Rhetorical Analysis Vocab List 1
Rhetorical Analysis Vocab List 1
Connotation: the secondary, implied, or suggested meaning of a word. The word “weasel” suggests negativity—a tendency to lie or cheat or steal.
Denotation: the actual, literal meaning of the word. Weasel simply means a slender, carnivorous mammal.
Diction: (word choice) a writer or speaker’s choice of words. Synonymous with style. Choosing the words “lied about” rather than “mistakenly stated” is a choice in diction.
Syntax: The grammatical order in which words are placed. It might be broken for effect.
Tone: The attitude the writer takes towards her subject, or in her writing. When describing tone, we use adjectives: angry, sarcastic, solemn, playful, timid, etc.
Explicit: Directly stated. Leaving no question about the meaning.
Implicit: implied, but not directly stated. Hinted at.
Infer: To deduce or conclude information based on facts or evidence—rather than being explicitly told.
Parallelism: similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases or clauses. “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”
Periodic sentence or structure: One in which the writer builds suspense by beginning with subordinate elements and postponing the main clause. “His composure shaken, his confidence broken, his limbs twitching, his walrus angry, he wondered if he would ever ask out another girl.”
Cumulative sentence or structure: one in which the subordinate elements come at the end to call attention to them. “He learned to fix cars from Alice McMahon, an elderly spinster who used to party with Volvo mechanics.”
Balanced sentence: one in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. Both parts of the sentence have the same form. “If a liberated society will not help the weak, a liberated society cannot save the strong.”
Antithesis: Opposition or contrast of words or ideas within a balanced sentence. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” These words must be truly opposites: night/day, hot/cold, life/death, etc.
Inversion: The reversal of normal, grammatical word order—often for emphasis. “Never should you forget who your boss is.” “The platypus is more important/What is more important is the platypus.” “Smart are you.” --Yoda.
Analogy/analogous: a comparison of similar things—usually using something familiar to explain something unfamiliar. Water pipes for electrical circuits.
Qualification (in argument or logic): A restriction in meaning or application. “Subject A’s premise would work very well under a totalitarian government, but in a democratic government, the premise seems unlikely to succeed.”
Logical Fallacies: Incorrect reasoning (often intentional) in argument. Fallacies often exploit emotional triggers in the anticipated audience. (There are many different logical fallacies; we will learn many by name this year.) EX. Argument: Cutting people is a crime. Surgeons cut people. Therefore, surgeons are criminals.
Metaphor: comparison not using like or as. Or, a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, esp. something abstract
Simile: comparison using like or as
Apostrophe: A dramatic address to someone not present. “Oh, Charles Dickens, where are you now?”