ELA Rhetorical Terms

Diction

Word choice

Imagery

Visually descriptive or figurative language

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject, conveyed through word choice and style.

Figurative Language

Non-literal language

Shift

Change of pattern

Detail

Specific information that supports the main idea or theme in a text.

Syntax

The way words are arranged in a sentence, phrase, or clause, and how they are joined together to create meaning

Connotation

Meaning associated with word (“She's feeling blue.”)

Denotation

Formal definition of a word

Point of view

The vantage point from which a story is narrated, influencing how events are perceived and understood by the reader.

Pacing

The speed at which a story unfolds, affecting the reader's emotional experience and engagement.

Allegory

A story in which every event / character is symbolic of something else

Allusion

Reference to another work / history

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sound

Apostrophe

Addressing an inanimate thing, often done in odes

Aphorism

Short piece of advice / saying

Analogy

A comparison between two things to highlight similarities. A : B as C : D

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)

Anecdote

A short, illustrative story

Antithesis

Juxtaposition of contrasting / opposite ideas (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”)

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence, creating a concise and impactful effect.

Polysyndeton

The use of multiple conjunctions in close succession for emphasis or to create a rhythmic effect.

Cacophany

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds, often used to create a jarring effect in literature.

Euphony

The quality of being pleasing to the ear, often achieved through harmonious sounds and smooth phonetic transitions in language.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures. (“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”)

Colloquial language

The use of informal words or phrases in writing or speech, often specific to a particular region or group.

Didactic

Intended to teach or instruct, often with a moral lesson.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal to credibility or character, often used to persuade an audience by establishing trust and authority.

Pathos

An appeal to emotion, used to persuade an audience by evoking feelings such as pity, fear, or happiness.

Logos

A rhetorical appeal to logic and reasoning, often using facts and evidence to persuade an audience.

Euphemism

Indirectly stating an idea with other terms to avoid social taboos

Genre

A category of literature or art characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Invective

A strong, abusive language used to criticize or insult.

Irony

Something unexpected happens

Litotes

Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g “you won't be sorry,” meaning you'll be glad)

Metaphor/Simile

A direct comparison to show similarity

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it. (“The White House released news yesterday.“)

Synechdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”).

Motif

Recurring theme

Non sequitur

Unrelated / Out of line response

Onomatopoeia

Word whose definition is the sound it represents

Oxymoron

Contradictory / Opposite juxtaposed words accepted in context (type of paradox) (“deafening silence”)

Parallelism

Same semantical structure to develop a pattern

Parody / Satire

Ironic work which draws attention to problem + a call to action

Paradox

An apparent logical contradiction

Personification

Assigning human traits to something not human

Repetition

A literary device that involves using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech.

Sarcasm

Verbal irony; saying the opposite of what you mean

Simile

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

Syllogism

A series of statements / reasoning that logically supports a claim

Symbol

Something which symbolizes something else

Style

Characteristic way of writing

Tautology

Redundant words/phrases/details added to emphasize. A phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words.

Understatement

Diminishes the extent of a situation

Zeugma

Two parts of speech connected to two others in an unusual way. (John and his license expired last week)

Rhyme

Sat, cat, mat, rat

Meter

A specific rhythm of a poem

Iambic

“ta DUH” style rhythm

Trochaic

“DUM de” style rhythm

Tetrameter

When there are 4 meters

Pentameter

When there are 5 meters

Shakespearean/Italian sonnets

14 lines of Iambic pentameter. One kind has 3 quatrains + 1 couplet.

Octave

First 8 lines

Sestet

6 lines

Quatrain

ABAB rhyme group

Couplet

Two lines

Volta or turn

Space between octet and sestet which switches to answering problem in Italian sonnets

Blank verse

Unrhymed Iambic pentameter

Free verse

No clear rhyme or rhythm

Stanza

Grouping of lines in poetry

Speaker

The person talking

Enjambment

Line extends into the next line

Near / Slant rhyme

When something almost rhymes

Masculine ending

Ends in an accented syllable

Feminine ending

ends in an unaccented syllable

Petrarchan sonnet

ABBAABBA (Octave) CDECDE (Sestet) pattern sonnet

Sight rhyme

Looks like it should rhyme, but doesn’t