chapter 2 - close reading vocab

alliteration

alliteration

repetition of the same sound beginning several words or syllables in sequence

example of alliteration

“Let us go forth to lead the land we love…”

allusion

brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art

example of allusion

“Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah…”

anaphora

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

example of anaphora

“…not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattles we are…”

antimetabole

repetition of words in reverse order

example of antimetabole

“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

antithesis

opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction

example of antithesis

“We shall…support any friend, oppose any foe…”

archaic diction

old-fashioned or outdated choice of words

example of archaic diction

“beliefs for which our forebears fought”

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

example of asyndeton

“We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

cumulative sentence

sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on

example of cumulative sentence

“But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.”

hortative sentence

sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action

example of hortative sentence

“Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.”

imperative sentence

sentence used to command or enjoin

example of imperative sentence

“My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

inversion

inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order)

example of inversion

“United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do…”

juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize similarities or differences

example of juxtaposition

“We are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth…that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century…”

metaphor

figure of speech that compares two things without using like or as

example of metaphor

“And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion…”

oxymoron

paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict

example of oxymoron

“but this peaceful revolution…”

parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

example of parallelism

“Let both sides explore…Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals…Let both sides seek to invoke…Let both sides unite to heed…”

periodic sentence

sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end

example of periodic sentence

“To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support…”

personification

attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea

example of personification

“with history the final judge of our deeds”

rhetorical question

figure of speech in the form of a question posed for the rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer

example of rhetorical question

“Will you join in that historic effort?”

synedoche

figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole

example of synedoche

“In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.”

zeugma

use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings

example of zeugma

“Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden…”