Glossary of Rhetorical Terms
How to Employ These Terms in Your Essays:
This is a glossary of terms that writers and speakers use to make their arguments
more convincing or agreeable. When we analyze written or oral work rhetorically,
we look to see where, when, why, how, and how often these devices are used by
particular speakers at particular times for particular effects. Thus, these terms
help us analyze, interpret, and explain why texts are effective (or ineffective)
and convincing to certain audiences. This information has been compiled by
Instructor Robert S. DeFrance from sources listed at the conclusion of this glossary.
A fortiori—A Greek term meaning literally “from the stronger.” A fortiori is a type of
argument in which the speaker sets up two possibilities, one of which is much more
probable than the other. This often appears as an adverbial phrase or adjective. The
purpose of this device is to reinforce an idea or argument. However, when using this
device, a speaker must be careful not to construct a “begging the question” fallacy or
petitio principii. Examples can be found in Jewish Law (kal va-chomer) and the New
Testament (Romans 5:10, 15, 17; Corinthians 3:9, 11).
Analogy—Derived from the Greek and Latin analogia for “proportion.” According to
the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “an analogy is a comparison between two
objects…that highlights respects in which they are thought to be similar.” Examples
are plentiful. See Peter Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” and Stephen
King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies.”
For instance, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other
word would smell as sweet./So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,” from
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Anecdotal Evidence—The use of “stories or examples used to illustrate a claim but
that do not prove it [the argument] with scientific certainty.” See the Ashley Baia
story at end of Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech.
Antiprosopopoeia—Related to the Greek words/roots anti, “opposite,” prosopon
“face,” “person,” and poiein, “to make,” antiprosopopoeia is an inversion of
prosopopoeia or personification. Sometimes this occurs in the form of a metaphor
where a person is compared to or represented as an inanimate object
(“Antiprosopopoeia”).
For instance, Jimi Hendrix’s song “Crosstown Traffic,” “I don’t need to run
over you/Crosstown traffic/All you do is slow me down/And I got better things on
the other side of town.”
Aphorism—From the Greek aphorismos, the Latin aphoismus, and the French
aphorisme, meaning “definition” or “pithy sentence.” An aphorism is a wise, concise,
pointed, or epigrammatic statement that purports to reveal a truth or principle or
provide behavioral advice. This is a device more commonly found in literature or
drama. Aphorisms allow a speaker to teach a universal or moral truth. Examples
take the form of proverbs, maxims, adages, and clichés. Sententia is a particular type
of aphorism.
For instance, “a proverb is no proverb to you till life has illustrated it” (John
Keats) or Shakespeare’s Macbeth, “life is a tale told by an idiot—full of sound and
fury, signifying nothing.”
Aporia—An expression of doubt, in Greek aporia literally means “an unpassable
path.” It was used in Greek philosophy to “describe the perplexity induced by a
group of statements which, whilst they are individually plausible, are inconsistent or
contradictory when taken together.” Used by Demosthenes (“On the Crown”) and
The Bible.
Boosting—An adverbial construction, or a clause that modifies a verb, adjective, or
sentence that is employed to persuasively assert a claim.
For example, “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of
disappointed love,” from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.
Diatyposis—Greek for “vivid description,” diatyposis is a rhetorical device of
prescribing advice to the audience. Sometimes a brief, yet powerful description,
diatyposis recreates something with words.
For example, “In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the
simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work,
do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present,” from the Tao Te Ching.
Enthymeme—A Greek word for “thought,” “argument,” or “piece of reasoning,” an
enthymeme is a syllogism, a strategy of logos, where one of the premises is implicit.
Epexegesis—A Greek term meaning “to explain in detail,” epexegesis is the name
given to words or phrases used to clarify a previous point.
Ethos—Ethos is an appeal to the credibility of the speaker; in some cases, a moral or
ethical appeal. See Singer’s “Solution to World Poverty” for an appeal to ethos.
Euphony— Euphony is derived from the Greek word euphonos, meaning “sweetvoiced.” The opposite of cacophony, euphony is the succession of harmonious,
melodic, sublime sounds, often found in poetry or prose. This is sometimes achieved
thru the use of alliteration, assonance, and rhyme. This device is used to effectively
communicate a message.
