Rhetorical and Literary Devices - Definitions

Question not asked for information but for effect

A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization

Omitting conjunctions to create an emotion: “The dark skies filled her with despair, with longing, with loneliness.”

Describing what something isn’t to imply what it is: “She eyed him from across the room. Yeah, he wasn’t hard to ogle.”

An if-then statement and consists of two parts, an antecedent & a consequent: “If you studied hard, then you will pass"

“The car was driven by Anthony.”

Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept: "I could not understand his tongue."

An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

Repeating a word or phrase within a sentence while adding more detail

A conclusion that does not follow from its premises; an invalid argument

a description involving a “crossing of the senses: "a purplish scent filled the room".

A sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. (parallelism)

reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices & follies

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb

Type of diction:  The literal, explicit meaning of a word

 a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way: "I was stirred by his cooking"

 a recurring idea

When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed

Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things.

Repeating the end of phrase: “She would die. He would die. They’d all die.”

a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions; often used to slow down the pace of the text

brings credibility to author; appeals to ethics or morality

The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes

The art of effective communication

Assuming that because two things happened, the first one caused the second one.

Personally attacking your opponents instead of their arguments.

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. 

A fallacy is an attractive but unreliable piece of reasoning

Sentences incorporating interrogative pronouns (question words)

logical reasoning; ideas, facts, etc. that are not easily argued with

Type of diction: associations suggested by a word (implied meaning)

Repeating one word to make it more important: “Our day at the beach was fun, fun, fun.”

places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns

Issues a command

A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true

“Anthony drove while Toni searched for the house.”

Accepting at least part or all of an opposing viewpoint

Contains only one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

The claim that because somebody famous supports an idea, the idea must be right.

States an idea

The speed or tempo of an author’s writing often described using adjectives

Using a description as a proper name: “Nothing but the best would be good enough for Mr. Stuck-on-Himself.”

1 word modifies 2 or more other words, and the meaning must change for the other words: “I dressed myself and the salad"

When the writer begins with an independent clause, then adds subordinate elements

A word or group of words placed beside a noun or noun substitute to supplement its meaning

1. Language or dialect of a particular country, regional clan, or group. 2. plain everyday speech

Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words

The ironic minimizing of fact which presents something as less significant than it is; often humorous

expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence

Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does

The sentence or groups of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition

 Using as evidence a well-known saying, as if it is proven, or as if it has no exceptions.

Using more words than necessary: “She was absolutely, positively, never, never going to admit that he’d been right

 Grammatical arrangement of words

Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human

cannot stand alone as a sentence and must be accompanied by an independent clause

Contains only one independent clause.

The atmosphere created through word choice/tone (diction) and syntax (word order, sentence length)

Splitting a word and adding another word in the middle: “Abso-friggin-lutely.”

Word choice, particularly as an element of style

When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox

A brief recounting of a relevant episode. 

The central idea or message of a work

The claim, as evidence for an idea, that many people believe it, or used to believe it, or do it

Anything that represents or stands for something else. Usually something concrete that represents an abstract idea

Using a one-word paradox for irony: “While the yard was sweltering in the sun, it was a cool 112 degrees in the shade.”

Giving a further definition of a word in a following phrase: “I will never agree to this plan, and by ‘never,’ I mean...

When the audience knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out

Type of diction: Ordinary or familiar type of conversation. 

When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds. 

A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa: "Check out my new wheels".

The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.

Repeating the end of one sentence at the beginning of the next: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to

Extreme exaggeration

begins with subordinate elements and ends with the main clause

The event or thing that caused someone to write an argument

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words

occurs when incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead

A folk saying with a lesson. 

Repeating an idea with different words: “She was doomed. Finished. Dead.”

Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually this involves the five senses

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes

When you say something and mean the opposite/something different (can be sarcasm)

Type of diction: The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity.

Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence; considered an aside

An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes. It borrows words from an original, and pokes fun at it

A terse (abrupt) statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle

Contains at least two independent clauses but no dependent clauses.

A story in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts; the interaction reveals a truth

A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally

Asking a question and immediately answering it.

The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.

An analogy is a comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables

A generalization based on too little or unrepresentative data. 

Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison in order to make a point

A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. 

appeals to emotions of reader/audience