Rhetorical Terms/Devices & stuff

parallelism

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

antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure

zeugma

a single word, usually a verb or preposition, governs or modifies two or more other words in a sentence, but applies to them in different senses

anastrophe

the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses

asyndeton

deliberate omission of a word or words

polysyndeton

deliberate use of many conjunctions

alliteration

repetition or medial consonants in two or more adjacent words

anaphora

repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginnings of successive clauses

epistrophe

repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses

epanalepsis

repetition of the same word or words at both beginning and ending of a phrase, clause, or sentence

antimetabole

repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order

chiasmus

reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses

metaphor

implied comparison between two thing of unlike nature

simile

explicit comparison between two things of unlike nature, usually using "like" or "as"

synecdoche

figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole

metonymy

substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is actually meant

personification

investing abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities

hyperbole

the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect

litotes

deliberate use of understatement

rhetorical question

asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but to assert or deny an answer implicitly

irony

use of a word in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the word

verbal irony

when the words literally state the opposite of the writer's (or speaker's) meaning

situational irony

when events turn out the opposite of what was expected; when what the characters and readers think ought to happen is not what does happen

dramatic irony

when facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work

onomatopoeia

use of words whose sound echoes the sense

oxymoron

the joining of two terms which are ordinarily contradictory

paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth

juxtaposition

setting two things beside each other for comparison or contrast

ethos

credibility

(appeals to) pathos

emotion

(appeals to) logos

a strategy in which a writer/speaker uses facts, evidence, and reason to achieve a purpose with an audience

diction

word choice

denotation

dictionary definition

connotation

an idea or feeling a word evokes

allusion

a reference to another work of literature, person, or event

mood

feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

tone

attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character