English III Honors Semester Exam Study Guide - Rhetorical Analysis

Vocabulary flashcards for Rhetorical Analysis study guide.

Logos

Logical appeal; using logic and reason to persuade.

Ethos

Ethical appeal; establishing credibility to persuade.

Pathos

Emotional appeal; using emotions to persuade.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices.

Irony

The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Imagery

Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Anecdote

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.

Parallelism

The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

Allusion

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Understatement

The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.

Enumeration

A list of things.

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human qualities to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor introduced and then further developed throughout all or part of a literary work.

Direct Address

Speaking directly to someone.

Imperative Command

Giving an authoritative command.

Satirical Inversion

Transforming something serious into something satirical by turning it upside down.