Rhetorical Terms Booklet
Rhetorical Term
1. Aesthetic
2. Allegory
3. Alliteration
4. Allusion
5. Ambiguity
6. Anachronism
7. Anadiplosis
8. Analogy
9. Anaphora
Definition
Example
A sustained metaphor continued through whole sentences or even
through a whole discourse.
The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of
consecutive words or syllables.
An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event.
Vagueness caused by either grammatical looseness or multiple
meanings of words
An error in chronology, especially: a chronological misplacing of
persons, events, objects, and customs in regard to each other.
“The Good Samaritan”
Repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very
near the beginning of the next. it can be generated in series for the
sake of beauty or to give a sense of logical progression. Most
commonly, it is used for emphasis of the repeated word or idea,
since repetition has a reinforcing effect
Compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the
purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea
or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some
familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is
generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and
emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining
a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of
the concrete, and may therefore be more extended.
The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.
10. Anastrophe
Transposition of normal word order; most often found in Latin in the
case of prepositions and the words they control. Anastrophe is a
form of hyperbaton.
11. Antanaclasis
The repetition of a word or phrase whose meaning changes in the
second instance.
A writer could refer to William
the Conqueror phoning London.
As the telephone was not invented
until 1867, this would be an
anachronism.
A film director making a film
about the Victorians might, by
accident, film an aeroplane in the
sky. As aeroplanes were not
invented until the twentieth
century, this would be an
anachronism.
The question next arises, How
much confidence can we put in
the people, when the people have
elected Joe Doax?
Knowledge always desires
increase: it is like fire, which
must first be kindled by some
external agent, but which will
afterwards propagate itself. -Samuel Johnson
Winston Churchill: “We shall not
flag or fail. We shall go on to the
end. We shall fight in France, we
shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing
confidence and growing strength
in the air, we shall defend our
island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing
grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills. We shall never
surrender.”
The helmsman steered; the ship
moved on; yet never a breeze up
blew. Coleridge, The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner
Your argument is sound...all
sound. —Benjamin Franklin
The meaning of "sound" first
appears to be "solid" or
"reasonable"; in its repetition, it
means something very different,
"all air" or "empty"
12. Anthimeria
Substitution of one part of speech for another (such as a noun used
as a verb).
13. Antimetabole
The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast.
14. Antithesis
Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, although not
always, in parallel structure).
"It has been my experience that
folks who have no vices have
very few virtues." —Abraham
Lincoln
15. Aphorism
A short, astute statement of a general truth.
16. Apostrophe
An absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is
directly addressed.
Pope: Some praise at morning
what they blame at night.
Emerson: Imitation is suicide
Franklin: Lost Time is never
Found again.
With how sad steps, O moon,
thou climbest the skies. Busy old
fool, unruly sun.
17. Appeals (logos,
pathos, ethos)
18. Assonance
19. Asyndeton
the repetition of vowel sounds
Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, clauses.
20. Author Purpose
21. Cacophony
One’s intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.
harsh, discordant (joining) sounds
22. Canon
23. Catharsis
24. Chiasmus
25. Claim
26. Cliché
27. Colloquial
28. Conceit
29. Connotation
30. Deductive
31. Denotation
32. Diction
33. Didactic
1.
2.
Repetition of ideas in inverted order
Repetition of grammatical structures in inverted order (not
to be mistaken with antimetabole, in which identical words
are repeated and inverted).
I've been Republicaned all I care
to be this election year.
Noun used as verb.
Feel bad? Strike up some music
and have a good sing.
Verb used as noun.
When the going gets tough, the
tough get going.
Ask not what your country can
do for you; ask what you can do
for your country. —John F.
Kennedy
fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks
Veni, vidi, vici (Caesar: "I came; I
saw; I conquered")
We want no parlay with you and
your grisly gang who work your
wicked will. W. Churchill
Flowers are lovely, love is
flowerlike.
It is boring to eat; to sleep is
fulfilling
The pattern is present participleinfinitive; infinitive-present
participle
An assertion, usually supported by evidence.
An informal or conversational use of language.
An extended metaphor. Popular during the Renaissance and typical
of John Donne or John Milton. Unlike allegory, which tends to have
one-to-one correspondences, a conceit typically takes one subject
and explores the metaphoric possibilities in the qualities associated
with that subject.
