Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis- Literally means opposite; establishing a clear contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure; organizing ideas into a clear contrast within a sentence.
Allegory- A story with two levels of meaning (one literal and the other symbolic, moral, or political); often in allegories, characters stand for various concepts and are given names that make their symbolic meaning clear; a work with the primary aim of delivering a message about humanity.
Alliteration- The repetition of the initial sounds in two or more neighboring words; done for emphasis; often, alliterative sound correlates with intended meaning or effect.
Allusion- A brief reference to something famous: literature, geographical locations; historical events, legends, myths, religion, traditions, and/or elements of popular culture; used to link history/ classics or make ideas more universal.
Apostrophe- A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or thing or a personified abstraction, such as love or liberty; the effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity; in older poetry, often indicated by “O! So and so…”
Colloquial- Using slang or informalities in speech or writing; (noun is colloquialism); includes local or regional dialects.
Connotation- The implied or suggested meaning of a word; association; any emotions, ideas, or situations associated with a word.
Denotation- The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.
Diction- Word choice; an author’s diction my be formal or informal, ornate or plain; an author’s choice of diction contributes to the tone and mood of the piece depends on his/her purpose.
Dysphemism- Substitution for a more offensive or disparaging word or phrase for one considered less offensive; can often create an insult.
Euphemism- A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept; often obscures or softens the harsh truth.
Figurative Language- Any language not meant to be taken literally, with a deeper, secondary meaning; appealing to the imagination, figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world; it often makes use of a comparison between different things; metaphors, imagery, metonymy are all examples of figurative language.
Genre****- The major category into which a literary work fits; the basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry and drama, but within those larger genres exist other smaller genres: autobiography, memoir, criticism, etc; each genre has its own unique generic conventions (traditions and attributes of each genre).
Homily- A sermon or serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice; consider MLK’s “I have a dream” or parental and religious homilies.
Hyperbole- Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis; can be comedic or serious, also known as overstatement.
Imagery- Any writing that appeals to the five senses or describes something so it can be pictured; imagery can have an emotional effect on the reader: pay attention to HOW an author creates imagery and the EFFECT of the imagery.
Invective- An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong or abusive language.
Irony- Irony can take many forms and is notoriously difficult to define, but it virtually always involves some sort of contrast between two layers of something: between a surface layer and an underlying layer, or between two opposites; generally, the contrast between what is expected and reality OR what is stated and what is meant.
Verbal Irony- “verbal irony” occurs when a speaker’s literal words (and their surface meaning) are at odds with his or her actual meaning.
Situational Irony- “situational irony” involves a difference between expectation (what appears to be about to happen) and actual events or a difference between a character’s intentions and the actual result of their actions; for instance, you have situational irony in a story in which a character purchases a hand gun to protect his family, and one of the children is fatally shot while playing with it.
Dramatic Irony- “dramatic irony” occurs when a character natively speaks what he or she believes to be the truth, and/or acts on what he or she believes to be the truth, while the audience knows that he or she has got it all wrong; the tensions between a a character’s view of the world and the audience’s view.
Metaphor- Compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other, exposing a deeper similarity; unlike a simile or analogy, a metaphor assert that something IS a thing, not just that it’s LIKE another thing; through this identification of dissimilar things, a figurative comparison is implied.
Extended metaphor- A metaphor which is drawn out way beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout an entire poem, throughout a passage, or across chapters in a novel, usually by using multiple comparisons between unlike objects or ideas; note how the metaphor subtly shifts throughout the piece.
Metonymy- A term from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name;” a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as “crown” for “royalty”).
Mood- The feeling created by the text in the reader; the emotional ‘climate’ of a passage created through the author’s choice of emotionally loaded words.
Pun- A play on words in which words that are either identical in sound (homonyms) or similar in sound, but that are sharply different in meaning are deliberately confused; exploiting double or ambiguous meaning for comedic effect.
Rhetoric- The art of writing and speaking effectively and persuasively; refers to the voices an author or speaker makes to do so.
Satire- A work (literature, music, film) that uses irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement and sarcasm to target human vices and follicles or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule; does NOT necessarily imitate, as in a parody.
