Rhetorical Analysis Terminology

rhetorical appeals

details that make an author’s or speaker’s argument appealing through ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), or logos (logic)

paradox

a statement or expression so surprisingly self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another sense or context in which it would be true (although some cannot be resolved into truths and remain contradictory, e.g Everything I say is a lie)

aphorism

a statement of some general principle, expressed memorably by condensing much wisdom into a few words

irony

a subtle inconsistency between an apparently straightforward statement or event and context so as to give it a very different significance

imagery

details that appeal to senses: visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile, or gustatory

nonficitional prolepsis

anticipating and responding to a counterargument before it is made

rhetorical question (interrogatio)

a question asked for persuasive effect rather than a genuine request for information

syntax

sentence structure; the way in which words, clauses, and phrases are ordered an connected to form a sentence

repitition

repeated words, clauses, or sentences

parallelism/parallel structure

arrangement of similarly constructed clauses, sentences, or verse in pairing or sequence

antithesis

parallelism that emphasizes contrast or opposition of ideas

polysyndeton

repeated use of conjunctions linking together a series of words, clauses, or sentences

asyndeton

the opposite of polysyndeton; the omission of conjunctions

periodic sentence

a long sentence in which the completion of the syntax and sense is delayed until the end, usually after a sequence of balanced subordinate clauses. The effect is a kind of suspense, as the reader’s attention is propelled forward to the end

cumulative sentence (loose sentence)

short independent main clause, followed by subordinate elements that clarify or elaborate

chiasmus

when the order of the terms in the first two parallel clauses is reversed in the second (may involve repetition of the same words): “I discovered many a site for a house not likely to be soon improved, which some might have though too far from the village, but to my eyes the village was too far from it” (Thoreau, Walden)

metaphor

one thing, idea, or action referred to by a word or expression normally donating another, thing, idea (a comparison that does not use like or as)

simile

an explicit comparison between two different things, actions, or feelings, using the words like or as

personification

animals, abstract ideas, abstract objects, or inanimate things are referred to as if they are human

hyperbole

an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis

synecdoche

something is referred to indirectly, either by naming only some part or constituent of it (e.g. ‘hands’ for manual laborers) or- less often- by naming something more comprehensive entity of which it is a part (e.g. "‘the law’ for a police officer)

adjective: synecdochic

metonymy

replacing the name of one thing with the name of something else closely associated with it (e.g. the press for journalism)

oxymoron

figure of speech that combines two usually contradictory terms in a compressed paradox {e.g. bittersweet)