Rhetoric Literary Devices – Flashcards
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Colloquialism
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A word or phrase used in everyday relaxed speech, not in formal writing
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Elegy
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A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead
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Epistolary
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Of or associated with letters or the writing of letters
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Epitaph
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A brief literary piece commemorating a deceased person
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Expletive
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An unnecessary word or phrase used to fill space on a sentence for grammar or rhythm purposes
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Fallacy
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An incorrect argument dependent upon an unsound or illogical contention
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Foil
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A character in a story who contrasts with the main character, usually to highlight one of their attributes
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Formal language
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Language with explicit and precise rules for its syntax and semantics
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Hubris
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Excessive pride or self-confidence
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Induction
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The act of including, bringing out, or causing
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Inference
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The act or process of concluding or judging from premises or evidence
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In Media Res
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In or into the middle of a narrative plot
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Innuendo
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An indirect intimation about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or derogatory nature
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Invective
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Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language
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Isocolon
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A figure of speech in which a sentence is composed by two or more parts perfectly equivalent in structure, length and rhythm
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Juxtaposition
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The fact of two things being seem or placed close together with contrasting effect
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Litotes
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Ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary
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Malapropism
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The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect
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Metonymy
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A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else which it is closely associated
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Motif
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An element, subject, idea, or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature
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Palindrome
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A number, word, sentence, or symbol or even signs that can be read forward as well as backward or in reverse order with the same!e effects and meanings ex: racecar
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Paradox
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Refers to the use of concepts or ideas that are contradictory to one another, yet, when placed together hold significant value on several levels
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Parallelism
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Use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter
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Persona
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The aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others
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Personification
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The practice of representing a thing or idea as a person in art, literature, etc.
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Poetic Justice
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An outcome in which vice is punished and virtue rewarded usually in a manner peculiarly or ironically appropiate
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Prose
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Writing that is not poetry
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Protagonist
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The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text
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Satire
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The making fun of human weakness or character flaw; however, not to amuse the reader but to show that the character flaw should be bettered
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Soliloquy
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An act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play
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Sonnet
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A poem of fourteen lines using any number of formal rhyme schemes
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Syllogism
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Rhetorical device that starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it draws conclusion about something more specific
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Synecdoche
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A part is made to represent the whole or vice versa
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Truism
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A statement that is completely true and that is not debatabld
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Verisimilitude
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The appearance of being true or real
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Zuegma
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A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses
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allegory
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a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning
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alliteration
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the occurrence of the same letter of sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
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Allusion
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a brief or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication
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ambiguity
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doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention
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anachronism
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an error of chronology or timeline piece
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anadiplosis
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when the last word or phrase of one line or clause to begin the next
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analogy
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a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it
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anaphora
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the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect
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anecdote
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a short or amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person
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antagonist
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a character or a group of characters which stand in opposition to the protagonist, or a main character
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anti-climax
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a disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events
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anti-hero
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a central character in a story, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes
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aphorism
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a pithy observation that contains a general truth
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apostrophe
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an exclamatory figure of speech that occurs when a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience and directs speech to a third party
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archaism
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a thing that is old-fashioned
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archetype
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the original model from which all things of the same kind are based off of; prototype
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assonance
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in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel in nearby words
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asyndeton
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the absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence
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audience
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the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play or movie
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begging the question
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assuming the conclusion of an argument
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bildungstroman
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a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character
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blank verse
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poetry that is not rhymed but that there is a regular rhythm
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cacophony
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unpleasant and loud sounds
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caricature
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a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect
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catharsis
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the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions
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canon
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an approved collection of works
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chiasmus
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a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases
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characterization
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portrayal, description
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circumlocution
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a roundabout or indirect way of speaking, the use of more words than necessary to express an idea
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claim
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an arguable statement
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cliche
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an overused phrase, considered bad literature
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cliffhanger
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a melodramatic narrative in which each section "ends" as a suspenseful or dramatic moment, ensuring that the audience will watch/read the next installment to find out what happens
