Rhetorical Devices and Literary Techniques for Grade 11-12

antithesis

establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure.

balanced Sentence

a sentence with two clauses or phrases of fairly equal length and strength for clarity.

ethos (form of persuasion)

the appeal of one's character.

logos (form of persuasion)

the appeal to reason - logic.

pathos (form of persuasion)

the appeal to emotion.

exemplum

citing an example; using an illustrative story, either true or fictitious.

inversion / abnormal word order

A sentence written in the order of object-verb-subject, which is the reverse of the loose or cumulative sentence word order of subject-verb-object.

loose / cumulative Sentence

presents ideas in the order of subject-verb-object, which is the way sentences are typically written in English.

periodic Sentence

the main idea comes last in the sentence, leaving the reader with a more powerful last impression.

polysyndeton

is the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton.

sentence fragment

A sentence that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, but is missing either a subject, a predicate, or both.

understatement

deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. (opposite of hyperbole)

apostrophe

interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or personified thing, either present or absent.

litotes

a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. (two negatives equal a positive)

metonymy

another form of metaphor, in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject that is being compared.

satire

a genre of comedy that is directed at ridiculing human foibles and vices, such as vanity, hypocrisy, stupidity, and greed. to expose faults with the aim of correcting them.

synecdoche

a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part.

synesthesia

a fusing of the senses.