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adage
a familiar proverb or wise saying. The early bird gets the worm.—or—The second mouse gets the cheese.
ad hominem argument
attacking the character of the arguer rather than the argument itself
allegory
the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.
alliteration
the practice of beginning several consecutive words with the same sound, e.g., The twisting trout twinkled below.
allusion
a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.
anadiplosis
a figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or terms in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.—Yoda *Related to conduplicatio.
ambiguity
allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work.
analogy
A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.*See extended analogy as well.
anaphora
[un-naf-er-uh] One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines or sentences. *see epistrophe and symploce
antanagoge
[an-TAN-uh-go-jee] placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point: The new anti-pollution equipment will increase the price of the product slightly, I am aware; but the effluent water from the plant will be actually cleaner than the water coming in.
anecdote
A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. The term most frequently refers to an incident in the life of a person.
antecedent
the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers In the sentence “Peter was more than unhappy for he couldn’t sleep at night,” “Peter” is the antecedent for “he.”
antithesis
The juxtaposition of contrasting words, often in parallel structure. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"— Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream –or—Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”—Barry Goldwater
aphorism
A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle. (If an authorship is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb). “It is better to be hated for what one is than loved for what one is not.”—Andre Gide
aporia
expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion. Among its several uses are the suggesting of alternatives without making a commitment to either or any. Aporia can also dismiss assertions irrelevant to your discussion without either conceding or denying them: I have never been able to decide whether I really approve of dress codes, because extremism seems to reign both with them and without them. (or) I do not know whether this legislation will work all the miracles promised by its backers, but it does seem clear that . . . .
apostrophe
a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate as if animate. They are addressed directly.
appositive
a noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately or defines or amplifies its meaning. John and Jane, two excellent students, passed the AP test.
assonance
the repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words, e.g., the words “cry” and “side” have the same vowel sound and are so said to be in assonance.
asyndeton
the omission of conjunctions between related clauses—I came, I saw, I conquered.
bathos
insincere or overly sentimental quality of writing/speech intended to evoke pity.
chiasmus
a form of parallelism; a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed. Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary. (or) Polished in courts and hardened in the field, Renowned for conquest and in council skilled... --Joseph Addison
cliché
an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness is worn off. We’re not out of the woods yet!
colloquial/colloquialism
The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing. Not generally acceptable for formal writing, colloquialisms give a work a conversational, familiar tone. Colloquial expressions in writing include local or regional dialects.
complex sentence
a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. When he handed in the homework, he forgot to hand in the last page. In this sentence, the dependent clause is “When he handed in the homework.” The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow. In this sentence, the dependent clause is “The students are studying because.”
compound sentence
a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions. Alex played football, so Maria went shopping. or I tried to speak French, but my friend spoke the language better.
conceit
A fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. A conceit displays intellectual cleverness as a result of the unusual comparison being made. For example, comparing a prison cell to the world or an icy garden to your heart.
conduplicatio
resembles anadiplosis in the repetition of a preceding word, but it repeats a key word (not just the last word) from a preceding phrase, clause, or sentence, at the beginning of the next. *related to anadiplosis
"I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical, problems which include lack of integrity in government, the feeling that the individual no longer counts...'"-- B. Jordan, 1976 Democratic National Convention Address
context
the convergence of time, place, audience, and motivating factors in which a piece of writing or a speech is situated.
consonance
the repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect; we say the language is in “consonance.” E.g., Drawing the blinds did nothing indubitably different.
circumlocution
the use of an unnecessarily large number of words or an indirect means of expression to express an idea so as to affect an evasion in speech.
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