Rhetorical and Literary Devices Study Guide

Flashcards covering rhetorical devices, sound effects, and imagery techniques based on lecture notes.

Anaphora

Repetition at start of successive clauses.

Anadiplosis

Repetition of last word of one clause at start of next.

Pleonasm

Use of redundant words, often intentionally redundant.

Diacope

Repetition with intervening words.

Rule of Three

Three parallel elements used to arrange language elements.

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions in parallel phrases or clauses.

Polysyndeton

The repetition of conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) in quick succession, often with no commas.

Tricolon

Three parallel words, phrases, or clauses of equal length and grammatical form.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration.

Antimetabole

A type of Chiasmus that specifically reverses words in parallel phrases.

Bathos

Sudden drop from sublime to ridiculous, specifically aiming for comedic effect.

Dysphemism

Substitution of a harsh expression to intensify negative connotation.

Euphemism

Substitution of a mild expression to soften negative connotation.

Litotes

Affirmation through double negative, specifically using negation.

Meiosis

Deliberate understatement without negation; a type of euphemism.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within words, occurring anywhere in the words.

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds.

Polyptoton

Using words derived from the same root.

Symploce

Combining anaphora and epistrophe.

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant sounds that create dissonance.

Euphony

Pleasant, melodious sounds that create harmony.

Plosives

Stop consonants ($p, b, t, d, k, g$) that create explosive sounds.

Fricatives

Continuous consonants ($f, v, s, z$) that create continuous sounds.

Sibilance

Hissing sounds ($s, sh, z$) that create a hissing effect.

Liquids

Flowing sounds ($l, r$) that create a flowing effect.

Nasals

Nose-resonant sounds ($m, n, ng$) that create resonant sounds.

Chiasmus

Reversed parallel structure.

Isocolon

Parallel structures of the same length.

Parenthesis

An interrupting phrase set off by punctuation.

Enjambment

Line of verse that continues without pause into the next line.

Caesura

A pause near the middle of a line.

Epistrophe

Repetition of words at the end of successive clauses.

Epanalepsis

Device where the beginning of a clause is repeated at the end.

Hyperbaton

An inversion of the normal order of words.

Merism

Reference to a whole by citing its parts.

Metonymy

Substitution of a concept by an associated concept.

Personification

Attributing human qualities to non-human entities.

Synecdoche

A literal part of something used to represent the whole.

Synesthesia

Descriptions that mix different senses.

Pathetic Fallacy

Nature reflecting human emotions specifically.

Symbol

A single occurrence of an object representing a concept.

Motif

A recurring symbol or theme.

Zoomorphism

Attributing animal traits to humans or objects.

Anthropomorphism

Attributing human traits to non-humans in a more literal way than personification.

Simile

An explicit comparison using "like" or "as".

Metaphor

A direct or implied comparison between two things.