Rhetorical Choices 1-25

image/imagery

A mental picture that is conjured by specific words and associations…

ambiguity/ambiguous

Uncertain or indefinite; it is subject to more than one interpretation.

asyndeton

Occurs when the conjunctions (such as "and" or "but") that would normally connect a string of words… are omitted.

appositive

A word or phrase that follows a noun or pronoun for emphasis or clarity. They are usually set off by commas.

bathos

Bathos is false or forced emotion that is often humorous… takes this emotion to such an extreme…

allusion

A reference, usually oblique or faint, to another thing, idea, or person…

allegory

A fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts…

logos

Refers to the use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument.

contrast

Oppositions, to elaborate ideas. Help writers to expand on their ideas by showing both what a thing is and what is not…

antecedent

Every pronoun refers back to a previous noun or pronoun—the grammatical term for the noun or pronoun from which another pronoun derives its meaning.

assonance

A type of internal rhyming in which vowel sounds are repeated.

ad hominem argument

This term comes from the Latin phrase meaning "to the man." It refers to an argument that attacks the opposing speaker rather than the issues at hand.

euphemism

A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply less pleasant idea.

diction

Refers to an author's choice of words.

analogy

Asks a reader to think about the correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different…

antithesis

An opposition or contrast of ideas that are often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses.

metaphor

A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly, usually for emphasis or dramatic effect.

apostrophe

A figure of speech in which an absent person or personified object is addressed by a speaker.

figurative language

An umbrella term for all uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison.

foreshadowing

A purposeful hint placed in a work of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative.