This is an example of?
A. Anthithesis
B. Antiphrasis
Anthithesis
“She was the best player—no, the best person—I’ve ever met.”
-A rhetorical device where a speaker or writer deliberately amends or corrects something they’ve just said, either for emphasis or to refine the point.
Correctio
Act of commending or complementing a virtue especially in the hearers.
“You are all too good to be true. You all have genuine hearts and beautiful souls”
Comprobatio
(Complement)
Direct (Directly given) and bluntness of another person’s faults.
“You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!”
In this line found in Julius Ceasar, Marullus directly addresses the commoners, criticizing them for their lack of loyalty and sensibility.
Categoria
(Gor you?)
-harsh
Direct (Directly given) and bluntness of another person’s faults.
“You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!”
In this line found in Julius Ceasar, Marullus directly addresses the commoners, criticizing them for their lack of loyalty and sensibility.
Categoria
(Gor you?)
-harsh
Word in a context that differs from its proper application. Inappropriate use of words
“I biked a racket, like a horse, in my living room”
Catachresis
(“Tacha tacha” or pataka og gamit)
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice:
“Do not let yourself be misled by appearances. Mr. Wickham’s charming manners are not to be trusted.”
-Advice with the use of a dissuasive statement
Dehortatio
Balancing or opposing fact to prevent the argument from being one sided
Example:
George Orwell’s Animal Farm:
“While some may argue that the new leadership is no better than the old regime, it is clear that the principles of equality and justice are being upheld more effectively.”
Dirimens Copulatio
(Not only… but also; not just… ought to)
Explicitly specifying explanation of such words ( By _____, I mean)
“She look a little older now, by older I mean more mature looking”
Distinctio
(Define)
Using of derogatory or unpleasant terms, no sugarcoating. Instead of saying “she was laid to rest” you say “She was shoved six feet into thee ground” or “not too smart” to “birdbrain”
Dysphemism
Stirring vehement feelings by mean of rhetorical questions.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
“Are we not all one family, bound together by the common ties of humanity?”
Stowe uses this rhetorical question to provoke empathy and appeal to the reader’s sense of shared humanity.
Exuscitatio
Verbal depiction of someones body
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice:
“She was a tall, elegant woman, with a graceful demeanor and a countenance that was both expressive and approachable.”
Effictio
(DEPICTio)
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:
“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
-Shows series of three parallel elements
Tricolon
