Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words.

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.

Ambiguity

The expression of an idea in such a way that more than one meaning is suggested.

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Anaphora

One of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

A syntactic strategy in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed in the structure of a sentence.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.

Asyndeton

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Coherence

A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color.

Diction

Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

Used to describe the tone or purpose of a text, literally meaning 'teaching.'

Ethos

Greek for 'character.' Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic.

Euphemism

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.

Exposition

In essays, one of the four chief types of composition, the purpose is to explain something.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout the work.

Figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

Figures of speech

Devices used to produce figurative language often compare dissimilar things.

Genre

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

Hypophora

Figure of reasoning in which one or more questions is/are asked and then answered by one and the same speaker.

Imagery

The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions.

Inference/infer

To draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented.

Irony/ironic

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

Juxtaposition

When two words, phrases, images, or ideas are placed close together for comparison or contrast.

Litotes

A figure of speech in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite.

Logos

Greek for 'embodied thought'; speakers appeal to logos by offering clear, rational ideas.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that uses one thing to mean another and makes a comparison between the two.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.

Mood

The prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work.

Narrative

The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Paradox

A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but contains some degree of truth.

Parallelism

The grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.

Pathos

Greek for 'suffering' or 'experience.' Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience.

Periodic sentence

A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end, preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone.

Personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

Polysyndeton

Figure of addition and emphasis which intentionally employs a series of conjunctions not normally found in successive words, phrases, or clauses.

Prose

Ordinary writing that uses paragraphs and sentences, referring to both fiction and non-fiction.

Repetition

The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.

Rhetorical modes

Describes the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing.

Rhetorical Question

Differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer because its answer is obvious or obviously desired.

Sarcasm

Bitter, caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

Simile

A type of metaphor that compares two different things using 'like' or 'as.'

Subordinate clause

A word group containing a subject and a verb that cannot stand alone; it does not express a complete thought.

Syllogism

A deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises leading to a sound conclusion.

Symbol/symbolism

Anything that represents itself and stands for something else, usually something concrete that represents something more abstract.

Synecdoche

A type of metaphor in which a part stands for the whole or vice versa.

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life.

Thesis

In expository writing, the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.

Tone

Describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas, signaling a shift from one idea to another.

Understatement

A satirical device involving the ironic minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is.

Undertone

An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece.

Wit

Intellectually amazing language that surprises and delights, often using terse language to make a pointed statement.