Rhetorical Terms List #1

Allegory

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonants in two or more neighboring words.

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known.

Ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

Anaphora

A device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines

Anecdote

A short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event.

Antecedent

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

Antithesis

Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed.

Aphorism

A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.

Asyndeton

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Atmosphere

The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work.

Chiasmus

A figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Clause

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.

Colloquial/colloquialism

The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Coherence

A principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Connotation

The nonliteral, associative meaning of a word.

Denotation

The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.