Rhetorical Devices

Diction

The author choosing a specific word instead of other words

Syntax

The structure of an author’s sentence

Imagery

The author’s use of sensory language to create meaning

Tone

The emotion the author is trying to convey or create

Logos

Using facts, data, evidence, logic, reasoning to make a point

Ethos

Credibility, authority, education, qualifications, or experience

Pathos

Emotion, feelings, relationally based or focused language

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences

Parallel Structure

Maintaining the same grammatical structure to equalize the importance of the meaning across multiple phrases

Juxtaposition

Placing two (usually) contrasting things next to each other in order to examine the contrast or the similarities revealed by the close proximity

Biblical Allusion

A reference to something from a religious text or a religious story or character

Mythological Allusion

A reference to a character or story from a myth

Literary Allusion

A reference to other works of literature in some way

Historical Allusion

Indirectly referencing some aspect of history

Cultural Allusion

Referencing something popular culture or something that is “common knowledge”

Symbolism

The author using one “thing” to represent a different “thing”. This can be changed with context but there’s some universal language to symbolism

Metaphor

A comparison between two things that, because of the use of “is”, becomes an equation of those two things

Simile

A comparison between two things that uses “like” or “as” to imply a similarity between the two

Personification

Applying human like qualities and traits to non-human objects

Chremamorphism

Applying non human qualities to a human

Allegory

An extended metaphor or a series of metaphors that are thematically linked in some way; a symbol stretched out to take up an entire story

Analogy

Comparing two things that are similarly structured and using the qualities of one thing to help explain the other

Irony

When there is a contrast between what is happening and what is expected to happen

Hyperbole

Exaggerating to the extreme limit of a statement in order to make a point

Rhetorical Question

Asking a question in order to make a point instead of getting an answer