For instance, “To the last syllable of recorded time,/And all our yesterdays
have lighted fools/The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!/Life’s but a
walking shadow, a poor player/That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/And
then is heard no more. It is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing,” from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Hortative Sentence—From the Latin hortaivus and hortatus, a hortative sentence is
a call to action, or urges the audience on.
For example, “let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of
belaboring those problems which divide us,” from John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural
Address.”
Hypophora—Related to the Greek anthypophora, hypophora is when a speaker
inquires what their adversaries can say against them. Hypophora can also occur
when a speaker asks a rhetorical question, only to then answer it. When a question
is asked to start a paragraph, and that paragraph explores the answer, it is called
antipophora or anthypophora. The function of this device is to heighten curiosity
and capture attention. An example of hypophora occurs near the end of Plato’s “The
Apology of Socrates” when Socrates asks his opponents to speak out against him
(and no one does) and in Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory.
Impact Sentence—When a statement ends with an idea that makes the audience
reconsider or reflect further on the subject, it is called an impact sentence.
For instance, from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” “He looks at her, a tear
falls down, and says ‘Thus with a kiss I die.’”
Imperative Sentence—An imperative sentence is used to communicate a directive
or command.
For example, from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, “Abandon all hope, ye
who enter here!” and Mark Twain’s, “Always do right. This will gratify some people
and astonish the rest” (“Note to the Young People’s Society, Greenpoint Presbyterian
Church, 1901).
Kairos—This is a Greek term for the right or opportune moment. Shakespeare
employs this device in Act III of Julius Caesar in a speech by Mark Antony.
Litotes— In Greek litotes means “simple or “meager.” Litotes is an intentional
understatement, for intensification, that denies the opposite of what is being
proposed.
J.D. Salinger employs this device in The Catcher in the Rye, “I have to have
this operation. It isn’t very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain.”
Logos—The Greek logo stands for “word, study, and speech.” Logos is an
argumentative appeal that uses evidence, facts, statistics, induction, deduction,
maxims, syllogisms, enthymemes, or other logical appeals.
Metanoia—Derived from the Greek meta for “after,” metanoia device occurs when
speakers correct themselves or clarify a point.
Negative-Positive Statement—When a sentence begins with what is not true, and
finishes with what is true.
For instance, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but
righteousness, and peace, and joy,” from Romans 14:17
Neologism—In Greek neo means “new” and log means “word.” Thus, a neologism is
a “new word” that has been invented by the author.
Obiter dicta—Latin for “things said in passing,” obiter dicta is a term that refers to
table-talk or incidental remarks usually found in biographies.
Oxymoron—From the Greek oxus “sharp” and moros “stupid.” The combination of
normally contradictory ideas or terms, like “sweet pain” or “thunderous silence.”
Also, see “Paradox.”
Pathos—A Greek term meaning “emotion,” “passion,” or “suffering,” pathos is an
argumentative appeal to emotion, like hope, greed, love, tradition, patriotism, fear,
hate, etc. See Maya Angelou’s famous “Caged Bird” poem.
Periodic Sentence—A sentence (invented by Isocrates) that uses details in the
beginning or interrupting clause of a simple sentence.
For instance, “Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a
desolate plain, a gray valley where New York’s ashes are dumped,” from F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Pleonasm—Derived from the Greek pleonasamos, meaning “more than enough,”
pleonasm is the use of superfluous or redundant words, often enriching the phrase
or sentence, like “ears pierced while you wait.”
Portmanteau Word (or Word Blend)—Portmanteau is a term invented by author
Lewis Carroll for a word that is coined by combining two other words,
encompassing the original meanings of both component parts, a famous example
being Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” in which he coins the word “slithy” (a
combination of slimy and lithe). “Word blend” is how linguists describe this device.
Position Statement—A position statement is a clear, typically short and concise,
statement on a particular topic or issue.
Prolepsis—Prolepsis is a Greek and Latin term. This is a rhetorical device where a
speaker imagines the future has already happened.
For example, in John Keats’ “Isabella” (1820), he describes the aftermath of a
murder before it happens, “So the two brothers and their murdered man/Rode past
fair Florence.”
Prosopopoeia—Prosopopoeia is a Latin term (prosopopoiia in Greek) for “the
putting of speeches into the mouths of others.” A device whereby an imaginary or
absent figure is represented as acting or speaking; more generally, the introduction
into a speech or discourse or a pretended or imaginary figure.