Symbol- Anything that represents or stands for something else; generally, a symbol is something concrete (an object) that stands for something more abstract (a feeling, idea, etc.); there are certain conventional symbols that persist through literature and culture, but most literary symbols must be decoded in context.
Syntax- Sentence construction: short, medium long; flowing rhythmically with few breaks or very choppy; syntax treats a purposeful effect; some sentences are written with a short and choppy cadence to parallel an intense action in the text; the sentence structure in this case would contribute to the text’s intensity.
Theme- The central idea or message of a text; the insight about life the author wishes to convey; theme is not typically stated by the author directly and must be stated in an entire sentence, not one word.
Tone- The author’s attitude toward his or her subject and/or toward the audience; must use an ATTITUDE WORD.
Understatement- The minimizing of fact or presentations of something as less significant than it is; opposite of hyperbole; understatement is used to be comedic or to actually stress the seriousness of an issue.
Oxymoron- A figure of speech wherein the author puts together seemingly contradictory terms to draw attention to the phrase.
Paradox- A statement that appears to be self contradictory, foolish, or false, but upon closer inspections contains some deeper truth.
Parallelism- To give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern; May also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction; Adds readability, rhythm, emphasis and organization; (With three parallel clauses, phrases or words in quick succession, it is a tricolon).
Parody- A work (literature, music, film) that closely imitates the style or content of another work with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule; seeks to use the conventions of the original work in order to make fun of it.
Personification- A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions; often is inherent in the verb used in the description.
Point of View- The perspective from which a story is told (or an essay is written); first person (I,we), second person (you), or third person (he, she, it, they); also can mean the author’s position about the object.
Prose- One major division of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech; anything that isn’t poetry or drama is prose.
(simplified Definitions)
1. Antithesis- Placing two opposing words near each other in the same phrase with the purpose of showing the reader what the author is trying to emphasize. 2. Allegory- The expression of hidden morals or generalizations through the plot (character, place, or event) of a story. 3. Allusion- An allusion is a literary device that is used to make an indirect reference and/or call an idea to mind without saying it explicitly. 4. Apostrophe- “A speech or address to an absent person or a thing that is personified” (Webster Merriam Dictionary). 5. Paradox- A statement that appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection then makes sense. 6. Connotation- Connotation is an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its primary denotation. 7. Dysphemism- The usage of an offensive or derogatory term in place of a pleasant one. 8. Euphemism- A euphemism is a method of dulling the severity or harshness of your speech/writings, it is when you take a word that is harsh or vulgar or unpleasant, adn you swap that word out with a word or phrase that is less offensive, or is more kind, or less severe. 9. Homily- A homily, commonly used religiously or spiritually, is an extended explanation in which it is used to explain and influence moral correction and a change in thought. Usually used in regard to influencing one’s ways of living. 10. Imagery- The usage of language to create a mental image that adds to the reader's understanding of the writing. 11. Verbal Irony- When something is said with the opposite or different meaning of what is meant to be said. 12. Satire- Exaggerating or fabricating writing about a subject in order to ridicule, discredit, or make fun of the subject. 13. Situational Irony- When the opposite of what was meant to happen occurs due to specific actions or events. 14. Dramatic Irony- Dramatic irony is when the author’s writing reveals the difference between the character’s knowledge of the circumstance and the reader or audience’s knowledge. 15. Extended Metaphor- A version of a metaphor that is not only used in one line but is shown throughout a certain length in a piece of literature. 16. Invective- Harsh and derogatory language 17. metonymy- A larger concept represented by a word that is closely related to the subject 18. Oxymoron- A figure of speech where two contradictory words are used together. 19. Mood- A device that creates emotion or feeling in the reader. 20. Parallelism- Parallelism is when a writer makes a point through repetition using that repetition to reinforce a view or emotion into the audience. 21. Personification- Personification is a type of figurative language that gives human related characteristics and actions to non living objects or any ideologies. 22. Parody- A deliberately comical imitation of a work or genre (derisive in tone) 23. Symbol- A recurring idea or object that is used to represent something else such as a message or theme 24. Tone- the author's attitude towards the subject or theme of their writing 25. Understatement- A device that depicts its subject as less important or of smaller scale. Used in polite, comedic, and modest manners.
