Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Rhetorical Devices
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| dialogue | conversation that is recorded in a piece of writing that reveals aspects of characters’ personalities as well as events in the narrative |
| allusion | reference to historical, mythical, or literary person, place or thing |
| analogy | a comparison or similarity between like features of two different things; used to help reader/listener understand better |
| anaphora | repetition of word, phrase, clause at beginning of successive clauses or sentences |
| anecdote | brief story of an individual or incident |
| antagonist | the character who opposes the main character |
| antithesis | contrasting ideas in a parallel arrangement of words |
| aphorism | a brief saying embodying a moral |
| asyndeton | the omission of conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, etc.) that would ordinarily join words. |
| cliché | trite or overused remark, saying, idea |
| colloquialism | a word or phrase used in conversational language but not in formal speech |
| compare/contrast | juxtaposing two things to highlight their similarities and differences |
| connotation | the emotional associations evoked by a word |
| denotation | exact, literal, “dictionary” definition of a word |
| description | a type of prose that tells how a person, place or thing is perceived by the five senses. |
| dialect | nonstandard subgroup of a language with its own vocabulary and grammatical features |
| diction | word choice |
| concrete diction | words that describe physical qualities or conditions |
| abstract diction | words to describe ideas, emotions, conditions or concepts that are intangible or difficult to define precisely |
| low/informal diction | language of everyday use |
| elevated/formal diction | language that creates an elevated (high) tone; contains words with many syllables and long, sophisticated sentences |
| colloquial diction | informal expressions; part of everyday speech, but inappropriate in formal writing |
| dramatic irony | occurs when the audience knows something that the characters do not |
| epigraph | a quotation at the beginning of a poem, short story, or other text that introduces or refers to the larger themes of the text. |
| ethos | a rhetorical appeal that emphasize the credibility of the speaker, by listing the speaker’s accomplishments, linking the speaker to the audience, or linking the speaker and another respected person. |
| euphemism | a mild or pleasant-sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea |
| exemplification | a type of expository writing that uses examples – specific facts, opinions, s and anecdotes – to support a generalization and to make it more vivid, understandable and persuasive |
| exposition/expository writing | a type of prose used to clarify, explain and inform |
| figurative language | words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else (simile, metaphor, personification, etc.) |
| flashback | scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event |
| foil | characters whose traits highlight the strengths/weaknesses of other characters |
| foreshadowing | hint of what is to come, usually negative |
| genre | literary type or class |
| hubris | a common tragic flaw among tragic heroes, characterized by excessive pride |
| humor | appealing to an audience by being comical or amusing |
| hyperbole | deliberate/outrageous exaggeration |
| imagery | words that appeal to the five senses |
| interior monologue | a representation of an “inner voice” or “thinking in words” |
| irony | the opposite of what is expected |
| jargon | specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject; vocabulary distinctive to a particular group of people |
| juxtaposition | putting two or more things side by side in order to compare them |
| logos | A rhetorical appeal that seeks to convince the audience through |
| metaphor | a comparison between two unlike things |
| mood | overall atmosphere of work |
| parallelism/parallel structure | grammatical similarity between sentences or parts of sentence |
| rhetorical question | question to which no answer is expected, or answer is self-evident |
| simile | comparison of two dissimilar things using “like” or “as” |
| symbol | a concrete object that represents an abstract quality or idea |
| tone | author’s attitude toward subject |
| understatement | deliberate representation of something as less than it is |
| generalization | a statement that makes a sweeping inference from a specific case |
Created by:
deb.gravina
Popular English Vocabulary sets