Key Literary Terms and Figures Retóricas

These flashcards cover key terms and figures retóricas (rhetorical figures) important for understanding Spanish poetry and literary analysis.

Quinteto

A form of poetry consisting of five verses of consonant rhyme, written in a major art style.

Quintilla

A form of poetry similar to a quinteto, but written in a minor art style.

Décima o Espinela

A structured poem of ten eight-syllable consonant verses with the rhyme scheme abbaaccddc.

Alegoría

A prolonged correspondence of symbols or metaphors.

Aliteración

The repetition of one or more phonemes in different words at a perceptible frequency.

Anadiplosis

The repetition of the last part of a syntactic group or verse at the beginning of the next.

Anáfora

A series of phrases or fragments of phrases that begin in the same way.

Antítesis

Also known as contrast, consisting of opposing two contrary ideas or terms.

Apóstrofe

Passionately addressing living or inanimate beings outside the structure of the sentence.

Asíndeton

The suppression of conjunctions that would usually serve as links.

Conversión

Repeating the same word several times at the end of each sentence, verse, or stanza.

Elipse

Omission of usually necessary words.

Encabalgamiento

When the syntactic unit of a verse extends into the next.

Epanadiplosis

A phrase or verse that begins and ends in the same way.

Epíteto

Ornamental adjectivation that emphasizes an inherent characteristic.

Eufemismo

A way of expressing something mildly to conceal or dissimulate something unpleasant or taboo.

Hipérbaton

Inversion or significant modification of the usual syntactic order for aesthetic purposes.

Hipérbole

Exaggerated expression.

Pregunta retórica

A question posed not to receive an answer but to strengthen the thought.

Ironía

Implying or stating the opposite of what is thought or felt.

Juego de palabras

Using the same signifier with two different meanings.

Metáfora

Identification of a real term with an image, which may be expressed or not.

Metonimia

Naming a part of a whole by the name of another part of a different whole.

Sinécdoque

A type of metonymy that designates the whole by the name of a part or a part by the name of the whole.

Paradoja

Bringing together seemingly irreconcilable thoughts that have coherent meaning.

Paralelismo

Anáfora that is almost total repetition with a slight final variation.

Paranomasia

Situating two similar sounding words close together but with different meanings.

Perífrasis

A roundabout way of expressing an idea without stating it directly.

Pleonasmo

Unnecessary words that reinforce the idea.

Polisíndeton

Multiplication of unnecessary conjunctions.

Prosopopeya

Attributing qualities to inanimate objects or animals that they do not possess.

Reduplicación

Repetition of a word at the beginning or within a sentence.

Retruécano

A phrase composed of the same words as the previous one, but inverted in order or function.

Similicadencia

When two or more nearby words have identical final sounds.

Símbolo

An object or quality mentioned as real while also alluding to another distinct reality.

Símil

A comparison where both the real term and the image are explicitly stated.