rhetorical devices part 2

concrete language

language that describes things and experiences using specific, tangible details that appeal to the five senses, making the message vivid, relatable, and easier for the audience to visualize and understand

colloquial

ordinary language; the vernacular.

elegy

poem or prose lamenting the death of a particular person

antihero

protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero

catharsis

purification or cleansing of the spirit through the emotions of pity and terror as a witness to a tragedy

epigraph

quote set at the beginning of a literary work or at its divisions to set the tone or suggest a theme

motif

recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of a character or event

parallelism

recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. adds balance, rhythm, clarity.

anaphora

repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

epistrophe

the repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive phrases or clauses

anadiplosis

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next

imagery

sensory details in a work; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an object. involves any of all of the five senses

euphemism

substitution of a milder or less direct expression for one that is harsh or blunt. For example, “passed away” instead of “dead”

tone

the attitude a literary work takes towards its subject and theme. reflects the narrator’s attitude

theme

the central or dominant idea or concern of a work; the main idea or meaning

denotation

the dictionary definition of a word; the direct/specific meaning

connotation

implied meaning of a word

mood

the feeling or ambience resulting from the tone of a piece as well as the writer/narrator’s attitude and point of view. The effect is created through descriptions of feelings or objects that establish a particular feeling such as gloom, fear, or hope

realism

the literary practice of attempting to describe life and nature without idealization and with attention to detail

prose

the ordinary form of written language without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse

asyndeton

the practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. in a list, it gives a more extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be incomplete. for example, “he was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing.”

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words

alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds within a formal grouping, such as a poetic line or stanza, or in close proximity in prose

invective

the use of angry and insulting language in satirical writing

persona

the voice or figure of the author who tells and structures the story and who may or may not share the values of the actual author

syntax

the way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. it is sentence structure and how it influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing

personification

treating an abstraction or nonhuman object as if it were a person by giving it human qualities

anachronism

use of historically inaccurate details in a text; for example, depicting a 19th century character using a computer. employed for humorous effect/used commonly in science fiction and fantasy

ambiguity

use of language in which multiple meanings are possible. can be unintentional through insufficient focus on part of the writer. in good writing, it is frequently intentional in connotative meanings or situations in which either the connotative or denotative meanings can be valid

rhetorical question

a question not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired

simile

a type of metaphor that compares two things in order to create a new meaning. Uses “like” or “as”

symbol(ism)

anything that represents itself and stands for something else. usually something concrete (object, action, character, scene) that represents something more abstract

understatement

a satirical device involving the ironic minimizing of fact, or presenting something as less significant than it is. effect is frequently humorous and emphatic. opposite of hyperbole

wit

intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights. a humorous statement that suggests the speaker’s verbal power in creating ingenious and perceptive remarks. usually uses terse language that makes a pointed statement