A socio-cultural and 'personal' associations (ideological, emotional
etc.) of a word or idea
Reasoning from general to specific
The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition
Word choice
1: designed or intended to teach 2: intended to convey instruction
and information as well as pleasure and entertainment 3: making
moral observations
Robert Herrick's "The Vine"
34. Digression
35. Discourse
36. Elegy (elegiac)
37. Ellipsis
38. Emphasis
39. Enthymeme
40. Epanalepsis
41. Epideictic
42. Epigraph
43. Epistolary
44. Epistrophe
A departure from logical progression in a speech.
Mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe
tone.
Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context.
Giving prominence to a quality or trait by conceiving it as
constituting the very substance in which it inheres.
Enthymeme is an informally-stated syllogism which omits either
one of the premises or the conclusion. The omitted part must be
clearly understood by the reader. The usual form of this logical
shorthand omits the major premise. An enthymeme can also be
written by omitting the minor premise. It is also possible to omit the
conclusion to form an enthymeme, when the two premises clearly
point to it. Whenever a premise is omitted in an enthymeme (and
understood by the reader), it is assumed to be either a truism or an
acceptable and non-controversial generalization. But sometimes the
omitted premise is one with which the reader would not agree, and
the enthymeme then becomes a logical fallacy-an unacceptable
enthymeme.
repeats the beginning word of a clause or sentence at the end. The
beginning and the end are the two positions of strongest emphasis in
a sentence, so by having the same word in both places, you call
special attention to it.
One of the major divisions of rhetoric in ancient rhetorical theory
(judicial and deliberative are the others); it is rhetoric that evokes the
context of a civil ceremony (like a funeral oration) by using praise
and censure (blame) to persuade people to hold or reaffirm values in
the present.
A phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a
document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a
summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider
literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional
context.
A piece written in letter form
Forms the counterpart to anaphora, because the repetition of the
same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses,
or sentences.
45. Epitaph
A short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that
inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively.
46. Epithet
adjective or adjectival phrase characterising person or thing
A second example of digressions,
from a different period altogether,
can be found in Jonathan Swift's
Tale of a Tub, in which he metarhetorically devotes an entire
chapter, a digression, in praise of
digressions (Section VII).
"The average person thinks he
isn't." –Father Larry Lorenzoni
The term "average" is omitted but
understood after "isn't."
John forgives Mary and Mary,
John.
Note that the comma signals what
has been elided, "forgives"
Ed is allergic to foods containing
monosodium glutamate, so he
cannot eat Chinese food seasoned
with it.
He is an American citizen, so he
is entitled to due process. [All
American citizens are entitled to
due process.]
Water alone dug this giant
canyon; yes, just plain water.
To report that your committee is
still investigating the matter is to
tell me that you have nothing to
report.
Ceremonial speeches meant to
praise or blame rather than make
decisions. Most common in
funeral orations.
The Diary of Anne Frank
Where affections bear rule, there
reason is subdued, honesty is
subdued, good will is subdued,
and all things else that withstand
evil, for ever are subdued. -Wilson
I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared
for the great ordeal of meeting me
is another matter.
— Winston Churchill
the fleet-footed Achilles
47. Eulogy
48. Euphemism
49. Euphony
50. Expletive
51. Explication
52. Figurative Language
53. Foreshadowing
54. Formal/Informal
Language
55. Hyperbole/
Overstatement
56. Imagery
praises someone or something highly, especially if just died
Substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for
one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.
soothing pleasant sounds
a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax,
used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the
expletive.
(of text) Explanation of a text’s meaning through an analysis of all
of its constituent parts, including the literary devices used; also
called close reading.
The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning
to achieve literary effect.
a technique used by authors to provide clues for the reader to be able
to predict what might occur later in the story.
Formal English, used in writing or speech, is the type of English
employed to address special groups and professional people.
Informal English is the sort of writing popular English—spoken
English.
Rhetorical exaggeration. Hyperbole is often accomplished via
comparisons, similes, and metaphors.
Vivid use of language that evokes a reader’s senses (sight, smell,
taste, touch, hearing/ visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic,
Correctional facility; “he passed
away”
O star (the fairest one in sight)
But the lake was not, in fact,
drained before April.