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climax
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the point of the plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest; nothing can remain the same after this point; greatest turning point in the story
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comparison
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when the writer compares or contrasts two people
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concession
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where one acknowledges a point made by one's opponent
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conflict
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used for expressing a resistance the protagonist of the story finds in achieving his/her aims of dreams; a discord that can have external aggressors or can even arise from within the self
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consonance
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refers to the repetition of sounds in quick succession produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase, often found at the end of a word
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dystopia
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an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad as possible
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epigraph
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a short quoting or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest a theme
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epilogue
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a section of speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened
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epiphany
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The point in a work of literature where a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes his or her understanding
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ethos
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the credibility or ethical appeal which involves persuasion by the character involved
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eulogy
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a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently dead or retired or a term of endearment
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euphemism
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a phrase that is milder or the less abrasive form of a negative description instead of its original
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exposition
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an unnecessary word or phrase used to fill space in a sentence for grammar or rhythm purposes
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extended metaphor
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refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem
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fable
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a concise and brief story intended to provide a moral lesson at the end
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flash forward
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the plot goes ahead of time, a scene that interrupts and takes the narrative forward in time from the current time in a story
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flashback
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the author depicts the occurrence if specific events to the reader, which have taken place before the present time the narration is following
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foreshadowing
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writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later int he story
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free-verse
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verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern
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genre
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a class or category of artistic endeavor having particular form, content, technique or the like
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hyperbole
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an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally
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idiom
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an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements
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imaginary
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the formation of mental images, figures, or likeness of things, or of such images collectively
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internal rhyme
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a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next
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irony
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the expression of ones meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or empathetic effect
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jargon
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special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand
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logos
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the word of God or principle of divine reason and creative order, identified int he gospel of John with the second person of the trinity incarnate in Jesus Christ (in jungian psychology) the principle of reason and judgement associated with the animus
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metaphor
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a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable
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mood
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a literary element that invokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions
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narrative
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a report of related elements presented to the listener or readers in words arranged in a logical sequence
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nemesis
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a situation of poetic justice wherein the positive character are rewarded and the negative characters are penalized
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onomatopoeia
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refers to sound words whose pronunciation to the actual sound they represent
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oxymoron
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contrasting concepts placed together in a manner that actually making sense in a strange and slightly complex manner
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parody
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an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre, with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect
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pathos
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a quality that evokes pity or sadness point of view, position or perspective from which something is considered or evaluated
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propaganda
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ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and are spread in order to help a cause, political leader or governments
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pun
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a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings
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realism
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typically involves a detailed description with warts (and all) most is directed toward everyday mundane things instead of the supernatural
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red herring
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this is an irrelevant topic thrown into an argument to divert the listeners attention
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repetition
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a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases to make an idea clearer
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rhetoric
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this is a technique of using language effectively and persuasively in written and/or spoken form
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rhetorical question
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A question that you do not expect an answer too.
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rhyme
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A reputation of similar sounding words.
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rhythm
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Demonstrates the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed syllables
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sarcasm
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The literal meaning differs from what the speaker intended. A device meant to mock with satirical or ironic remarks and its purpose is to amuse.
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simile
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Compares unrelated items using the words as, such as, or like. They are one of the most common literary devices.
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slang
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A type of language that consists of words and phrase that are regarded as very informal and are more common in speech then writing
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stanza
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Division of 4 or more lines, having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme found in poetry
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style
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the way a writer writes and it is the technique which an individual author using in his writing.
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symbolism
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Use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
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syntax
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Arrangement of words or phrases to create well formed sentences
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Theme
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the subject of a piece of writing
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thesis
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A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise that is to be maintained or proved.
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tone
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the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing or situation
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transition words
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words or phrases that provide a connection between ideas, sentences and paragraphs.
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understatement
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presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is
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Utopia
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An imagined place or state of things where everything is perfect
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veracity
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conformity to accurate facts
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voice
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the characteristic speech and thought patterns of a first person narrator
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argument
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an exchange of diverging or opposite views
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connotation
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the associates that people make with words that go beyond the literal or dictionary definition; can create emotions or feelings in the reading
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Point of view
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the angle of considering things which shows us the opinion or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation.
