Rhetorical Devices

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allegory

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Terms in this set (74)

The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. In some allegories, for example, an author may intend the characters to personify an abstraction like hope or freedom. The allegorical meaning usually deals with moral truth or a generalization about human existence.

alliteration

The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.

allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may be simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion.

ambiguity

The multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.