Literary And Rhetorical Terms

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Allusion

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Reference to something commonly known. (literature, events, works of art, etc.)

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Ambiguity

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Multiple meanings of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

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Anaphora

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Repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

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Apostrophe

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Figure of speech that directly addresses an abstract, imaginary, inanimate, or absent object/person.

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Bias

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Predjudice towards one side of a topic or issue.

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Bombast

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The use of high-sounding language for a trivial subject.

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Colloquial/Colloquialism

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Use of slang or informalities in writing.

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Didactic

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A work that teaches a specifuc lesson or moral

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Ellipsis

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The omission of words not necessary to make a sentence understandable within context.

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Euphemism

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A word with pleasant connotation that replaces that of an unpleasant one.

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Extended Metaphor

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A metaphor that occurs frequently in or throughout a work.

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False Analogy

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When a comparision is not parallel enough for readers to make a connection between what is being compared.

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Homily

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"Sermon"
*also any serious talks, speeches, or lectures

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Hyperbole

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Exaggeration used in literature.

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Inductive Readoning

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Reasoning that comes from fact.

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Inverted Syntax

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Reversing the common order of words in a sentence.

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Irony/Ironic

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Contrast between what was said and what was really meant.

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Invective

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An emotional attack using strong, abusive language.

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Juxtaposition

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Placement of things found in literature side-by-side for comparision

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Loose Sentence

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A sentence where the main idea comes first, followed by dependent phrases/clauses.

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Meiosis

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Ironic understatement of fact.

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Paradox

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I statement that appears to contradict itself.

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Parody

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A work that closely imitates or content of another with comical intent.

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Pedantic

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An adjective that describes words, phrasesm or general tone as scholarly or bookish.

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Periodic Sentence

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A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end.

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Polemic

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An argument against an idea.

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Polysyndeton

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Setence that uses a conjunction (with no commas) to seperate items in a series.
Ex. A and B and C

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Rhetorical Modes

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Describes variety, purposed, and the conventions of major kinds of writing. Most common enclude exposition, argumentation, description, and narration.

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Satire

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Targets weaknesses in humans or social institutions for the sake of ridicule.

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Semantics

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The study of the meaning of words.

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Sythesize

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To combine two elements to produce something more complex.

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Verisimilitude

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Quality of realism that persuades the reader into thinking they are seeing life as it really is.

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Appeal to Ethos

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Creating trust with an audience by building character.

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Appeal to Pathos

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Appealing to the audience's emotions to create a connection with them.

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Appeal to Legos

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Using facts or statistics to back up a point.