Antithesis- Literally means opposite; establishing a clear contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure; organizing ideas into a clear contrast within a sentence.
Allegory- A story with two levels of meaning (one literal and the other symbolic, moral, or political); often in allegories, characters stand for various concepts and are given names that make their symbolic meaning clear; a work with the primary aim of delivering a message about humanity.
Alliteration- The repetition of the initial sounds in two or more neighboring words; done for emphasis; often, alliterative sound correlates with intended meaning or effect.
Allusion- A brief reference to something famous: literature, geographical locations; historical events, legends, myths, religion, traditions, and/or elements of popular culture; used to link history/ classics or make ideas more universal.
Apostrophe- A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or thing or a personified abstraction, such as love or liberty; the effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity; in older poetry, often indicated by “O! So and so…”
Colloquial- Using slang or informalities in speech or writing; (noun is colloquialism); includes local or regional dialects.
Connotation- The implied or suggested meaning of a word; association; any emotions, ideas, or situations associated with a word.
Denotation- The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.
Diction- Word choice; an author’s diction my be formal or informal, ornate or plain; an author’s choice of diction contributes to the tone and mood of the piece depends on his/her purpose.
Dysphemism- Substitution for a more offensive or disparaging word or phrase for one considered less offensive; can often create an insult.
Euphemism- A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept; often obscures or softens the harsh truth.
Figurative Language- Any language not meant to be taken literally, with a deeper, secondary meaning; appealing to the imagination, figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world; it often makes use of a comparison between different things; metaphors, imagery, metonymy are all examples of figurative language.
Genre****- The major category into which a literary work fits; the basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry and drama, but within those larger genres exist other smaller genres: autobiography, memoir, criticism, etc; each genre has its own unique generic conventions (traditions and attributes of each genre).
Homily- A sermon or serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice; consider MLK’s “I have a dream” or parental and religious homilies.
Hyperbole- Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis; can be comedic or serious, also known as overstatement.
Imagery- Any writing that appeals to the five senses or describes something so it can be pictured; imagery can have an emotional effect on the reader: pay attention to HOW an author creates imagery and the EFFECT of the imagery.
Invective- An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong or abusive language.
Irony- Irony can take many forms and is notoriously difficult to define, but it virtually always involves some sort of contrast between two layers of something: between a surface layer and an underlying layer, or between two opposites; generally, the contrast between what is expected and reality OR what is stated and what is meant.
Verbal Irony- “verbal irony” occurs when a speaker’s literal words (and their surface meaning) are at odds with his or her actual meaning.
Situational Irony- “situational irony” involves a difference between expectation (what appears to be about to happen) and actual events or a difference between a character’s intentions and the actual result of their actions; for instance, you have situational irony in a story in which a character purchases a hand gun to protect his family, and one of the children is fatally shot while playing with it.
Dramatic Irony- “dramatic irony” occurs when a character natively speaks what he or she believes to be the truth, and/or acts on what he or she believes to be the truth, while the audience knows that he or she has got it all wrong; the tensions between a a character’s view of the world and the audience’s view.
Metaphor- Compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other, exposing a deeper similarity; unlike a simile or analogy, a metaphor assert that something IS a thing, not just that it’s LIKE another thing; through this identification of dissimilar things, a figurative comparison is implied.
Extended metaphor- A metaphor which is drawn out way beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout an entire poem, throughout a passage, or across chapters in a novel, usually by using multiple comparisons between unlike objects or ideas; note how the metaphor subtly shifts throughout the piece.
Metonymy- A term from the Greek meaning “changed label” or “substitute name;” a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as “crown” for “royalty”).
Mood- The feeling created by the text in the reader; the emotional ‘climate’ of a passage created through the author’s choice of emotionally loaded words.
Pun- A play on words in which words that are either identical in sound (homonyms) or similar in sound, but that are sharply different in meaning are deliberately confused; exploiting double or ambiguous meaning for comedic effect.
Rhetoric- The art of writing and speaking effectively and persuasively; refers to the voices an author or speaker makes to do so.
Satire- A work (literature, music, film) that uses irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement and sarcasm to target human vices and follicles or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule; does NOT necessarily imitate, as in a parody.
