Axelrod's Rhetorical Devices

Front 1

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

Back 1

Allusion

Hint 1

(Usually literary text, plays, songs or historical events)

Front 2

The subject of the sentence performs the action

Back 2

Active Voice

Hint 2

Ex: Anthony drove while Tony searched for the house

Front 3

A character that is used by the author to speak the author's own thoughts

Back 3

Alter-Ego

Hint 3

Not to be confused with persona

Front 4

A brief recounting or story

Back 4

Anecdote

Hint 4

usually put into text to develop a point

Front 5

The word or phrase referred to by a pronoun

Back 5

Antecedent

Hint 5

Ex: if I could command the wealth of all the world by lifting a finger, I would not pay such a price for it.

"It" is the device.

Front 6

Humorous scene in a serious story

Back 6

Comic Relief

Hint 6

Used to lighten the mood

Front 7

Word Choice

Back 7

Diction

Hint 7

Can be formal, informal, etc.

Front 8

Implied meaning rather than literal meaning

Back 8

Connotation

Hint 8

Opposite of Denotation

Front 9

The literal meaning

Back 9

Denotation

Hint 9

Opposite of Connotation

Front 10

diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity

Back 10

Jargon

Hint 10

Lawyers use this particular language, as do soccer players

Front 11

Language or dialect of a particular country

Back 11

Vernacular

Hint 11

This is considered everyday speaking to us

Front 12

text that teaches a specific moral

Back 12

Didactic

Hint 12

provides positive thinking over negative

Front 13

A folk saying with a lesson

Back 13

Adage

Hint 13

"A rolling stone gathers no moss"

Front 14

A story where things and events represent qualities or concepts.

Back 14

Allegory

Hint 14

The interaction is meant to reveal a truth.

Front 15

A short statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle

Back 15

Aphorism

Hint 15

memorable summation of the author's point

Front 16

Deliberate omission of a word or phrase done for effect by the author

Back 16

Ellipsis

Hint 16

...

Front 17

a more agreeable substitution for unpleasant words

Back 17

Euphemism

Hint 17

Physically challenged over crippled

Front 18

Writing not meant to be taken literally

Back 18

Figurative Language

Hint 18

If it's not said literally it's said __________

Front 19

A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables

Back 19

Analogy

Hint 19

"America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle."

Front 20

Extreme Exaggeration

Back 20

Hyperbole

Hint 20

"My mother will kill me if I'm late."

Front 21

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense when taken literally.

Back 21

Idiom

Hint 21

"I got chewed out by my coach."

Front 22

comparison without using "like" or "as"

Back 22

Metaphor

Hint 22

"My feet are popsicles."

Front 23

Replacing an actual word with a related word or concept.

Back 23

Metonymy

Hint 23

"I could not understand his tongue," meaning his language or speech.

Front 24

Comparison using "like" or "as"

Back 24

Simile

Hint 24

"My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles."

Front 25

A description involving a "crossing of the senses"

Back 25

Synesthesia

Hint 25

"I was deafened by his brightly-colored clothing."

Front 26

Giving human-like features to inanimate objects

Back 26

Personification

Hint 26

"The tired old truck groaned as it inched up the hill."

Front 27

Giving hints about what will occur later in the text

Back 27

Foreshadowing

Hint 27

Usually towards the beginning of the text.

Front 28

The major category into which a literary work fits.

Back 28

Genre

Hint 28

Fiction, Non-Fiction, Drama

Front 29

Writing characterized by gloom, fear, or/and death

Back 29

Gothic

Hint 29

Edgar Allen Poe

Front 30

Words that create a picture for the reader.

Back 30

Imagery

Hint 30

Involving the 5 senses

Front 31

A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language

Back 31

Invective

Hint 31

Verbal Abuse

Front 32

When the opposite of what you expect to happen does

Back 32

Irony

Hint 32

"The butter is as soft as a marble piece."

Front 33

Placing things side by side for the purpose of comparison.

Back 33

Juxtaposition

Hint 33

Authors often use this in order to make a point

Front 34

Atmosphere created by literature.

Back 34

Mood

Hint 34

Gloomy, Jubilant, Scary...

Front 35

A recurring idea in a piece of literature.

Back 35

Motif

Hint 35

The idea is brought up several times

Front 36

When contradictory terms are paired together.

Back 36

Oxymoron

Hint 36

Jumbo Shrimp, Wise Fool

Front 37

Contradictory situation which is true

Back 37

Paradox

Hint 37

"You can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job."

Front 38

Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other.

Back 38

Parallelism

Parallel Structures

Balanced Sentences

Hint 38

Adds emphasis and organization to writing

Front 39

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of 2 or more sentences in a row

Back 39

Anaphora

Hint 39

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

Front 40

When the same words are used twice, but the second time the words are reversed.

Back 40

Chiasmus (Antimetabole)

Hint 40

"When the going get tough, the tough gets going"

Front 41

2 contrasting words, phrases, or ideas with parallel structure

Back 41

Antithesis

Hint 41

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Front 42

Exaggerated imitation of serious work

Back 42

Parody

Hint 42

gimmicks of music videos, television shows, etc.

Front 43

The narrator that tells the story

Back 43

Persona

Hint 43

Do not confuse this with Alter-ego

Front 44

Repetition of consonants

Back 44

Alliteration

Hint 44

"Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore"

Front 45

Repetition of similar vowel sounds

Back 45

Assonance

Hint 45

"From the molten-golden notes"

Front 46

The repetition of the same consonant sounds at the end of words or within words.

Back 46

Consonance

Hint 46

very similar to alliteration

Front 47

Words suggesting sounds

Back 47

Onomatopoeia

Hint 47

Snap, Boom, Murmur

Front 48

List of items separated by conjunctions

Back 48

Polysyndeton

Hint 48

"I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows"

Front 49

When a word that has two or more meaning is used in a humorous way

Back 49

Pun

Hint 49

"I was stirred by his cooking lesson"

______ Intended

Front 50

The art of effective communication

Back 50

Rhetoric

Hint 50

What kind of devices are these?

Front 51

Questions not asked for information but for effect.

Back 51

Rhetorical Question

Hint 51

"The angry parent asked the child, 'Are you finished interrupting me?' "

Front 52

A bitter comment that is ironically worded

Back 52

Sarcasm

Hint 52

Front 53

the use of ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity.

Back 53

Satire

Hint 53

Interlinked with irony

Front 54

A group of words that expresses a complete thought.

Back 54

Sentence

Hint 54

This is your example.

Front 55

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

Back 55

Appositive

Hint 55

Bob, the lumber yard worker

Judy, an accountant from the city

Front 56

A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb

Back 56

Clause

Hint 56

Independent

Dependent

Relative

Front 57

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

Back 57

Style

Hint 57

Persuasive

Expository

Descriptive

Front 58

Anything that represents or stands for something else.

Back 58

Symbol

Hint 58

Green Light from Gatsby

Front 59

Grammatical Arrangement of words

Back 59

Syntax

Hint 59

Sentence Variety

Front 60

Central idea or message.

Back 60

Theme

Hint 60

Phoniness

Isolation

Love

Front 61

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

Back 61

Tone

Hint 61

Playful

Serious

Sarcastic

Formal

Front 62

Presents something as less significant than it is.

Back 62

Understatement

Hint 62

"Our defense played valiantly, and held the other team to merely 8 touchdowns in the first quarter"