Language Words 3

Alliteration

Use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse.

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed (e.g., "Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary.").

Connotation

The suggested or implied meaning of a word.

Cumulative sentence

An independent clause followed by subordinate clauses or phrases that supply additional detail.

Denotation

The most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression.

Figurative language

Writing or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things (e.g., metaphor, simile, personification).

Irony

Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

Litotes

Understatement for rhetorical effect, especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary.

Metonymy

Substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (e.g., "The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.").

Oxymoron

Conjoining contradictory terms (e.g., "deafening silence").

Protagonist

The principal character in a work of fiction.

Rhetorical structure

How a passage is constructed, including its organization and how an author combines images, details, or arguments to serve a purpose.

Simple sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause.

Syllogism

A three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise (e.g., "All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.").

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part (e.g., "All hands on deck").