Purple Patch—A purple patch is a passage that stands out from the rest of the text
due to the use of numerous rhetorical devices and flowery language. This is a phrase
coined by first-century B.C.E. Roman poet Horace. Examples of this device are
prevalent is Shakespeare’s work, including “Macbeth.”
Sententia—A Latin term for “feeling,” “thought,” or “opinion,” sententia is the use of
a famous maxim, quotation, or aphorism.
For instance, “Hell is paved with good intentions,” “the golden rule is that
there are no golden rules,” or “liberty means responsibility. That is why most men
dread it,” from George Bernard Shaw’s play “Man and Superman.”
Stipulative Definition—A stipulative definition, a form of logos, is a definition that
makes clear the author or speaker intends to explore a particular area of meaning of
a term or issue. There are two forms of stipulative definitions: arbitrary and
restrictive. An arbitrary stipulative definition is when a speaker creates a new word
and assigns a meaning to it, like when psychologist Sigmund Freud invented and
used the terms “ego,” “superego,” and “id.” A restrictive stipulative definition is
when a speaker makes clear their intention to employ a word in a special, limited, or
precise manner.
Synesthesia—Synesthesia is a figure of speech that employs a blend of different
metaphors or imagery, like “the music was bright and colorful.”
For example, in Canto I of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, “Back to the region
where the sun is silent.”
Trope—A Greek term for “manner” or “fashion,” trope is a broad rhetorical device
for change or transference of meaning, and working, unlike a figure, at a conceptual
level. There are various types of tropes, including, but not limited to: hyperbole,
irony, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, personification, pun, rhetorical
question, simile, synecdoche, and zeugma.
Devices of Balance
Antithesis—A Greek and Latin term for “a placing against,” antithesis is the
juxtaposition of strongly contrasting ideas, often in a balanced or parallel structure.
For example, “Though studious, he was popular; though argumentative, he
was modest; though inflexible, he was candid; and though metaphysical, yet
orthodox.”—Dr. Samuel Johnson. Or, “I long and dread to close” from Adrienne
Rich’s “Toward the Solstice” (1977). Or, Alexander Pope’s, “The hungry judges soon
the sentence sign, and wretches hang that jury—men may dine.”
Caesurae—Caesurae is a Latin term, where a sentence is created with two separate
parts that are distinct, but connected, the effect being a dramatic pause, a stronger
impact, emotion, or depth.
For instance, “the grateful task commonly vouchsafed to the mourning living,
of casting the mantle of charitable forgetfulness over the faults of the lamented
dead, is denied us; for although it is much to say, that he whom we deplore was
faultless,” from Abraham Lincoln’s “Address on the Death of Mr. Benjamin
Ferguson” (1842)
Conceit—Conceit is a form of juxtaposition that creates a surprising connection
between different things. This device can be brief or extended.
For example, “The voice shook and beat and trembled, not as the voice of an
old man shakes and beats and trembles, nor as a leaf shakes and beats and trembles,
but as a deep bell when it is struck,” from Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country.
Dehortatio—A Latin term for “urging,” dehortatio is an effective dissuasive
argument, or one that discourages or advises against a course of action.
For instance, the opening lines of Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That
Good Night”: “Do not go gentle into that good night…rage, rage against the dying of
the light.”
Isocolon—From the Greek isokolon, meaning “of equal members,” isocolon is a type
of parallelism that uses a sequence of equivalent elements, usually of the same
length.
For example, “Veni, vidi, vici” (in Latin) or in English “I came; I saw; I
conquered,” Julius Caesar
Labyrinthine Sentence—This is a finely crafted sentence that uses parallel
structure, absolute phrases, and rhythm to describe or discuss something.
For instance, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, “Whenever I find myself growing
grim about the mouth; whenever it is damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever
I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the
rear of ever funeral I meet...then, I account it high time to get to seas as soon as I
can.”
Paradox—From the Latin paradoxum “statement seemingly absurd yet really true”
and the Greek paradoxon, a paradox is a combination of undeniably truth events or
ideas with another idea that is seemingly just as true, but contradictory to the first.
Or, an assertion that while on first glimpse seems illogical, under further analysis
actually appears to have some truth to it.
For example, “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young,” George
Bernard Shaw.
