Rhetorical Terms 151-179

satire

literary style that ridicules or attacks an idea or situation, often for the purpose of inducing change

sentence structure

arrangement of parts of a sentence

sentiment

a view or feeling, often emotional

sentimental

of or prompted by strong emotional response to an experience, often nostalgic, tender, or sad

setting

environment of a discourse that consists of time period, place, including socio-political or historical circumstances

simile

figurative comparison using the words as, like, or than

stream of consciousness

style of writing where the author tries to capture the random flow of thoughts in the human mind

style

manner in which an author uses and arranges words, forms sentences, and creates structures to convey ideas

stylistic devices

a general term referring to diction, syntax, tone, figurative language, and other elements that contribute to the style of a piece of discourse

subject complement

grammatical unit with predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives

subjective

of or relating to private and personal feelings or ideas as opposed to facts and reality

subtext

implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a literary work

syllogism

form of deductive reasoning where all ideas and facts much logically follow each other

symbolism

use of an object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object

synecdoche

figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies the part

syntax

organization of language into meaningful structure

theme

main idea or meaning, often abstract, that is the foundation for a piece of discourse

thesis

main idea of a piece of discourse

tone

author's attitudes towards the subject being written about

tragedy

form of literature in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or force that leads to suffering

transition

stylistic device used to create a link between ideas

trope

generic name for a figure of speech

understatement

a restrained statement that departs from what could be said

verbal irony

discrepancy between the literal and implied meanings of written or spoken words, often humorous

verse

synonym for poetry; one or more lines in song or poetry

verisimilitude

similar to the truth

voice

real or assumed personality used by a speaker or writer

whimsy

object, device, or creation that is fanciful and unreal

wit

quickness of intellect and the power for saying brilliant, often unexpected, things