Rhetorical Terms

allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an

abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring

words.The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the

sense of the passage.

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as

an event, book, myth, place,or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or

mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of

allusion.

anaphora

A sub-type of parallelism, when the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning

of successive lines or sentences.

antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

antimetabole

The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.

antithesis

the opposition or contrast of ideas; the direct opposite.

aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral

principle. (If the authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb.)

An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author’s point.

apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a

personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot

answer.

asyndenton

Deliberately leaving our conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.

clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb. An independent, or main, clause

expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent, or subordinate

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

point that you want to consider is the question of what or why the author subordinates one element

should also become aware of making effective use of subordination in your own writing.

colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

connotation

The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.

Connotations may involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes.

denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or

color.

diction

Related to style, diction refers to the writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their

correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Diction, combined with syntax, figurative language, literary

devices, etc., creates an author’s style.

euphemism

From the Greek for “good speech,” euphemisms are a more agreeable or less

offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. The euphemism may be used to

adhere to standards of social or political correctness or to add humor or ironic understatement.

figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually

meant to be imaginative and vivid.

figure of speech

A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things.

Figures of speech include apostrophe, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, oxymoron, paradox,

personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement.

hyperbole

– A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

imagery

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent

abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses: visual, auditory,

tactile, gustatory, and olfactory. On a broader and deeper level, however, one image can represent

more than one thing.

irony/ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the

difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. Irony is often used to create

poignancy or humor.

litotes

pronounced LIH-duh-tees, almost like “little tees”) – a form of understatement that involves

making an affirmative point by denying its opposite. Litote is the opposite of hyperbole.

metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the

substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity

metonymy

a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of

another closely associated with it. The substituted term generally carries a more potent emotional

impact.

onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Simple examples include such words as buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, and murmur.

oxymoron

a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a

paradox.

paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon

closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.

parralelism

Also referred to as parallel construction or parallel structure. It refers to the grammatical

or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity. This can

involve, but is not limited to, repetition of a grammatical element such as a preposition or verbal

phrase. The effects of parallelism are numerous, but frequently they act as an organizing force to

attract the reader’s attention, add emphasis and organization, or simply provide a musical rhythm.

periodic sentence

The opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in

a main clause at the end. This independent clause is preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot

stand alone.

personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or

inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

polysyndenton

The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions

satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform

or ridicule. It can be recognized by the many devices used effectively by the satirist: irony, wit, parody,

caricature, hyperbole, understatement, and sarcasm.

style

The consideration of style has two purposes:

(1) An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative

language, and other literary devices. Styles can be called flowery, explicit, succinct, rambling,

bombastic, commonplace, incisive, laconic, etc. (2) Classification of authors to a group and

comparison of an author to similar authors.

subordinate clause

contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or

modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone; it does not

express a complete thought. Also called a dependent clause, the subordinate clause depends on a

main clause (or independent clause) to complete its meaning. Easily recognized key words and

phrases usually begin these clauses. F

symbol/symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.

Usually a symbol is something concrete -- such as an object, action, character, or scene – that

represents something more abstract. However, symbols and symbolism can be much more complex.

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or,

occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part.

synesthesia

when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another

syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is

similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as groups of words, while diction

refers to the individual words

understatement

the ironic minimalizing of fact, understatement presents something as less

significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous and emphatic. Understatement is the

opposite of hyperbole.

zeugma

a construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs – often in different,

sometimes incongruent ways – two or more words in a sentence