Rhetorical Devices - English 9 Honors

Allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to something (or someone) in previous literature of history

anaphora

the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses, phrases, sentences or paragraphs. (emphasizes the subject!)

chiasmus

a figure of speech in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form. (Can change your perspective) -— EX: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” —

diacope

a word or phrase is repeated after a brief interruption

double epithet

two words of identical or almost identical meaning joined by a conjunction (_____ and ______)

epistrophe

when you end subsequent sentences/clauses/paragraphs with the same word

epizeuxis

repeating a word immediately in the same context

litotes

a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (ex: there is no small problem)

merism

a figure a speech where all parts are named (EX: Ladies and gentlemen)

parallelism

the repetition of the same grammatical pattern within a sentence (EX: What we say and what we do)

polyptoton

repeated use of one word as different parts of speech or in different grammatical forms (ex: I've have been a stranger, in a strange land - noun, adjective)

preterition

a figure of speech by which in pretending to pass over something, a summary mention of its made, or attention is called to it. For example. “I dont intend to dwell on my opponents embezzlement of funds”

rhetorical question

asking a question when the answer is self-evident, and not meant to be literally answered by the audience

tricolon

a figure of speech comprised of three clearly stated defined parts (ex: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness)

tricolon crescens

a figure of speech comprised of three clearly defined parts, listed in ascending order of importance or size (days, weeks, years)