Literary Elements & Techniques

Logos

a way of persuading an audience through reasoning by offering them facts, statistics, and examples.

Ethos

a way of persuading an audience through the credibility of the source

Pathos

When a writer appeals to the emotions of the intended audience to compel & persuade them

Asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Polysyndeton

the intentional use of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Syntax

Sentence structure (order of words in a sentence)

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter (Ex: cynical, joyful, suspicious, anxious, authoritative, jovial, etc.)

Assonance

Repetition of a specific vowel sound across multiple words in close proximity

Consonance

Repetition of a specific consonant sound across multiple words in close proximity

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word invokes

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Anaphora

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

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, but prove a point

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked merely to make a point and not requiring an answer

Allusion

A reference to another work of art (literature, film, a painting, etc.), person, or event

Refrain

A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a text, often a poem.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Irony

a). a situation where the expectation is different from the reality; b). the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning, similar to sarcasm

Rhetorical Appeals

ways of persuading / compelling an audience