Rhetorical Terms Quiz 2

allusion

1. A reference to a person, place, or event (outside the text) meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea.

“Maycomb County had recently been told it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” FDR Inaugural Address

analogy

1.  A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things; a passage that points out several similarities between two unlike things is called an extended analogy

anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

anecdote

A brief narrative often used to illustrate an idea or make a point.

antimetabole

the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order:

antithesis

A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences.

aphorism

 A short, pithy statement of a generally-accepted truth or sentiment. Also see adage and maxim.

apostrophe

An utterance that addresses a person not present or a personified thing. Example: “Oh, you stupid computer! Why won’t you cooperate?”

clause

A structural element of a sentence, consisting of a grammatical subject and a predicate.

Independent clauses, sometimes called main clauses, may stand on their own as complete sentences.

Dependent clauses, which are nouns as modifiers, are incomplete sentences and may not stand alone grammatically. Dependent clauses are sometimes called subordinate clauses.

dramatic irony

A circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character.

epigram

A concise but ingenious, witty, and thoughtful statement. An epigraph is a kind of epigram, but it's written on an object, like a coin, a building, or a book. An epigraph often comes at the start of a novel or short story, and gives the reader a little hint about what's to come:

epistrophe

A stylistic device. The repetition of words or phrases at the ends of the clauses or sentences.

euphemism

A mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term. Example: pass away is a euphemism for to die.

irony

A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected.

metonymy

A figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated. Example: “The White House says…”

paradox

A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true.

parallel structure

The structure required for expressing two or more grammatical elements of equal rank. Coordinate ideas, compared and contrasted ideas, and correlative constructions call for parallel structure.

polysyndeton

The repetition of conjunctions in close succession 

Example: We have ships and men and money.

predicate

The part of the sentence that is not the grammatical subject. It often says something about the subject. 

A noun that provides another name for the subject is called a predicate nominative, as in

Lynn (subject) is the president (predicate nominative) of the company.

An adjective that describes the subject is called a predicate adjective, as in

Harold (subject) is courageous (predicate adjective).

rebuttal or refutation

The part of discourse wherein opposing arguments are anticipated and answered.

symbolism

The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object.

synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part signifies the whole (fifty masts for fifty ships) or the whole signifies the part (days for life, as in “He lived his days under African skies). When the name of a material stands for the thing itself, as in pigskin for football, that, too, is synecdoche.

thesis/claim

The main idea of a piece of discourse; the statement or proposition that a speaker or writer wishes to advance, illustrate, prove, or defend.

verbal irony

A discrepancy between the true meaning of a situation and the literal meaning of the written or spoken words.