Parallelism—A similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases,
or clauses.
For example, “He tried to make the law clear, precise, and equitable.”
Piling—A list in quick succession.
For instance, “a new global economy; massive a rapid changes in technology;
a labour market where half the workers are women,” from a Tony Blair “Blackpool”
speech (1994).
Syntax—Derived from the Latin and Greek syntaxis, meaning “arrangement” or
“grammatical construction.” Syntax is used to describe the grammatical
arrangement of sentences.
Tetracolon Climax—A list of four elements, often in parallel structure. This device
is common in political speech.
For example, “In this Prince there were discerned qualities of courage, of
simplicity, of sympathy, and, above all, of sincerity,” from Winston Churchill’s
“Abdication of King Edward VIII.”
Tricolon—From the Greek trikolos, or “having three parts,” tricolon is the use of
three parallel elements in a sentence or phrase.
For instance, “I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical,
angry, frustrated,” from Barbara Jordan’s “1976 DNC Keynote Address.”
Devices of Criticism
Bdelygmia—Greek for “a cutting,” “filth,” or “nastiness,” bdelygmia is a series of
complaints, abuses, descriptions, or attributes.
For instance, from H.L. Mencken’s “On Being an American,” “the American
people, taking one with another, constitute the most timorous, sniveling,
poltroonish, ignominious mob of serfs and goose-steppers ever gathered under one
flag in Christendom since the end of the Middle Ages.”
Cacophony—From the Greek kakophonia, “harsh sounding,” cacophony is a harsh
joining of sounds. The opposite of cacophony is euphony.
For example, “We want no parlay with you and your grisly gang who work
your wicked will,” Churchill. Or, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel, “And being no
stranger to the art of war, I have him a description of cannons, culverins, muskets,
carabines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats,
attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea fights…”
Catachresis—From the Greek for “misuse,” for an incorrect or strained use of a
word. This can involve the use of a mixed or illogical metaphor.
For instance, “Mow the beard,/Shave the grass,/Pin the plank,/Nail my
sleeve,” from Alexander Pope’s “Peri Bathous.”
Convoluted Sentences—The use of long, complicated, hard-to-follow sentences.
See the writing of French Philosopher Michel Foucault for numerous examples.
Digression—A brief departure from the main point of a speech or piece of writing.
Dissonance—Similar to cacophony, dissonance refers to a lack of harmony between
sounds, instead of a harshness of a particular sound.
For example, parts of Gertrude Stein’s “Susie Asado,” “A pot. A pot is a
beginning of a rare bit of trees. Trees tremble, the old vats are in bobbles, bobbles
which shade and shove and render clean, render clean must. Drink pups. Drink pups
drink pups lease a sash hold, see it shine and a bobolink has pins. It shows a nail.”
Polemic—A Greek word for “hostile,” which is used to describe an aggressive
argument that offers no compromise or consolation.
Synathroesmus—From the Latin and Greek sunathroismos for “collection” or
“union,” synathroesmus is a series of adjectives, usually for the purpose of criticism.
For example, “He was a gasping, wheezing, clutching, covetous old man,”
from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Tapinosis—This is a Latin term tapinosis for “depreciation” and the Greek
tapeinosis “lowering.” This is the use of undignified language.
For instance, this line from Tyler Durden’s character in “Fight Club,” “Listen
up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You’re
the same decaying organic matter as everything else.”
Devices of Humor
Accismus—From the Greek akkismos, this is a type irony or coyness where
someone feigns a lack of interest.
Adynaton—Derived from the Greek adunaton, or “an impossibility.” This is a device
where a speaker emphasizes the limits of language to express the moment, or
compares the moment to something unknowable (like heaven).
For example, “language was not powerful enough to describe the infant
phenomenon,” from Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.
Antiphrasis—A Greek and Latin term meaning “to express by the opposite,” this is a
type of irony when a single word is used (ironically).
Apophasis—A Greek term for “denial,” apophasis is emphasizing something by
pretending to brush over it. This device is commonly introduced with something
like “needless to say” or “it goes without saying that.” John Smith’s The Mysterie of
Rhetorique Unvail’d (1657) defines apophasis as “a kind of irony, whereby we deny
that we say or doe that which we especially say or doe.”