Symbol- Anything that represents or stands for something else; generally, a symbol is something concrete (an object) that stands for something more abstract (a feeling, idea, etc.); there are certain conventional symbols that persist through literature and culture, but most literary symbols must be decoded in context.
Syntax- Sentence construction: short, medium long; flowing rhythmically with few breaks or very choppy; syntax treats a purposeful effect; some sentences are written with a short and choppy cadence to parallel an intense action in the text; the sentence structure in this case would contribute to the text’s intensity.
Theme- The central idea or message of a text; the insight about life the author wishes to convey; theme is not typically stated by the author directly and must be stated in an entire sentence, not one word.
Tone- The author’s attitude toward his or her subject and/or toward the audience; must use an ATTITUDE WORD.
Understatement- The minimizing of fact or presentations of something as less significant than it is; opposite of hyperbole; understatement is used to be comedic or to actually stress the seriousness of an issue.
Oxymoron- A figure of speech wherein the author puts together seemingly contradictory terms to draw attention to the phrase.
Paradox- A statement that appears to be self contradictory, foolish, or false, but upon closer inspections contains some deeper truth.
Parallelism- To give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern; May also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction; Adds readability, rhythm, emphasis and organization; (With three parallel clauses, phrases or words in quick succession, it is a tricolon).
Parody- A work (literature, music, film) that closely imitates the style or content of another work with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule; seeks to use the conventions of the original work in order to make fun of it.
Personification- A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions; often is inherent in the verb used in the description.
Point of View- The perspective from which a story is told (or an essay is written); first person (I,we), second person (you), or third person (he, she, it, they); also can mean the author’s position about the object.
Prose- One major division of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech; anything that isn’t poetry or drama is prose.
(simplified Definitions)
1. Antithesis- Placing two opposing words near each other in the same phrase with the purpose of showing the reader what the author is trying to emphasize. 2. Allegory- The expression of hidden morals or generalizations through the plot (character, place, or event) of a story. 3. Allusion- An allusion is a literary device that is used to make an indirect reference and/or call an idea to mind without saying it explicitly. 4. Apostrophe- “A speech or address to an absent person or a thing that is personified” (Webster Merriam Dictionary). 5. Paradox- A statement that appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection then makes sense. 6. Connotation- Connotation is an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its primary denotation. 7. Dysphemism- The usage of an offensive or derogatory term in place of a pleasant one. 8. Euphemism- A euphemism is a method of dulling the severity or harshness of your speech/writings, it is when you take a word that is harsh or vulgar or unpleasant, adn you swap that word out with a word or phrase that is less offensive, or is more kind, or less severe. 9. Homily- A homily, commonly used religiously or spiritually, is an extended explanation in which it is used to explain and influence moral correction and a change in thought. Usually used in regard to influencing one’s ways of living. 10. Imagery- The usage of language to create a mental image that adds to the reader's understanding of the writing. 11. Verbal Irony- When something is said with the opposite or different meaning of what is meant to be said. 12. Satire- Exaggerating or fabricating writing about a subject in order to ridicule, discredit, or make fun of the subject. 13. Situational Irony- When the opposite of what was meant to happen occurs due to specific actions or events. 14. Dramatic Irony- Dramatic irony is when the author’s writing reveals the difference between the character’s knowledge of the circumstance and the reader or audience’s knowledge. 15. Extended Metaphor- A version of a metaphor that is not only used in one line but is shown throughout a certain length in a piece of literature. 16. Invective- Harsh and derogatory language 17. metonymy- A larger concept represented by a word that is closely related to the subject 18. Oxymoron- A figure of speech where two contradictory words are used together. 19. Mood- A device that creates emotion or feeling in the reader. 20. Parallelism- Parallelism is when a writer makes a point through repetition using that repetition to reinforce a view or emotion into the audience. 21. Personification- Personification is a type of figurative language that gives human related characteristics and actions to non living objects or any ideologies. 22. Parody- A deliberately comical imitation of a work or genre (derisive in tone) 23. Symbol- A recurring idea or object that is used to represent something else such as a message or theme 24. Tone- the author's attitude towards the subject or theme of their writing 25. Understatement- A device that depicts its subject as less important or of smaller scale. Used in polite, comedic, and modest manners.
