Rhetorical Devices and Terms Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering rhetorical devices, linguistic terms, and logical structures as presented in the lecture notes.

Anaphora

A form of parallel structure that involves the repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or verses, especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

Ana strophe

The inversion of the usual syntactical order of words for rhetorical effect, such as "Intelligent she was not."

Anecdote

A story that is supposed to be true that is used to illustrate a point.

Antithesis

A figure of speech that involves a seeming contradiction of ideas, such as "His success was his greatest curse."

Aphorism

A short statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle, such as "Hindsight is always $20/20$."

colloquialism

Slang or informal expression; they often include local or regional dialects.

De notation

The strict literal meaning of the word or phrase.

Diction

Relates to a writer's style, in particular their specific choice of individual words.

Didactic

A piece of writing that tends to be teaching or instructing, sometimes used to suggest a work is overly instructive and patronizing.

Epistrophe

A form of parallel structure that involves the repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

Euphemism

More pleasant sounding words used for unpleasant words or concepts, such as "passed on" instead of died.

Epigram

A terse, sage, and often witty saying that can sometimes be paradoxical.

Exigence

The part of a rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts writers to write a text and/or present an argument.

Honorific

Words or language that has a positive connotation, such as sweet, soft, or charming.

Hypophora

A questioning strategy in which a speaker or writer asks a question or questions and then answers it for them.

Juxta position

Placing similar items, descriptions, or ideas close together especially for comparison or contrast.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be contradictory, such as the slogans in $1984$: "war is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."

parallelism (Parrallel structures)

Repeating words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs to create a structural similarity or rhetorical cohesion.

Pedantic

Describes a tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish.

Pejorative

Words or language that have a negative connotation, such as sour, hard, or scowling.

Prose

Non-poetic or dramatic writing, which represents the vast majority of what people read.

Redundancy

A word, phrase, etc., that repeats something else and is therefore unnecessary, superfluous repetition.

Rhetorical Appeal

The persuasive device used by a writer to influence his audience, usually categorized as Logos, Ethos, or Pathos.

Logos

A rhetorical appeal based on logic.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal based on the fairness and credibility of the author or speaker.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal based on emotional appeals.

Syllogism

A deductive system of logic that involves a series of statements that lead to a logical conclusion.

Syntax

The way a writer chooses to join words to form phrases, clauses, and sentences, involving sentence length, patterns, and construction.