Patterson: Rhetorical Devices and Meter

Alliteration

the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words succeeding each other at short intervals.

ui in perpetua pace esse possitis providebo

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds. (Do you like blue?)

Consonance

repetition of consonant sounds. (pitter patter)

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or sentences.

non feram, non patiar, non sinam: "

I shall not bear it, I shall not endure it, I shall not allow it."

Antithesis

a contrast of ideas or words, often placed in contrasted pairs in like order.

nova rerum munitis, sed ex sermone rumor:

"new things by the battle, but by conversation"

Archaism

the use of an earlier grammatical form or spelling.

verissimum for verissime

Chiasmus

the arrangement of words in inverse (a-b-b-a) order (from the Greek letter "X").

castrorum imperatorem ducemque hostium:

"the camp's general and the leader of the enemy"

Climax

the arrangement of a series of ideas in a sentence with increasing force.

de nostro omnium interitu, de huius urbis, atque adeo de orbis terrarum exitio cogitent

"they think about the destruction of us all, of this city, and even of the whole world"

Ellipsis

the omission of one or more words, to be understood from the context.

Quid multa? "Why [should I say any] more?"

NB: editors often supply the needed word using the abbreviation sc. ("scilicet")

Epigram

a short, terse, memorable saying.

atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant

"And, where they make a desert, they call it peace

Epithet

a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing.

Transferred epithet: application of a modifier to one word though it logically applies to another (either expressed or implied).

"restless night" "female prison" "angry crowns of kings"

Euphemism

the substitution of a mild expression for an unpleasant one

si quid mihi obtigerit = si mortuus ero

"if anything should happen to me = if I should die"

Figurative Language

speech that departs from literal meaning to achieve a special effect or meaning (by employing the rhetorical devices on this sheet).

Hendiadys

the expression of an idea by two nouns connected by a conjunction, instead of a noun modified by an adjective or by another noun in the genitive.

vim et manus = violentas manus

violence and hands = violence of hands

Homeoteleuton

a series of words with the same ending (end-rhyme).

quid...egeris, ubi fueris, quos convocaveris, quid consilii ceperis

Hyperbaton

distortion of normal word order.

magno periculo opens Karthago, Italiam contra (in a prepositional phrase = anastrophe)

Hyperbole

exaggerated or extravagant terms used for emphasis, and not intended to be understood literally.

de nostro omnium interitu, de huius urbis, atque adeo de orbis terrarum exitio cogitent

"they think about the destruction of us all, of this city, and even of the whole world"

Hysteron-proteron

an inversion of the natural order of events.

moriamur et in media arma ruamus

"Let us die and rush into the midst of the battle"

Irony

stating the opposite of what is meant, often with sarcastic intent.

credendus est omnibus "He ought to be trusted by all" (yeah, right!)

As clear as mud

Juxtaposition

the use of two opposing things to create a contrast.

e.g. the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Theseus and Ariadne on the coverlet (Catullus 64)

Litotes

a deliberate understatement through the use of a negative.

non multa = pauca

not many = few

Metaphor

an implied comparison.

exhauriet ex urbe turba comitum...sentina rei publicae

"your companions, the bilge of the Republic, will be drained from the city"

Metonymy

the use of one word for another that it suggests.

duodecim secures - duo pratores

twelve axes (fasces) = two praetors (praetors were accompanied by six lictors carrying fasces)

Onomatopoeia

a word or expression in which the sound itself is suited to the meaning.

magno cum murmure montis

"with a mighty murmuring of the mountain"

Oxymoron

the use of contradictory terms.

patria loquitur loquitur

"the silent country speaks"

Pathos

an appeal to the audience's emotions.

e.g. Cicero's depiction of Milo waiting for his wife before setting out to Lanuvium

Personification

the attribution of human qualities or personality to an impersonal thing.

patria loquitur

"the country speaks"

Pleonasm

a redundancy or unnecessary fullness of expression, usually for emphasis.

Prima praedican

"I shall first say in advance"

Polysyndeton

the unnecessary repetition of conjunctions.

horae edunt et dies et menses et anni

"hours pass and days and months and years"

Praeteritio

the pretense of omitting something in order to make it more emphatic.

Praeteritio ruinas fortunarum tuarum

"I leave unspoken the ruin of your fortunes"

Prosopopoeia

a device in which the speaker or author assumes the guise of another person or object to address the audience.

e.g. In Cicero's Pro Caelio, when Cicero speaks as stern old Appius Claudius Caecus, who is long since deceased

Rhetorical question

a question for which no answer is expected or to which the answer is self-evident.

Num vides consilia tua patere?

"Do you not realize that all your plots are exposed?"

Simile

an explicit comparison using like or as

Synchysis

interlocked word order [ a b a b]

quae quibus initiata sacris

"which was consecrated by what rites"

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole (a sub-category of metonymy)

tectum=domus

roof=house

Syncopation (or syncope)

The omission of a letter or syllable in the middle of a word

confirmasti = confirmavisti; (most common in perfect system of verbs).

Synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another

"a loud color", "a sweet sound"

Timesis

a "cutting up" of a word or set phrase is separated into two parts, with other words occurring between them

circum virum dant

"they surround the man"

Tricolon

a set of three parallel clauses, often marked by anaphora

veni, vidi, vici

"I came, I saw, I conquered"

Word picture

Arrangement of words that reinforces the meaning

spelucam Dido dux et Troianus eandem deveniunt

"Dido and the Trojan leader came entered the cave."

Zeugma

the use of a verb with two words when it strictly applies to one.

Omnis hic locus acervis corporum et civium sangunine redundavit.

"this entire place overflowed with heaps of bodies and with the blood of citizens"

"Parks Jones took his coat and his leave"

Diphthongs (ae, au, ei, eu, oe, and ui)

are long by nature

All vowels marked by a macron are

long by nature

Short vowels may become long by

position

Elision

takes place when a vowel, diphthong, or a vowel plus "-m" ends one word and is followed by a word beginning with "h," a vowel, or a diphthong.

Prodelision

a special form of elision that applies to only two Latin words, es and est. When these verbs follow a word ending in a vowel, diphthong, or a vowel combined with "-m," the "e" of es or est is eliminated instead of the final vowel, diphthong, or the vowel combined with the "-m" of the preceding word.

Dactylic Hexameter

( - U U )

Spondee

( - - )