English 2 H Terms/Rhetorical Devices

Anecdote

A brief story or tale with a carefully crafted purpose told by a character or speaker.

Hyperbole

Overstatement using exaggerated language

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or idea is used as place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as.

Alliteration

the repetition of usually initial constant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables. 

Irony

A statement that contradicts with what is expected or known. Can be used to create humor/suspense in writing.

Oxymoron

a combination of contradictory or incongruous words for the sake of emphasis.

rhetorical question

A question asked with no expectations of an answer but asked with the purpose of controlling the readers’ thoughts.

Syntax

the study of how words form into sentences (sentence structure).

Diction

The choice and use of words in a written work

Tone

The attitude a narrator take towards its subject and theme.

Repetition

the repeated sound of certain words, or phrases to help emphasize an important idea or concept.

Mood

The feeling the reader or listener gets after interpreting the tone. As well as, after reading an author’s piece of writing.

Connotation

The way the words feel the context around it. It is the way culture flows around a word.

Inflection

Change in the pitch or tone of the voice.

Dialogue

A conversation between many people.

Aphorism

A concise statement of principal

Terse

short, very few words

Idiom

An expression that holds a different meaning to its literal meaning.

Paradox

A sentence phrase that seems contradictory, but is, in fact, profoundly true. 

Motif

A unifying element that helps develop a theme, especially any recurrent image, symbol, character type, subject, or narrative detail.

Exciting force (Inciting incident)

The event that kicks off the main conflict of the story.

Rhetorical device

Used to trigger emotional responses in the audience, persuading or motivating them to think differently.

Static characterization

Characters who remain essentially the same from the beginning to the end of a story. 

Dynamic characterization

Characters who undergo significant internal and/or external change throughout a story, often as a result of the plot's conflict.