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Rhetorical Devices
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| alliteration | repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, at the beginning of words (sweet-scented stuff) |
| aposiopesis | a breaking-off of speech, usually because of rising emotion or excitement (Touch me one more time, and I swear--) |
| apostrophe | a direct address to an absent or dead person, or to an object, quality, or idea. |
| assonance | the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words |
| cacophony/dissonance | a clash of discordant or harsh sounds within a sentence or phrase. A familiar feature of tongue twisters or for poetic effect. (anfractuous rocks) |
| chiasmus | two phrases in which the syntax is the same but placement of words is reversed (fair is foul, and foul is fair) |
| cliche | an expression that has been used so frequently it has lost its expressive power |
| colloquialism | an informal expression or slang |
| conceit | an elaborate parallel between two seemingly dissimilar objects or ideas (shall I compare thee to a summer's day?) |
| epithet | an adjective or phrase that describes a prominent feature of a person or thing; often habitually (stone-cold heart; "The Great Emancipator") |
| euphemism | the use of decorous language to express vulgar or unpleasant ideas, events, or actions (passed away) |
| euphony | a pleasing arrangement of sounds (cellar door) |
| hyperbole | an excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact (I've told you a million times already) |
| litotes | an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite (This is no small problem) |
| meiosis | intentional understatement |
| metaphor | the comparison of one thing to another that does not use the terms "like" or "as" (life is but a walking shadow) |
| mixed metaphor | a combination of metaphors that produces a confused or contradictory image (the company's collapse left mountains of debt in its wake) |
| metonymy | the substitution of one for another that generally is associated with it ("Washington" instead of "US government") |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words such as "pop", "hiss", and "boing" that sound like the thing they refer to |
| oxymoron | the association of two contrary terms ("same difference" or "wise fool") |
| paradox | a statement that seems absurd or even contradictory on its face but often expresses a deeper truth (less is more) |
| paralipsis/praeteritio | technique of drawing attention to something by claiming not to mention it (We will not speak of his problems here, how he tampered the coffee...) |
| parallelism | the use of similar grammatical structures or word order in two sentences or phrases to suggest a comparison or contrast between them (Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.) |
| pathetic fallacy | the attribution of human feeling or motivation to a nonhuman object (weeping cloud) |
| periphrasis | an elaborate and roundabout manner of speech that uses more words than necessary; often employed in euphemisms |
| personification | the use of human characteristics to describe animals, things, or ideas |
| pun | a play on words that exploits the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meanings |
| rhetorical question | a question that is asked not to elicit a response but to make an impact or call attention to something |
| sarcasm | a simple form of verbal irony; it is obvious from context and tone that the speaker means to opposite of what he/she says |
| simile | a comparsion of two things using "like" or "as" |
| synaesthesia | the use of one kind of sensory experience to describe another (Heard melodies are sweet) |
| trope | a category of figures of speech that extend the literal meanings of words by inviting a comparison to other words, things, or ideas (ex: metaphor, metonymy, simile) |
| zeugma | the use of one word in a sentence to modify two other words in the sentence, typically in two different ways (The dance floor was square, and so was the bandleader’s personality.) |
| polysyndeton | repetition of conjunctions (we have ships and money and men) |
| qualifier | a restriction placed on the claim to indicate that it may not always be true as so stated (It's "pretty" hard to be efficient without being obnoxious) |
| anaphora | the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses (We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight...) |
| aphorism | A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; A brief statement of a principle ("Sits he on ever so high a throne, a man still sits on his bottom.") |
| absolute phrase | A group of words that modifies an independent clause as a whole (One by one, down the hill come the mothers of the neighborhood, "their kids running beside them.") |
| periodic sentence | A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word--usually with an emphatic climax. |
| loose/cumulative sentence | A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by subordinate phrases and clauses. |
| circular reasoning | This restates the argument rather than actually proving it (George Bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.) |
| inductive reasoning | takes a specific representative case or facts and then draws generalizations or conclusions from them; must be based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence |
| deductive reasoning | begins with a generalization and then applies it to a specific case. The generalization you start with must have been based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence |
| asyndeton | omission of conjunctions (I came, I saw, I conquered) |
| didactic | intending to teach |
| non sequiter | Stating a conclusion that does not follow from the premise or premises (“I’ve lived in this town a long time—why my grandfather was the first mayor—so I’m against putting fluoride in the water.”) |
| ad hominem | Attacking a person’s view by attacking his or her character |
| post hoc | Assuming that because B follows A, B was caused by A ("giving credit to the rooster's crowing for the rising of the sun") |
| syllogism | deductive reasoning with a major/minor premise and a conclusion |
| synecdoche | part for whole(hand for sailor) whole for part(law for police officer) specific for general(cutthroat for assassin) general for specific (thief for pickpocket) material for things(steel for sword) |
| tautology | needless repetition of same sentence in different words |
| syllepsis | type of zuegma; 1 word governs 2 or more other words but agrees in #, gender, or case w/ only 1 or has a different meaning when applied to each |
| conjecture | inference or judgement based on incomplete evidence |
| anthropomorphism | attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman things |
| anecdote | a short personal account of an incident or event |
| panegyric | extravagant praise delivered in formal speech or writing |
| apposition | two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other (My friend Alice) |
| diatribe | a bitter verbal or written attack on somebody or something |
| allegory | a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning |
| APA style | date in parantheses, title italicized |
| MLA style | title underlined |
| epistrophe/antistrophe | the last word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more times at the end of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases |
| pedantic | too concerned with formal rules and details |
Created by:
chloew101