For example, “Now just let me say this: That’s his business, and I’m not
critical of him for doing that. You will have to pass judgment on that particular
point,” from Richard Nixon’s “Checkers” speech.
Clerihew—A type of comic verse containing two metrically awkward couplets,
presenting some kind of ridiculously uninformative biographical information,
usually rhyming the some famous name into the first couplet.
For example, “Geoffrey Chaucer/Could hardly have been coarser,/But this
never harmed the sales/Of his Canterbury Tales,” from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Chleuasmos—A sarcastic reply that leaves one’s opponent speechless.
Hyperbole—Latin and Greek term for “exaggeration.” The use of deliberate
exaggeration or overstatement in order to express strong feelings or to produce a
powerful impact on the audience.
Hypocrisis—The use of exaggerated speech or physical gestures to mock someone.
For example, see much of the work of Stephen Colbert, who mocks Bill O’Reilly.
Irony—A figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the antithesis of the
literal meaning of the words used.
For example, “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable
man,” from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Meiosis—From the Greek for “lessening,” meiosis is a term for understatement,
typically for humorous, ironic or satiric effect.
Reductio ad absurdum—A Latin phrase meaning, “to reduce to the absurd,” this
can be an effective comedic technique, but when used in a serious context it is a
fallacy (false dilemma).
Devices of Omission
Aposiopesis—From the Latin and Greek aposiopesis for “a becoming silent,” this is a
rhetorical device involving individual sentences left suggestively incomplete. This is
a form of ellipse. Famously used by Demosthenes (“On the Crown”).
For example,
“If the abysm
Could vomit forth its secrets…But a voice
Is wanting, the deep truth is imageless” from Percy Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound
(1820).
Asyndeton—The deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of clauses,
words, or phrases, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
For example, “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow
this ground,” President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” Or “we shall pay
any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe
to assure the survival and success of liberty” (J.F.K.’s “Inaugural Address”).
Brachylogia—Similar to Asyndeton, it is a deliberate omission of conjunctions
between single words or phrases. This term originates with Tudor rhetoricians.
For example, “and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth”—Abraham Lincoln.
Brachylogy—A general term for an abbreviated or condensed expression;
asyndeton and zeugma are specific types of Brachylogy, a term used by Socrates in
“Phaedrus.”
Paralipsis (or Occupatio or Apophasis)—from the Greek paraleipsis, or
“omission,” paralipsis occurs when a speaker says they intend to pass by or refuse to
say what they then say. This occurs when a speaker makes indirect reference to
something to arouse suspicion in someone or something else. The effect of this
device is increased emphasis.
For example, “I do not mention that you have taken monies from our allies; I
do not concern myself with your having despoiled the cities, kingdoms, and homes
of them all. I pass by your thieveries or robberies, all of them” (Cf. Quintillian, 9. 2.
75. [Tr.]).
Praeteritio—The pretended omission for rhetorical effect, like the use of ellipses
(…), as used in Thucydides “Funeral Oration.”
Subtext—A meaning that is implied, instead of explicitly stated.
Zeugma (or Syllepsis)—A device in which a single word is made to refer to two or
more words in a sentence, often playing on their respective literal and metaphorical
meanings. Derives from the Greek zeugnunai (‘to yoke’) and is related to syllepsis
(‘taking together’).
For example, “dressed in rags and misery.” Or, “we must all hang together or
assuredly we will all hang separately,” Benjamin Franklin.
Devices of Organization
Climax—“Climax” is a Greek term for “ladder,” as in the highest point of tension or
conflict. It is the building up of a series of impressive ideas in order of their
importance. This term also describes the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses
in order of ascending power and/or emphasis. A climax expresses an idea or image,
but vividly and impressively. This device may add adornment, colors, elegant
variation, embellishment, embroidery, emphasis, exaggeration, exclamation,
flourish, floweriness, irony, lushness, or luxuriance.
For example, “One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and
fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield,” Tennyson, Ulysses.
Also, see the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Christopher Marlow.
Exordium—An introductory part of an oration, book, discourse, or treatise. In Latin
reddere auditors benevolos, it means “to get goodwill” or “to get [the audience] in the
mood for listening.”
Paraporsdokian—A surprising or unexpected ending of a phrase or series.
For example, “There but for the grace of God—goes God,” Churchill.
