Terms Related to the Analysis of Rhetoric

Question 1

anadiplosis

Answer 1

repetition of a word or phrase that ends one clause at the beginning of the next

Question 2

anaphora

Answer 2

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases,clauses, or lines

Question 3

antistrophe

Answer 3

repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses

Question 4

antitheses

Answer 4

opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction

Question 5

ansyndeton

Answer 5

lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Question 6

cacophony

Answer 6

harsh joining of sounds

Question 7

chiasmus

Answer 7

a crossing parallelism, where the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part only in reverse order

Question 8

diacope

Answer 8

repetition with only one or two words between each repeated phrase

Question 9

epithet

Answer 9

an adjective or adjective phrase appropriately qualifying a subject (noun) by naming key or important characteristic of the subject as in “laughing happiness’, “sneering contempt”, “Sleep”, “peaceful dawn”, and “lifegiving water”

Question 10

epizeuxis

Answer 10

repetition of words in immediate succession for vehemence or emphasis

Question 11

hyperbole

Answer 11

exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect

Question 12

juxtaposition

Answer 12

positioning of two elements next to one another in order to make a point

Question 13

lyrical

Answer 13

prose that is particularly poetic, musical, and expressive

Question 14

parallelism

Answer 14

a repeated pattern of syntax

Question 15

paraprosdokian

Answer 15

surprise or unexpected ending of a phrase or series

Question 16

paronomasia

Answer 16

use of similar sounding words, often etymological word play

Question 17

polysyndeton

Answer 17

the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases or clauses

Question 18

rhetorical question

Answer 18

a question meant to provoke thought and not meant to be answered

Question 19

sentimentality

Answer 19

a pejorative term used to describe the effect by an author to induce emotional responses in the reader that exceed what the situation warrants

Question 20

structure

Answer 20

the order in which a piece is presented and any devices or features that reinforce or give meaning to this order