Vocab Flashcards
ad hominem
An argument “against the man”; attacking the argued rather than the argument or issue
Ambiguity
Deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way
Analogy
Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike
Anaphora
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences/lines of poetry in a row
Anecdote
A brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often showing the character of an individual
Anthropomorphism
Attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (aka personification)
Antimetabole
Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order (Ex: One should eat to live, not live to eat)
Antithesis
Balancing word, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure
Aphorism
A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth; also called maxim, adage, or epigram
Apostrophe
Calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the main character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration, it is called in invocation
Argument
An appeal to reason by way of facts, with the end of drawing one’s audience into thinking and acting a certain way
Argumentation
One of the four traditional forms of discourse; uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way
Assonance
The repetition or similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are close together
Asyndeton
Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of x, y, and z… the writer uses x, y, z