Peroration—A term for the conclusion of a speech, a peroration can be flowery,
poetic, and full of literary and rhetorical devices.
Refutation—A form of logos, refutation is an Aristotelian concept for attacking the
counter-argument or opponent’s position.
Topos—Greek word for ‘place,’ used in rhetoric to describe a set of conventional or
stereotypical themes and images used by an orator to structure an argument.
Devices of Repetition
Alliteration—The repetition of the same sound, vowel, or consonant at the
beginning of words in a sequence. Alliteration is used to “engage the audience’s
auditory senses, but they can also be used to emphasize groups or words and to
provide moods and connotations to provide greater insight into an author’s words”
(“Alliteration”)
For example, “Let us go forth to lead the land we love,” President John F.
Kennedy, Inaugural Address.
Amplification—From the Latin “enlargement,” amplification is a form of repetition
where one expands and enriches an argument, explanation, or description.
Examples can be found in John Edgar Wideman’s “All Stories are True” and Charles
Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend.
Anadiplosis—The repetition of one or several words, specifically when a word ends
one clause and starts the next.
For example, “Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the
sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business,” Francis Bacon. This
device was also used by Cicero and Aeschines.
Anaphora—The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses, or lines. Examples can be found in the work of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and many others.
For example, “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,” Churchill. Also used
by Cicero (“Catilinam”), Lysias, and Demosthenes (“On the Crown”).
Antanaclasis—From the Greek antanaklasis, antanclasis is the repetition of a word
or phrase in order to affect a different meaning. Usually, this is a particular form of
pun, common to advertising.
For example, Shakespeare’s Othello, “put out the light, then put out the light”
(meaning he intends to quench the candle, and then kill Desdemona). Or the
Washington Post’s former slogan, “If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.”
Antimetabole—A repetition of words in reverse order. For example, “ask not what
your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country,” John F.
Kennedy.
Antistrophe (or Epistrophe)—The repetition of the same word or phrase at the
end of successive clauses. Famously used by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Aeschines
(“Against Ctesiphon”).
Assonance—The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in stressed
syllables, followed by a different consonant sounds in proximate words.
For example, “fate” and “cave” or “come” and “done.” Or, “Hear the mellow
wedding bells,” from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Bells.”
Conduplicatio—The repetition of a word throughout a paragraph. For example,
from Richard Nixon’s “Opening Statement, First Debate with John F. Kennedy,”
“There is no question but that this nation cannot stand still, because we are in a
deadly competition, a competition not only with the men in the Kremlin, but the
men in Peking. We’re ahead in this competition, as Senator Kennedy, I think, has
implied. But when you’re in a race, the only was to stay ahead is to move ahead.”
Epanalepsis—When a word or clause near or at the beginning of a sentence also
appears at the end of that clause or sentence.
For instance, “Common sense is not so common,” from Voltaire’s Common
Sense.
Epanaphora—The repetition of one and the same word forms at the beginnings of
successive phrases, expressing like and different ideas.
For example, “your essay started off with a good thesis, your essay did not
follow through with that thesis, your essay used good examples, your essay did not
analyze those examples thoroughly.”
Epimone—The repetition of a clause or phrase (typically a question) for emphasis.
See Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman.”
Epistrophe—Derived from a Greek word meaning “turning upon,” epistrophe is the
repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
For instance, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, “what lies behind us and what lies
before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.”
Epizeuxis (or Palilogia)—The repetition of a single word for emphasis (typically
with no other words between them). “Words, words, words,” from Shakespeare’s
Hamlet.
Figura Etymologica—The repetition of different words, which have the same root,
in the same clause or sentence.
Interlacement (or Symploce)—The combination of Antistrophe and Epanaphora
in a series of phrases.
Leitmotif—Literally meaning “leading motive” in German. Leitmotif is an image or
phrase that recurs throughout a work, each time evoking past associations in such a
way as to serve as a subtly unifying element in the work as a whole. Famously used
by Beethoven in his “Fifth Symphony,” Welles in “Citizen Kane,” and George Eliot in
Middlemarch. Other examples from literature include the leitmotif of darkness in
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the tiger in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice.
Mesodiplosis—When a word or phrase is repeated in successive clauses. For
example, “Second Epistle to the Corinthians,” “we are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed.”