I've told you a million times not
to exaggerate.
olfactory, and gustatory
57. Inductive
58. Invective
Reasoning from specific to general.
Speech or writing that abuses, denounces, or vituperates against. It
can be directed against a person, cause, idea, or system. It employs a
heavy use of negative emotive language.
59. Irony
(verbal/dramatic/situatio
nal)
an expression of something which is contrary to the intended
meaning; i.e. the use of a word or phrase for its opposite.
60. Juxtaposition
61. Litotes
placing two or more things side by side
Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by
denying its opposite.
62. Loose Sentence
This sentence is a basic statement with a string of details added to it.
63. Metaphor
A comparison made by referring to one thing as another.
64. Metonymy
Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes.
I cannot but conclude the bulk of
your natives to be the most
pernicious race of little odious
vermin that nature ever suffered
to crawl upon the surface of the
earth. --Swift
When in Shakespeare's Much Ado
About Nothing the constable
Dogberry says "redemption"
instead of "damnation" (itself a
malapropism), the fact that he
means precisely the opposite of
what he so passionately exclaims
makes this a comical use of irony:
O villain! thou wilt be condemned
into everlasting redemption for
this.
It isn't very serious. I have this
tiny little tumor on the brain. —
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the
Rye
Running a marathon in under two
hours is no small
accomplishment.
Bells rang, filling the air with
their clangor, startling pigeons
into flight from every belfry,
bringing people into the
streets to hear the news.
No man is an island —John
Donne
Life is a beach.
The pen is mightier than the
sword
The pen is an attribute of thoughts
that are written with a pen; the
sword is an attribute of military
action
We await word from the crown.
The IRS is auditing me? Great.
All I need is a couple of suits
arriving at my door.
65. Mood
66. Motif
the creation of atmosphere in descriptive writing
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that
can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
67. Onomatopoeia
Using or inventing a word whose sound imitates that which it names
(the union of phonetics and semantics).
68. Oxymoron
Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. A
compressed paradox.
69. Paradox
A statement that is self-contradictory on the surface, yet seems to
evoke a truth nonetheless.
70. Parallelism
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or
clauses.
71. Parenthesis
Insertion of a verbal unit that interrupts normal syntactical flow.
72. Parody
literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is
closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule
The motif of falling in Julius
Caesar.
The buzzing of innumerable bees
The "zz" and "mm" sounds in
these words imitate the actual
sounds of bees.
...Yet from those flames
No light, but rather darkness
visible
Served only to discover sights of
woe.
—Milton,
Paradise Lost 1.62-64
The sounds of silence
Whosoever loses his life, shall
find it.
Magical spells and herbs were
needed in order for the corpse to
die. (Luc. 6.822-3)
parallelism of words:
She tried to make her pastry
fluffy, sweet, and delicate.
parallelism of phrases:
Singing a song or writing a poem
is joyous.
parallelism of clauses:
Perch are inexpensive; cod are
cheap; trout are abundant; but
salmon are best.
The garrulous Polonius from
Hamlet can't help but interrupt
himself as he speaks to King
Claudius about Prince Hamlet's
behavior toward his daughter,
adding a parenthesis to his own
parenthesis:
But what might you think,
When I had seen this hot love on
the wing—
As I perceiv'd it (I must tell you
that)
Before my daughter told me—
what might you,
Or my dear Majesty your queen
here, think...?
—Shakespeare, Hamlet 2.2.13135
Films:
This is Spinal Tap
Blazzing Saddles
73. Paronomasia/Pun
74. Pedantic
75. Periodic Sentence
76. Persona
77. Personification
Using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning (punning).
Overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in
teaching.
In this sentence, additional details are placed before the basic
statement. Delay, of course, is the secret
weapon of the periodic sentence.
The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of
writing.
Reference to abstractions or inanimate objects as though they had
human qualities or abilities.
78. Point of View
79. Polyptoton
the angle from which a writer tells a story
Repeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given
word in close proximity; repetition of words derived from same root
80. Polysyndeton
Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the
tempo or rhythm.
81. Repetition
A simple method of achieving emphasis by repeating a word, a
phrase, or an idea.
