Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

Active Voice

the subject of the sentence performs the action

Allusion

an indirect reference to something (commonly known); a reference to something outside of the piece of literature that is commonly known

Alter-Ego

a character that is used by the author to speak the author’s own thoughts

Anecdote

a brief story

Antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun

Comic Relief

a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story

Diction

word choice

Colloquial

familiar type of conversation; slang

Connotation

implied meaning rather than literal meaning; associated meaning

Denotation

literal, explicit meaning of a word; dictionary meaning

Jargon

diction used by a group (southerners, lawyers, engineers, etc.)

Vernacular

plain, everyday speech

Didactic

literature that teaches a specific lesson

Adage

a folk saying

Allegory

a story that parallels another story

Aphorism

a terse statement which expresses a general truth

Ellipsis

the deliberate omission of a word or phrase; “. . .”

Euphemism

a less offensive substitute

Figurative Language

writing that is not meant to be taken literally

Analogy

a comparison

Hyperbole

an exaggeration

Idiom

expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally

Metaphor

making an implied comparison

Simile

words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison

Synesthesia

a blending of the senses

Personification

giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

Foreshadowing

hints about what will occur later in a story

Genre

the major category into which a literary work fits

Gothic

writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death

Imagery

language that appeals to the senses

Invective

an attack using strong, abusive language

Irony

occurs when the opposite of what you expect to happen does

Verbal Irony

you say something and mean the opposite

Dramatic Irony

the audience knows something that the character doesn’t

Situational Irony

occurs when the opposite of what you expect to happen does

Juxtaposition

placing things side by side for the purpose of comparison

Mood

an effect created by imagery and action

Motif

a recurring idea in a piece of literature

Oxymoron

a two-word paradox (bittersweet, jumbo shrimp)

Pacing

tempo of an author’s writing affected by syntax

Paradox

an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless true

Parallelism

sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

Anaphora

repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row

Chiasmus

when the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed (Fair is foul and foul is fair)

Antithesis

balancing words, phrases, and clauses (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”)

Zeugma (Syllepsis)

involves using a word literally and then figuratively (I quickly dressed myself and the salad)

Parody

an exaggerated imitation of a work for mainly humorous purposes

Persona

the fictional mask or narrator that tells a story

Polysyndeton

using multiple conjunctions in a sentence to connect words, phrases, or clauses (“I walked the dog and milked the cow and fed the cat”)

Pun

word play with two or more meanings

Rhetoric

the art of effective communication

Sarcasm

bitter comment that is ironically or satirically worded

Satire

a critical attitude that targets human vices and follies

Cumulative sentence

when the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements; start with your statement up front and then add modifiers

Periodic sentence

the main idea is not completed until the end of the sentence

Declarative sentence

states an idea

Imperative sentence

a command/demand

Interrogative sentence

a question

Symbol

stands for something else; concrete thing that represents something abstract

Theme

central idea; message

Thesis

claim

Tone

revealed through diction and point of view