English Rhetorical Terms

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Allegory

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An extended narrative in which characters and events represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read.

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Alliteration

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repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close to each other

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Allusion

Back 3

a reference to a well known person place or thing

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Analogy

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Comparison of two similar but different things

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Anaphora

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

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Anecdote

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A short narrative of an incident, often humorous

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Antithesis

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The presentation of two contrasting images “to be or not to be”

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Aphorism

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a short, often witty statement of a truth about life

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Assonance

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repetition of vowel sounds between different consonants “neigh/fade”

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Cacophony

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harsh, awkward of dissonant sounds used deliberately in poetry or prose

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Connotation

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implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the readers’ mind

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Consonance

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repetition of identical consonant sounds within two or more words in close proximity – boost/best, ping-pong, fulfill

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Diction

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word choice, an element of style; creates tone, attitude, style & meaning

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Didactic

Back 14

writing whose purpose is to teach

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Ethos

Back 15

moral element in literature that determines a character’s action rather than thoughts or emotion

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Euphemism

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a more acceptable and more pleasant way of saying something inappropriate or uncomfortable

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Euphony

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a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose

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Foreshadowing

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the use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in work

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Hyperbole

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deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis

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Imagery

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words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the senses to create a mental picture

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Irony

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a situation or statement in which the actual outcome is opposite to what was expected

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Metaphor

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one thing being referred to another

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Motif

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main theme or subject of a work

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Onomatopoeia

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the use of words that sound like what they mean

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Oxymoron

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a figure of speech composed of two contradictory phrases

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Parable

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a short tale that teaches a moral

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Paradox

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a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning

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Pathos

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the aspects of a literary work that elicit sorrow or pity from the audience

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Personification

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attribution of human qualities to a nonhuman object

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Satire

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a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. Targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals

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Simile

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a figure of speech that uses like or as to make a comparison between two different objects

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Symbolism

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the use of symbols or anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as a representative of a higher and more comlex significance

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Logos

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appeal based on logic or reason