Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Devices

Acting Voice

the subject of the sentence performs the action

Allusion

an indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar

Alger-ego

a character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts; when an author speaks directly to the audience through a character

Anecdote

a brief recounting of a relevant episode

Antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun

Classicism

art or literature characterized by a realistic view of people and the world, sticks to traditional themes and structures

Comic Relief

when a humorous scene is inserted into a serous story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat

Diction

word choice, particularly as an element of style

Colloquial

ordinary, or familiar type of conversation

Connotation

rather than the dictionary definition (denotation), the associations suggested by a word

Denotation

the literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations

Jargon

the diction used by a group of which practices a similar profession or activity

Vernacular

language or dialect of a particular country

Didactic

a term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

Adage

a folk saying with a lesson

Allegory

a story, fictional or non fiction, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts

Aphorism

a terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle

Ellipsis

the deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done effect by the author

Euphemism

a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts

Figurative Language

writing that is not meant to be taken literally

Analogy

comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables

Hyberbole

exaggeration

Idiom

a common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense when you take it literally

Metaphor

making an implied comparison, not using “like,” “as,” or other such words

Metonymy

replacing an actual word or idea, wich a related word or concept

Synecdoche

a king of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa

Simile

using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things

Synesthesia

a description involving a “crossing of the senses”

Personification

giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

Foreshadowing

when an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

Genre

the major category into which a literary work fits

Gothic

writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death

Imagery

word or words that create a picture in the reader’s mind

Invective

a long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language

Irony

when the opposite of what you expect to happen does

Verbal Irony

when you say something and mean the opposite/something different

Dramatic Irony

when the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn’t and would be surprised to find out

Situational Irony

found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie

Juxtaposition

placing things side by side for purposes of comparison

Mood

the atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)

Motif

a recurring idea in a piece of literature

Oxymoron

when apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox

Pacing

the speed or tempo of an author’s writing

Paradox

a seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true

Parallelism

sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

Anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row

Chiasmus

when the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed

Antithesis

two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas with parallel structure

Zeugma (Syllepsis)

when a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the words it governs or modifies

Parenthetical Idea

parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence

Parody

an exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes

Persona

the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story

Poetic Device

a device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences, or lines

Alliteration

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

Assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

Consonance

the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words

Onomatopoeia

the use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that thing makes

Internal Rhyme

when a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line

Slant Rhyme

when a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly - they are merely similar

End Rhyme

when the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme

Rhyme Scheme

the pattern of a poem’s end rhymes

Stressed and Unstressed Syllables

in every word of more than one syllable, one is said with more force than the other syllable(s)

Meter

a regular pattern to the syllables in lines of poetry

Free Verse

poetry that doesn’t have much meter or rhyme

Iambic Pentameter

poetry that is written in lines of 10 syllables, alternating stressed and unstressed syllables

Sonnet

a 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter

Polysyndeton

when a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions

Pun

when a word that has two or more meaning is used in a humorous way

Rhetoric

art of effective communication

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

the relationships, in any piece of writing, between the writer, the audience, and the subject

Rhetorical Question

question not asked for information but for effect

Romanticism

art or literature characterized by an idealistic, perhaps unrealistic view of people and the world, and an emphasis on nature

Sarcasm

a generally bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded

Satire

a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect

Sentence

group of words place between a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning

Appositive

a word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning

Clause

a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb

Independent Clause

expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence

Dependent, or Subordinate Clause

cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause

Balanced Sentence

a sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale

Compound Sentence

contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses

Complex Sentence

contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

Cumulative Sentence

when the writer begin with an independence clause, then adds subordinate elements

Periodic Sentence

when the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence

Simple Sentence

contains only one independent clause

Declarative Sentence

states an idea

Imperative Sentence

issues a command

Interrogative Sentence

sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (what, which, who, whom, and whose)

Style

the choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes

Symbol

anything that represents or stands for something else

Syntax/Sentence Veriety

grammatical arrangement of words

Theme

the central idea of message of a work

Thesis

the sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition

Tone

a writer’s attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization

Understatement

the ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is

Litotes

a particular form of understatement, generated by denying the opposite of the statement which otherwise would be used

Argument

piece of reasoning with one or more premises and a conclusion

Premises

statements offered as reasons to support a conclusion

Conclusion

the end result of the argument

Aristotle’s Appeals

the goal of argumentative writing is to persuade an audience that one’s ideas are valid