Rhetorical Vocab

Inversion

________: reversing the customary (subject first, then verb, then complement) order of elements in a sentence or phrase; it is used effectively in many cases, such as posing a question: "Are you going to the store?" Usually, the element that appears first is emphasized more than the subject.

Synesthesia

________**- a psychological term for when a person utilizes incorrect sense descriptions to describe experience, used to uniquely describe anything by using different senses than expected.

Abstract

refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). The observable or "physical" is usually described in concrete language.

Apostrophe

________: usually in poetry but sometimes in prose; the device of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction Ex:"For Brutus, as you know, was Caesars angel.

Polysyndeton

________: Sentence which uses and or another conjunction (with no commas) to separate the items in a series.

Epistrophe

________: repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect (as Lincoln's "of the people, by the people, for the people) "Compare to anaphora.

Ad Hominem

In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the opponent's ideas

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 of the story; the underlying meaning may be moral, religious, political, social, or satiric

Allegory Example

John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Temptations of Christians) , Orwell's Animal Farm (Russian Revolution), and Arthur Miller's Crucible ("Red Scare")

Allusion

a reference to a well-known person, place, or thing from literature, history, etc

Allusion Example

Eden, Scrooge, Prodigal Son, Catch-22, Judas, Don Quixote, Mother Theresa

Ambiguity

an event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way

Analogy

Comparison of two similar but different things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship, such as comparing the work of a heart to that of a pump

Analogy Example

“Shells were to ancient cultures as dollar bills are to modern American culture” “The heart is like a pump“

Anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row

Anaphora example

"There was the delight I caught in seeing long straight rows. There was the faint, cool kiss of sensuality. There was the vague sense of the infinite...."

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight...

Anecdote

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

Annotation

Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data

Antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers

Antithesis

the presentation of two contrasting images

Antithesis Example

"To be or not to be," Shakespeare's Hamlet "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,."

Aphorism

a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth about life

Aphorism Example

"Early bird gets the worm."

Argumentation

The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

Asyndeton

Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words. _______ takes the form of X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z.

Asyndeton Example

"Be one of the few, the proud, the Marines." Marine Corps Example: “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty“

Attitude

the relationship an author has toward his or her subject, and/or his or her audience

Authority

Arguments that draw on recognized experts or persons with highly relevant experience

Backing

Support or evidence for a claim in an argument

Balance

a situation in which all parts of the presentation are equal, whether in sentences or paragraphs or sections of a longer work

Begging the Question

Often called circular reasoning, __ occurs when the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim

Cacophony

harsh, awkward, or dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose; the opposite of euphony

Caricature

descriptive writing that greatly exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or a facet of personality

Causal Relationship

In __, a writer asserts that one thing results from another

Character

those who carry out the action of the plot in literature

Chiasmus

Arrangement of repeated thoughts in the pattern of X Y Y X

Coherence

quality of a piece of writing in which all the parts contribute to the development of the central idea, theme, or organizing principle

Colloquial

the use of slang in writing, often to create local color and to provide an informal tone

Colloquialism

a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y'all, ain't)

Comic Relief

the inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event

Concrete Language

Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities

Conflict

a clash between opposing forces in a literary work, such as man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. God; man vs. self

Connotation

the interpretive level or a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning

Consonance

Repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity, as in boost/best; it can also be seen within several compound words, such as fulfill and ping-pong

Conundrum

a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; it may also be a paradox or difficult problem

Cumulative

Sentence which begins with the main idea and then expands on that idea with a series of details or other particulars

Deconstruction

a critical approach that debunks single definitions of meaning based on the instability of language

Deduction

The process of moving from a general rule to a specific example

Denotation

the literal or dictionary meaning of a word

Description

The purpose of this rhetorical mode is to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that being described

Dialect

the recreation of regional spoken language, such as a Southern one

Diction

word choice, an element of style; it creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning

Didactic

writing whose purpose is to instruct or to teach

Discourse

spoken or written language, including literary works; the four traditionally classified modes of are description, exposition, narration, and persuasion

Dissonance

harsh or grating sounds that do not go together

Dramatic Irony

In this type of irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work

Either/or reasoning

When the writer reduces an argument or issue to two polar opposites and ignores any alternatives

Ellipsis

Indicated by a series of three periods, the __ indicates that some material has been omitted from a given text

Emotional Appeal

When a writer appeals to readers' emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument

Epigraph

The use of a quotation at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme

Epistrophe

repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect (as Lincoln's "of the people, by the people, for the people") Compare to anaphora

Epistrophe Example

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child."

Equivocation

use of ambiguous language to cloud the truth

Ethical Appeal

When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on the character of the author or speaker

Euphemism

a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable

Euphony

a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose; the opposite of cacophony

Example

An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern. A*rguing through this process is considered reliable if _______________ are demonstrable true or factual as well as relevant.*

Explication

The art of interpreting or discovering the meaning of a text

Exposition

the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse

Extended Metaphor

a sustained comparison, often referred to as a conceit

False Analogy

When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them

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

Foreshadowing

the use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs late in the work

Freight-Train

Sentence consisting of three or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunctions

Generalization

When a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits

Homily

This term literally means "sermon," but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice

Hubris

the excessive pride of ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom, eventually causing his or her downfall

Humor

anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, humor meant a person's temperament

Image

A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. An ____ is always a concrete representation.

Imagery

Words, either figurative or literal, which utilize the senses to describe a particular item, situation, or experience. Also, the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, uses terms related to the five senses; we refer to visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory.

Induction

the process that moves from a given series of specifics to a generalization

Infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented

Interior Monologue

writing that records the conversation that occurs inside a character's head

Invective

a verbally abusive attack; an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

Irony

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant

Jargon

The special language of a profession or group. The term usually has pejorative associations, with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders. The writings of the lawyer and the literary critic are both susceptible to _____.

Logic

the process of reasoning

Logical Fallacy

a mistake in reasoning

Lyrical

Songlike; characterized by emotions, subjectivity, and imagination

Metaphor

a direct comparison between dissimilar things

Metonymy

a term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," it is a figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something closely associated with it

Metonymy example

a news release that claims "The White House declared" rather than "The President declared" or "the crown" to referring to a monarch

Mode

the method or form of a literary work; the manner in which a work of literature is written

Mood

This term has two distinct technical meanings in English writing. The first meaning is grammatical and deals with verbal units and a speaker's attitude. The second meaning is literary, meaning the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work. Syntax is also a determiner of this term because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing.

Moral

The lesson drawn from a fictional or nonfictional story

Motif

main theme or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; a repeated pattern or idea

Narration

the telling of a story in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama; one of the four modes of discourse