Rhetorical Analysis Terms and Definitions
Order by
41 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 allegory | a story with two (or more) levels of meaning--one literal and the other(s) symbolic; often in allegories, characters are given names that make thier symbolic meaning clear. |
| alliteration | the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in two or more neightboring words. |
| allusion | a brief referance to literature, geographical locations, historical events, legends, myths, traditions and/or elements of popular culture. |
| analogy | a comparison of two things, which are alike in several aspects, for clarification and explination; sometimes analogies establish a pattern of reasoning by using a less abstract and more familiar argument. |
| apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or thing or a personified abstraction, such as love or liberty; the effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. in older poetry, often indicated by "O! So-and-so" |
| colloquial | using slang or informalities in speech or writing; (noun= colloquialism) |
| connotation | the implied or suggested meaning of a word; association |
| denotation | the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word. |
| dialect | the use of words, phrases, grammatical constructions and sounds that capture everyday (or colloquial) language; dialect shows the actual way people speak, which often differs markedly from standard English. |
| diction | word choice; diction must be "named" ie. described as apecifically as possible. an author's choice of diction contributes to the tone and mood of the place. |
| dysphemism | a degenerative or less agreeable substitute for words or concepts; can often create a insult. |
| euphemism | a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept. |
| facetious language | joking or jesting often inappropriately; meant to be humorous or funny: not serious. |
| homily | a sermon or serioustalk, speech or lecture invovling moral or spiritual advice -consider MLK's "I have a dream" speech. - consider parental and religious homilies. |
| hyperbole | exaggeration for emphasis or humor. |
| imagery | the use of language to describe and/or evoke sensory experience; imagery must, like diction, be "named". pay attention to a writer's diction and use of detail for hints about how to name the imagery. |
| irony | the contrast between what is expected and reality |
| metaphor | one thing is spoken of as though it were something else; through this identification of dissimilar things, a comparison is suggested or implied. |
| extended metaphor | a metaphorwhich is drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza, an entire poem, through or across paragraphs, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas. |
| metonomy | a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another object closely associated with it. |
| oxymoron | a combination of contradictory words and meanings |
| onomatopoeia | words that imitate the natural sounds they name. |
| paradox | a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer examination contains some degree of truth or validity. |
| parody | a work (literature, music, film) that closely imitates the style or content of another work with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule. |
| personification | presenting or describing concepts, animals or inanimate objects by giving them human qualities. |
| point of view | the perspective from which a story is told (or an essay is written) : first person (i, we), second person (you), or third person (he, she, it, they). also can meanthe author's position about the subject. |
| pun | a play on words that are either identical in sound (homonyms) or similar in sound, but that are sharply different in meaning. |
| repetition | words, phrases, actions, and ideas that appear over and over again; usually, repetition in good literature highlights a pattern or makes a point. |
| rhetoric | the art of writing and speaking effectively and persuasively; refers to the choices an author or speaker makes in order to do so. |
| sarcasm | biting, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. |
| satire | a work (literature, music, film) that uses irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, undderstatement and sarcasm to target human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. |
| shift | a change in verb tense, location, speaker, narrative, method, setting or tone. |
| simile | a comparison between two things which are not alike, but which share at least one common element; similes explain an unfamiliar thing by comparing it to something familiar; similes use like, as, or similar explicit words to make the comparison. |
| style | the sum of choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary and rhetorical devices. |
| symbolism | objects and actions that stand for or represent something beyond their literal meaning. |
| syntax | sentence construction. some authors heavily use prepositional phrases, for example. hemmingway uses prepositional phrases liberally in order to describe. perhaps some sentences are written with a short and choppy cadence to parallel an intense action in the text. the sentence structure in this case would contribute to the text's intensity. schemes are also examples of syntax. |
| text | something written, performed or spoken considered as an object to be examined: movies, boooks, poetry, etc. are considered texts. |
| theme | the central idea or message of a text; the insight it offers; theme is not typically stated directly. |
| thesis | (also thesis statement) the sentence or group of sentences that directly express a writer's opinion, purpose, idea or meaning. |
| tone | the author's attitude toward his or her subject and/or toward the audience. |
| litotes, aka understatement | the minimalization of fact or presentation of something as less significant that it is; the opposite of hyperbole. |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.