Terms Flashcards
Onomatopoeia
Word which sounds like what it means “bang”, “crash” and “thud”
Simile
A metaphor with its scaffolding still in place, “as like two peas in a pod”.
(Comparing two (sometimes unlike) things by using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”)
Exemplum
Use of example/case study
Consonance
Rhyming consonants (basically alliteration)
Assonance
Rhyming similar vowel sounds
Homeoteleuton
Repetition of word endings
“The cheapER the crook, the gaudiER the pattER”
Palilogia
Repetition without words in-between
“Location, location, location.”
Epistrophe
Repetition of last word
“Government of the people, by the people and for the people”
Diacope
A-B-A
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!”
Anaphora
Repetition of initial word/phrase
“We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight on the hills and streets.”
Anticlimax
Raising the tone, then deliberately dropping it.
“Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber ton the weekends.”
Polysendeton
Repeated use of coordinating conjunctions (and, or)
“Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets and books and mostly-mostly-let them have their whiteness.”
Litotes
Understatement
“The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage”
Antanagoge
Balancing negative point with positive
“So you live alone? It must be nice to be able to do what you want”
Catacosmesis
Arranging items from biggest to smallest/greatest to least
“Lions led by donkey”
Syllogism
Three-part argument: 2 statements and a conclusion.
“Smiling is my favourite. You make me smile. That makes you my favourite.”
Enthymeme
An argumentative statement in which the writer or the speaker omits one of the premises, does not clearly pronounce it, or keeps the promise implied.
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum”
Diasyrmus
Ludicrous comparison
“Arguing that we can clean up government by better regulating elections is like asking a dog to quit marking his territory by lifting his hind leg”
Apodixis
Use of common knowledge
“Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”
Martyria
Use of personal knowledge/experience.
“I knew Jack Kennedy - senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy”
Argumentum ad Baculum
Use of threat
“Buy this magazine or we kill this dog”
Anacoenosis
Posing a question to show common interest with audience.
“Now tell me, given the evidence before us, could you have decided any differently.”
Procatalepsis
Raising objections before audience does, and squashing them
“Everything in this room is edible. Yes I am edible, but that, children, is called ‘cannibalism.’”
Sententia
Use of quotation/well-known phrase
“The lesson we have to learn is to ‘live and let live.’”