Paronomasia—The use of similar sounding words, often using etymological
wordplay and puns.
Polysyndeton—In Greek poly means “many.” The device of polysyndeton is the
repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses. The
opposite of Asyndeton; this is a deliberate use of many conjunctions. For an
example, see The Bible, Genesis, I:24-25 and Ernest Hemingway’s “After the Storm.”
Proparoxytone—A rhetorical device in which a series of words start with “e” at the
climax of the speech. This was a device commonly used by the Sophists. Pericles
uses this device in his “Funeral Oration” (in the Greek translation).
Repetend—The irregular or partial repetition of a word, phrase, or line.
Sibilance—A type of alliteration using the repetition of the consonant “s” to
produce a soft or hissing sound, like the lyric “sweet summer sweat” from the
Eagle’s “Hotel California.”
Tautology—A repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence.
For example, “With malice toward none, with charity for all,” Lincoln’s
“Second Inaugural Address.”
Devices of Style
Abstract Language—Abstract language is the use of undetailed, unspecific
language; the “opposite of concrete language.”
Bathos—An unsuccessful attempt at dignity, elevation, or pathos. Or, a descent into
mundane or sentimental language by a speaker who is striving for the noble and
elevated. See Alexander Pope’s “On Bathos.”
Circumlocution—Talking around a subject or being evasive and vague.
Demotic—“Dem,” the Greek root, stands for “people.” Demotic is Northrop Frye’s
term for an unpretentious style characterized by associations, diction, rhythm and
syntax of everyday, ordinary speech.
Diction—The precise use of words. These are the four basic levels of diction: (1)
formal (academic or serious, characterized by complex words and an educated, lofty
tone), (2) informal (relaxed but polite conversation; includes idiomatic expressions,
contractions, and simple word choice), (3) colloquial or jargon (terms and
constructions accepted within a group, like surfers, the military, chefs, or
carpenters), (4) slang (words unacceptable in polite usage, like “on the down low”).
Didactic—Typically formal, ethical, and moral, didactic writing intends to teach a
particular lesson, moral, behavior, or idea.
Economy—A writing style characterized by brevity and conciseness.
Euphuism—An artificial style that makes frequent use of alliteration, elaborate and
extended figures of speech, rhetorical questions and antitheses. This style was
popular in English Literature of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Habitus—a Latin word for style of dress and disposition, attitude, or character.
Hypotactic—The explicit use of connecting words and logical relationships
between clauses or sentences.
Idiolect—The use of a strange word choice, grammar, and pronunciation.
Kenning—An Old English and Germanic style of using an embellished, figurative
phrase in place of simple one, like using “whale-road” instead of “sea” in Beowulf (c.
700 A.D.).
Monologic—Critic and theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s term for a work that seems to
represent multiple points of view, but in fact is dominated by one controlling idea or
narrative. The Greek mon stands for “remind.”
Pacing—When a speaker uses sentence structure (syntax), repetition, and
punctuation to speed up or slow down a particular passage.
Pedantic—A style of speech that is scholarly, academic, distant, and borders on
lecturing.
Periphrasis—The use of unnecessary wordiness, elevation, verboseness, and
pompousness. This can also refer to evasive, indirect language so common in
politics. See Shakespeare’s Constable Dogberry in “Much Ado about Nothing,” who
may have been based on influential Renaissance rhetorical theorist Thomas Wilson,
the author of The Art of Rhetoric.
Semantically Purified Speech—Rhetorician Richard Weaver’s term for unbiased,
unemotional, un-impulsive speech.
Skotison—Speech that is purposefully obscure and confusing.
Sprezzatura—An Italian term that can refer to nonchalance or grace under
pressure.
Devices of Substitution
Enallage—Substitution of one word form for another.
Euphemism—The substitution of an ugly truth with a more pleasing, yet vague
expression to seemingly justify, sometimes, awful behavior or ideas. This is either a
form a satire/irony or deceit. Used by Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff and Joel Safran
Foer’s Eating Animals.
Metalepsis—The metonymical substitution of one word for another that is itself
figurative; more generally, an inversion of cause and effect.
Metaphor—Transfers the meaning of a name or descriptive phrase to an object by
analogy or substitution (possibly using as or is).