The rhetorical question is usually defined as any question asked for a
purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks. For
example, "Why are you so stupid?" is likely to be a statement
regarding one's opinion of the person addressed rather than a
genuine request to know. Similarly, when someone responds to a
tragic event by saying, "Why me, God?!" it is more likely to be an
accusation or an expression of feeling than a realistic request for
information.
Apart from these more obviously rhetorical uses, the question as a
grammatical form has important rhetorical dimensions. For example,
the rhetorical critic may assess the effect of asking a question as a
method of beginning discourse: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's
day?" says the persona of Shakespeare's 18th sonnet. This kind of
rhetorical question, in which one asks the opinion of those listening,
is called anacoenosis. This rhetorical question has a definite ethical
dimension, since to ask in this way generally endears the speaker to
the audience and so improves his or her credibility or ethos. The
technical term for rhetorical questions in general is erotema.
Use of mockery, verbal taunts, or bitter irony.
82. Rhetorical Question
83. Sarcasm
84. Satire
85. Simile
1: a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or
scorn 2 : trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and
discredit vice or folly
An explicit comparison, often (but not necessarily) employing "like"
Don't wrest my rest from me.
John, the tough one, the sullen kid
who scoffed at any show of
sentiment, gave his mother
flowers.
The insatiable hunger for
imagination preys upon human
life
—Samuel Johnson
The Greeks are strong, and skilful
to their strength. / Fierce to their
skill, and to their fierceness
valiant;
I said, "Who killed him?" and he
said, "I don't know who killed
him but he's dead all right," and it
was dark and there was water
standing in the street and no
lights and windows broke and
boats all up in the town and trees
blown down and everything all
blown and I got a skiff and went
out and found my boat where I
had her inside Mango Key and
she was all right only she was full
of water.
—Ernest Hemingway, "After the
Storm."
If you be the son of God, descend
from the cross —Matt. 27
The Onion is a satirical
newspaper.
My love is like a red, red rose —
86. Speaker
87. Style
88. Syllepsis
or "as."
A term used for the author, speaker or the person whose perspective
( real or imagined) is being advanced in a speech or piece of writing.
The distinctive quality of spech or writing created by the selection
and arrangement of words and figures of speech.
When a single word that governs or modifies two or more others
must be understood differently with respect to each of those words.
A combination of grammatical parallelism and semantic incongruity,
often with a witty or comical effect. Not to be confused with
zeugma.
89. Syllogism
A form of deductive reasoning in which the conclusion is supported
by a major or minor premise.
90. Symbolism
the art or practice of using something—normally a concrete image—
that exists in itself but also stands for something else or has greater
meaning. Symbolism is a strong feature in an essay, operating to add
depth of meaning and even to unify the composition.
A whole is represented by naming one of its parts (genus named for
species), or vice versa (species named for genus).
91. Synecdoche
92. Synesthesia
93. Syntax
94. Thesis Statement
95. Tone
96. Transition
97. Trope
98. Understatement
99. Verisimilitude
100. Voice
101. Zeugma
a description of one sense in terms of another.
sentence structure
The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer
The speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience.
the linking of ideas in sentences, paragraphs, and larger segments of
an essay in order to achieve coherence.
Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a
figure of speech.
intentional representation of something as less than it is, either for
ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact
denotes the extent to which a work of fiction exhibits realism or
authenticity, or otherwise conforms to our sense of reality.
a distinctive quality in the style and tome of writing.
the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in
such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes
sense with only one; Zeugma is sometimes used simply as a
synonym for syllepsis, though that term is better understood as a
more specific kind of zeugma: when there is disparity in the way that
the parallel members relate to the governing word (as a vice or for
comic effect).
Robert Burns
In the following example, "rend"
governs both objects, but the first
rending is figurative; the second,
literal:
Rend your heart, and not your
garments. Joel 2:13
You held your breath and the door
for me
—Alanis Morissette
All writers are mortal
Ernest Hemingway was a writer
Hemingway was a mortal.
“The Masque of the Red Death”
The rustler bragged he'd
absconded with five hundred head
of longhorns.
Both "head" and "longhorns" are
parts of cattle that represent them
as wholes
In Cold Blood
opened the door and her heart to
the homeless boy