Rhetorical devices Shakespeare

Connotation

what word suggestions beyond its definition, meaning overtones

Imagery

sense experience conveyed by language

Figures of speech-simile

comparison of two unlike things using like, as, than, similar to

Figures of speech-metaphor

an implied (ex: linking verb) comparison of two unlike things

Figures of speech-personification

giving human like attributes to an animal, object, or idea

Figures of speech-symbol

that which means more than it is

Allusion

reference to a person/event in history/literature

Tone

author’s or speaker’s attitude toward subject

Verbal irony

saying opposite of what is meant, sarcasm

Irony of situation

discrepancy between actual circumstances and what would seem appropriate, unfitting situation

Dramatic irony

discrepancy between what speaker says and what author means, audience knows something character doesn’t

Paradox

apparent contradiction which is somehow true (oxymoron-a compact paradox)

Overstatement

exaggeration “in the service of truth”, hyperbole

Understatement

saying less than what is meant

Pun

humorous “play” upon the double meaning of a word