Two Flashcards
The repetition of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
Anaphora
A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some particular body of knowledge.
Allusion
The repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order- for example, “you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.”
Antimetable
The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas, often in parallel structure- for example, “Place your virtues on a pedestal; put your vices under a rock.”
Antithesis
An elaborate statement justifying some controversial, even contentious, position.
Apology
Type of soliloquy where nature is addressed as though human.
Apostrophe
In a text, the reference to words, actions, or beliefs of a person in authority as a means of supporting a claim, generalization, or conclusion.
Appeal to authority
A carefully constructed, well-supported representation of how a writer sees an issue, problem, or subject.
Argument
The repetition of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of two or more adjacent words.
Assonance
The situation that results when a writer or speaker constructs an argument on an assumption that the audience does not accept
Begging of the question
The relationship expressing, “if X is the cause, then Y is the effect,” or, “if Y is the effect, then X caused it”
Casual relationship
The ultimate conclusion, generalization, or point that a syllogism or entitlement expresses. The point, backed up by support, of an argument.
Claim
A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Complex sentence
A sentence with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Compound sentence
The struggle of characters with themselves, with others, or with the world around them.
Conflict
The implied meaning of a word
Connotation
The convergence of time, place, audience, and motivating factors in which a pice of writing or a speech is situated.
Context
Facts, statistics, and examples that a speaker or writer offers in support of a claim, generalization, or conclusion.
Data
The dictionary definition of a word, in contrast to its connotation, or implied meaning.
Denotation
The omission of words, the meaning of which is provided by the overall context of a passage.
Ellipsis
The repetition of a group of words at the end of successive clauses- for example, “They saw no evil, they spoke no evil, and they heard no evil.”
Epistrophe
A word or phrase adding a characteristic to a persons name- for example, “Richard the lion-hearted.”
Epithet
An indirect expression of unpleasant information in such a way as to lessen its impact- for example, saying a persons position was eliminated rather than saying the person was fired.
Euphemism
In ancient roman oratory, the introduction of a speech, meant to draw the audience into the speech.
Exordium
Language dominated by the use of schemes and tropes.
Figurative Language
A point that a speaker or writer generates on the basis of considering a number of particular examples.
Generalization
In ancient Roman oratory, the method that speakers used to memorize their speeches, connecting the introduction to the porch of a house, the narration and partition the the front foyer, the confirmation and refutation to rooms connected to the foyer, and the conclusion to the back door.
House Analogy
Language that evokes sensation or emotional intensity.
Imagery
A metaphor embedded in a sentence rather than expressed directly as a sentence. For example, “his voice cascaded through the hallways” contains an implied metaphor; “his voice was a cascade of emotion” contains a direct metaphor.
Implied metaphor
A conclusion that a reader or listener reaches by means of his or her own thinking rather than by direct statement in a text.
Inference
The goal a writer or speaker hopes to achieve with the text- for example, to clarify difficult material, to inform, to convince, or to persuade. Also called aim and purpose.
Intention
Writing or speaking that implies the contrary of what is actually written or spoken.
Irony
The specialized vocabulary of a particular group.
Jargon
Vocabulary characterized by the choice of elaborate, often complicated words derived from Latin roots.
Latinate diction
Understatement
Litotes
An entity referred to by one of its attributes or associations- for example, “the admission office claims applications have risen.”
Metonymy
A systematic aid to memory.
Mnemonic device
Juxtaposed words with seemingly contradictory meanings
Oxymoron
A statement that seems untrue on the surface but is true nonetheless.
Paradox
An insertion of material that interrupts the typical flow of a sentence.
Parenthesis
Kenneth Burkes system for analyzing motives and actions in communication. The five points of the Pentax are act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose.
Pentad
The substitution of an attributive word or phrase for a proper name, or the use of a proper name to suggest a personality characteristic. For example, “Pete Rose- better known as ‘Charlie Hustle’- admitted his gambling problems.”
Periphrasis
In ancient Roman oratory, the part of the speech in which the speaker would draw together the entire argument and include material designed to compel the audience to think or act in a way consonant with the central argument.
Peroration
The character that a writer or speaker conveys to the audience; the plural is personae.
Persona
Referring to the moving back and forth from invention to revision in the process of writing.
Recursive
In ancient roman oratory, the part of speech in which the speaker would anticipate objections to the points being raised and counter them.
Refutation
A writers or speakers apparent attitude toward the audience.
Stance
The choices that writers or speakers make in language for effect.
Style
A part of something used to refer to the whole
Synecdoche
A trope in which one word, usually a noun or the main verb, governs two other words not related in meaning- for example, “ he maintained a business and his innocence.”
Zeugma
