Rhetorical Terms

Allegory

device that uses symbolic characters, events, or settings to convey a deeper moral or political meaning

Alliteration

Repetition (usually initial consonant sounds) in two or more neighboring words

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something such as a book, event, myth, etc.

Ambiguity

Multiple meanings of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

Analogy

Similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them

Antecedent

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

Antithesis

The opposition or contrast of ideas

Aphorism

A concise statement that expresses a general truth or a moral principle

Apostrophe

Directly addresses an absent/imaginary person or personified abstraction

Atmosphere

Emotional nod created by the entirety of a literary work

Caricature

A verbal description, with purple to exaggerate or distort, for comic effect, a person’s distinctive physical features or other characteristics

Independent clause

Expresses complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence

Dependent/subordinate clause

Cannot stand alone as a sentence and must accompany an independent clause

Colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

Conceit

A comparison between two very different concepts or objects, an elaborate metaphor

Connotation

The non-literal, 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

Diction refers to a writer’s word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Didactic

Literally means “teaching.” Didactic words have the primary aim of teaching or instructing, especially the teaching of moral of ethical principles.

Euphemism

More agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word of concept.

Extended metaphor

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

Figurative language

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

Figure of speech

A device used to produce figurative language

Generic conventions

Describes traditions for each genre. Ex. they differentiate an essay and journalistic writing or an autobiography and political writing.

Genre

Major category in which a literary work fits

Homily

Literally means “sermon,” but more informally, it can include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

Imagery

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

Tactile imagery

Imagery that focuses on something that can be felt or touched

Gustatory imagery

Imagery that focuses on a reader’s sense of taste

Olfactory imagery

Imagery that stimulates the nose

Inference/infer

To draw reasonable conclusion from the information presented

Invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

Irony/ironic

The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. Usually used to create poignancy or humor.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite

Loose sentence/non-periodic sentence

A type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by the dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses

metaphor

a figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity

metonymy

when 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

when 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 upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity

parallelism

grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity. involves but is not limited to repetition of a grammatical element such as a preposition or verbal phrase

anaphora

When the exact repetition of words or phrases at the beginning go successive lines or sentences

Parody

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. it exploits peculiarities of an author’s expression.

Pedantic

An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholar, academic, or bookish.

Periodic sentence

Opposite of loose sentence, a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end

Prose

One of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to nonfiction, including all its forms.

Repetition

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

Rhetoric

Describes the principles governing the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasive

Sarcasm

Bitter, caustic language that is 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.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another

Syllogism

Deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion

Symbol/symbolism

Anything that represents itself and stands for something else

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole, or , occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part

Synesthesia

When one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective of another

Syntax

The way an author chooses to jin words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Syntax is similar to diction, but you can differentiate them by thinking of syntax as a group of words.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work

Thesis

In expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author’s purpose, meaning, or position.

Tone

Tone describes the author’s attitude toward his material, the audience, or both.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is.

Wit

Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights