Rhetorical Devices

AP Seminar

What literary device is defined as the repetition of consonant sounds?

Consonance.

What literary device is defined as the repetition of vowel sounds?

Assonance.

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," the phrase "nearly napping" is an example of what sound device?

Alliteration (repetition of the initial 'n' sound).

What is an allusion in literature?

An indirect reference to an event, place, or other work, where the subject matter is not directly stated.

The phrase "Chocolate was her Achilles Heel" uses what literary device?

Allusion.

What literary device creates a relationship based on parallels between two ideas to make a new concept easier to grasp?

Analogy.

Unlike a simile or metaphor, an analogy is typically more _ and elaborate.

extensive

What literary device involves addressing a non-existent person or an abstract idea as if it were present and could understand?

Apostrophe.

In the line, "Death be not proud," what literary device is being used?

Apostrophe.

What is antithesis?

Two sentences of contrasting meaning placed in close proximity to create a uniform whole.

What is a couplet in poetry?

Two lines that typically rhyme and have the same meter.

In Shakespearian and Spenserian sonnets, what is the typical function of the concluding couplet?

It often draws a conclusion from the lines that came before it.

What term refers to an author's word choice as an element of style?

Diction.

What is the term for ordinary or familiar language/rhetoric in diction?

Colloquial.

What is the denotation of a word?

The literal meaning of a word.

The implied meaning or subtext of a word or group of words is its _.

connotation

What is jargon in the context of diction?

Diction used by a group or culture that practices a similar profession.

What does the term 'didactic' describe in literature?

A work that teaches a specific lesson, moral, or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

What is the term for the repetition of vowels and smooth consonants to create a pleasant sound?

Euphony.

What is the term for the use of words with sharp, harsh, and unmelodious sounds?

Cacophony.

What figure of speech involves the exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis?

Hyperbole.

W.H. Auden's line "I’ll love you till the ocean is folded and hung up to dry" is an example of what device?

Hyperbole.

What is imagery in writing?

The use of words to create a physical sense (picture, smell, feeling) in poetry or prose.

What is the primary effect of using imagery in writing?

It makes the writing seem more realistic.

What type of irony occurs when the full significance of a character's words or actions is known to the reader but not to the character?

Dramatic irony.

What type of irony involves an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects?

Situational irony.

Coleridge's line, "Water, water, everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink," is a classic example of what literary device?

Irony (specifically, situational irony).

What is the literary term for the placement of things, ideas, or characters side-by-side for comparison or contrast?

Juxtaposition.

What is a metaphor?

An implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two very different things that share some common characteristics.

What is a conceit, also known as an extended metaphor?

A surprising or unexpected comparison that is elaborate and carried throughout the length of an entire poem.

The common phrase "That quiz was a piece of cake" is an example of a _.

metaphor

What is metonymy?

A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated.

In the saying "The pen is mightier than the sword," the word "pen" is a metonymy for what?

The communication of ideas.

What literary device is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named, such as 'sizzle'?

Onomatopoeia.

The word "Gulp" in Shel Silverstein's poem "Hungry Mungry" is an example of what device?

Onomatopoeia.

What figure of speech combines contradictory words and ideas, such as 'same difference'?

Oxymoron.

What is a paradox?

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that, when investigated, is found to be true.

Oscar Wilde's statement, "I can resist anything but temptation," is an example of what literary device?

Paradox.

What is parallelism in writing?

The use of similar components in grammar, construction, sound, or meter to provide rhythm and flow.

The opening line from A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" is a famous example of what technique?

Parallelism.

What is personification?

A figure of speech in which a thing, idea, or animal is given human attributes.

In the line "When well-appareled April on the heel / Of limping winter treads," 'winter' is given a human action, which is an example of _.

personification

What is the purpose of repetition as a rhetorical technique?

To add emphasis, unity, and/or power.

What is rhetoric?

The art of effective communication.

What rhetorical appeal aims to establish credibility or authority on a given subject?

Ethos.

What is pathos in rhetoric?

An appeal to emotion.

A rhetorical appeal to logic and reason is known as _.

logos

What is a rhetorical shift?

A slight change in topic to elaborate, explain, or move from one point or idea to another.

What demonstrates the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed syllables in verse?

Rhythm.

In poetic rhythm, what is a 'foot'?

A couplet consisting of one stressed and one unstressed syllable.

What is a simile?

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, typically using 'like' or 'as'.

What is an extended simile, also known as a Homeric or epic simile?

A detailed comparison in the form of a simile that is many lines in length, often used in epic poetry.

Wordsworth's line "I wandered lonely as a cloud" is a well-known example of what literary device?

Simile.