Rhetorical Devices

Metaphor

An implied comparison that is untrue in a literal way. Helps illustrate or describe a concept or situation by comparing it to something else. Used to express emotions and enhance descriptions creatively without using like or as

Allusion

A short, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of importance, and which is external to the text

Rhetoric

The effective or persuasive way of speaking or writing

Juxtaposition

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. Use ideas or examples in order to make a point

Imagery

Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Personification

Giving human qualities to something non-human

Zeugma

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vise versa

Understatement

The intentional use of language to lessen or minimize the impact of an event or feeling

Hyperbole

Inflated or overstate statements or claims not meant to be taken literally; intentional exaggeration to emphasize the importance of a point or idea to the audience

Satire

The use of humor and/or irony in art and literature to expose truths about people, institutions, or society; often used to create specific effects in writing; may be used to criticize a person or concept in a humorous manner

Parody

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes, it borrows words or phrases from an original, and pokes fun at it. Also a form of allusion, since it is referencing a previous text, event, etc.

Parallelism

Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. Used to add emphasis, organization, or sometimes pacing to writing

Metonymy

Consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated

Invective

Angry or insulting language

Litotes

Form of understatement in which a sentiment is expressed ironically by negating its contrary

Analogy

References an extended comparison between two things/instances/people etc. that share some similarity to make a point

Paradox

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

Pun

An amusing use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or that sounds like another word

Anecdote

By telling a brief amusing story, an author or speaker can personalize a message or topic to an audience

Rhetorical Question

Used for effect or to place emphasis on a particular point. Not intended to be answered

Apostrophe

Someone or something being addressed

Anaphora

By repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of statements, an author or speaker can place emphasis on a particular point or idea

Epistrophe

Repetition of a word at the end or successive clauses or sentences

Irony

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does

Cynicism

An inclination to believe that people are purely motivated by self-interest; skeptic

Synesthesia

The production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by simulation of another sense or part of the body

Chiasmus

When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed

Oxymoron

Contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Antithesis

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object

Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotional appeal

Logos

Appeal to logic

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds

Populism

Support for the concerns of ordinary people