For example, “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some
few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts;
others to be read, but not curiously and some few to be read wholly, and with
diligence and attention” (from Francis Bacon’s “Of Studies”)
Metonymy—The substitution of one word for another, which it suggests.
For example, “he is a man of the cloth.”
Synecdoche—Understanding one thing with another; the use of a part for the
whole.
Devices of Unusual or Inverted Word Order
Anacoluthon—When a change in grammatical structure within one sentence leaves
the first part of the sentence unfinished or broken.
Anastrophe—Inversion of the natural or usual word order.
For example, “I got, so far as the immediate moment was concerned, away.—
“ Henry James, The Turn of the Screw.
Apposition—Placing side-by-side two co-ordinate elements, the second of which
serves as an explanation or modification of the first. In English grammar, this is
called an “appositive phrase.”
For example, “John Morgan, the president of the Sons of the Republic, could
not be reached by phone.”
Chiasmus (or Reciprocal Change)—Where the second clause or phrase inverts the
order of words used in the first.
For example, “You must eat to live, not live to eat.” (Attributed to Socrates).
Or, Shakespeare’s “Fair is foul and foul is fair” from Macbeth (1606).
Other examples include: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan” or Amy Tan’s The
Joy Luck Club.
Ellipsis—Deliberate omission of a word or of words, which are readily implied by
the context.
For example, “And he to England shall along with you”—Hamlet, III.
Hypallage—“Exchanging” transferred epithet; grammatical agreement of words
that do not logically qualify.
Hysteron Proteron—A Greek expression meaning “latter first.” It is used in
rhetoric to describe a figure of speech in which words that should, in terms of their
meaning, come later, come first. Or, it can be a an inversion of the natural sequence
of events.
For example, “O, for a fresh of breath air” (James Joyce, Ulysses).
Or, Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1607), “fly and turn the rudder.”
Parenthesis—Insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal
syntactical flow of the sentence.
For example, “But wherein any man is bold—I am speaking foolishly—I also
am bold…Are they ministers of Christ? I—to speak as a fool—am more—St. Paul, 2
Cor. II, 21 and 23.
Prolepsis—The use of adjectives or nouns in an inverted order, often putting the
result or relative clause before its antecedent, as used by Vergil in Aeneid. This
device is often used to raise objections, or to respond to a possible counterargument or rebuttal.
Synesis—The agreement of words according to logic, rather than grammatical
agreement.
For example, “For the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6.
Devices of Visualization
Ekphrasis—An extended or detailed description, commonly a description of a
picture or image.
Hyperbaton—The separation of words, which belong together for emphasis or to
create a visual image. Famously used by Vergil in Aeneid.
Visualization (or Picturesque Language or Ocular Demonstration)—Terms for
language that produces a key image in the minds of the audience. The term
“visualization” originates with a Hellenistic Jewish writer given the name Longinus
(fl. 50 C.E.), but this may have been influenced by Rhetorica ad Herennium’s concept
of “ocular demonstration.” The effect, according to Rhetorica ad Herennium, is
“amplifying a matter” and “appeal[ing] to pity” (LV. Book IV).
This description by Cicero is an example: “He [Verres] came into the Forum
burning with criminal fury; his eyes blazed, and cruelty stood out in every feature of
his face” (Cf. Cicero, Verr. 2. 5. 62. 161).
References
Alliteration. http://figurativelanguage.net/Alliteration.html
Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. 3rd edition. Ed. Corbett.
Elements of Argument. 10th edition. Eds. Rottenberg and Winchell.
“Glossary of Terms for the Analysis of Literature.” Haverford University. Web.
1.10.13.
“Glossary of Rhetorical Terms: A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples.”
University of Kentucky. Web. 12.20.12.
“Literary Devices.” Literarydevices.net. Web. 8.31.14.
Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. 9.2.14.
“Rhetoric Terms—AP English.” Web. 8.31.14.
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Eds. Ross Murfin and Supryia
M. Ray.
The Language of Composition. Eds. Shea, Scanlon and Aufses. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory. Ed. David Macey.
The Rhetorical Tradition. Eds. Bizzell and Herzberg.
“The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Web. 10.15.13.
“Silva Rhetoricae.” Brigham Young University. Web. 10.15.13. (antiprosopopoeia, )
“Stipulative Definitions.” Ipfw.edu. Web. 11.11.14.
*Note: This is NOT in MLA format