Literary and Rhetorical Terms

Comprehensive review flashcards covering rhetorical devices, schemes, tropes, argumentative strategies, and literary terminology from the lecture notes.

Allegory

An extended narrative in prose or verse in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface. Animal Farm is an example.

Denotation

Literal meanings of words; if an author wants the argument to be concrete, black-and-white, he or she may use words with literal meanings as opposed to abstract meanings.

Genre

A type of literary work. Authors may choose a genre based on what their argument is. If they are arguing for eco-friendly fuels, they may choose a poem instead of an essay.

Pedantic

A term used to describe writing that borders on lecturing. It is scholarly, distant, and overly difficult.

Didactic

An instructive piece of writing. Didactic pieces might teach a specific lesson or model correct behavior, rather than simply entertain.

Voice

Refers to two different areas of writing. One refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and verb (active and passive voice). The second refers to the total "sound" of a writer's style.

Subjectivity

A personal presentation of events and characters, influenced by the author's feelings and opinions.

Syllogism

A form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a conclusion is drawn from them. Example: All tragedies end unhappily. Hamlet is a tragedy. Hamlet ends unhappily.

Allusion

A reference to another famous piece of literature.

Thesis

The presentation of the author's assertion, as characterized by one sentence. (Sometimes, there is one, and other times, an author will leave it out on purpose).

Anecdote

A short simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point.

Transition

A word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph

Motif

A recurring element such as a sound, action, or symbol that points to a work's theme.

Trope

Turning the original meaning of a word into a metaphorical expression. There are many types of tropes: metaphor, simile, synecdoche, metonymy, irony, understatement, etc.

Scheme

Playing with words or phrases to create a poetic or impactful effect. Four categories of schemes are repetition, balance, omission, or transposition.

Conceit

A fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor.

Parody

A work that closely resembles another work that it is seeking to make fun of. Authors may write a parody to rebut another piece they disagree with.

Sarcasm

The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Satire doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). Satire targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.

Deduction

The process of moving from a general principle to all the specific examples that go into it.

Generalization

The last step of linking an argument. Drawing a conclusion from the evidence given.

Induction

An argument that is structured by moving from specific incidents to make a generalization.

Abstract

Refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (Authors might be too abstract, or they may have to make an argument using abstract ideas).

Connotation

Implied or suggested meaning of a word (authors choose words with the connotations that fit their purpose or argument).

Diction

Word choice -- the selection of individual words

Imagery

The use of two or more of the five senses to emphasize a point.

Details

The selection of descriptive, minute elements to enhance an argument.

Language

The author's overall use of words that fit his/her purpose. Descriptors for language could include: generic, abstract, didactic, formal, informal, academic, specialized etc.

Syntax

The way in which an author structures his or her sentences. Considers length of sentences as well as pattern of sentence (how clauses are mixed with phrases). Authors can arrange sentences to emphasize the things they want their audience to remember and deemphasize points that might work against them.

Tone

The characteristic emotion or attitude presented by the author. Use tone for arguments and mood for literary pieces.

Stance

The author's attitude toward his or her argument in relation to other voices.

Appeals

The use of Aristotelian arguments (pathos, ethos, logos).

Sub-Purpose

A secondary piece of the overall thesis.

Synecdoche

Using a part of something to represent it as a whole Ex. “wheels” referring to a car

Hyperbole

An exaggeration of something

Oxymoron

Combining 2 contradictory terms ex . Jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly

Metaphor

Comparing 2 unlike things without using like or as Ex. “time is money”

Understatement

Something is presented as being less significant than it actually is Ex. after winning the lottery “I’m a little happy”

Euphemism

A mild term substituting a harsh term. Ex. “passed away” instead of “died”

Stereotype

Using a widely held image to quickly establish a character type. ex.

Personification

Giving human qualities or actions to non-human things

Alliteration

Repeating the same starting consonant in a group of words. Ex. “peter piper picked… ”

Anaphora

repeating the same exact word or phrase multiple times Ex. “I have a dream… ”

Traductio

Repeating the same word in the same sentence to emphasize it. “ …we have to fear is fear itself. ”

Epistrophe

Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of sentences to drive a point home. Ex. “ …for the ppl, by the ppl”

Parallelism

Repeating similar grammatical structures across sentences or phrases to create rhythm or balance. Ex. “I came, I saw, I conquered. ”

Ellipses

Using “ … ” to show a pause.

Asyndeton

Leaving out conjunctions Ex. “he eats, sleeps,… ”

Periodic or inverted sentences

periodic - delays the main point until the very end to build suspense. Inverted- flips the natural word order Ex. “into the woods she ran,”

Anastrophe

Flipping the natural word order of the text.

Antithesis

Putting 2 contrasting ideas in the same sentence. Ex. “Silver is speech, but silence is gold. ”

Colloquialism

Using casual language to make dialogue. Ex. “what’s up?”

Aphorism

A short statement to state the truth. Ex. “actions speak louder than words,”

Apostrophe

Having a character address an absent person

Exposition

Inserting background info about characters to give the reader more imagery.

Epigraph

Placing a short quote, poem, or story at the beginning of a chapter to show the following theme.

Parable

Telling a brief story to teach a moral or spiritual lesson.

Paradox

A statement that seems self-contradictory but reveals a deeper truth. Ex. “the only constant is change. ”

Rhetorical Questions

Asking a question to make a point or get the reader thinking. Ex. “who knows?”