Rhetorical Analysis Terms And Definitions

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Allegory

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a story with two or more levels of meaning-one literal and the others symbolic

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Alliteration

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the repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words

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Allusion

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A brief reference to literature, geographical locations, historical events, legends, traditions and elements of popular culture

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Analogy

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A comparison of two things, which are alike in several aspects, for clarification and explanation; sometimes analogies establish a pattern of reasoning by using a less abstract and more familiar argument

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Anaphora

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the repetition of words at the beginning of a series of clauses for emphasis

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Anecdote

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a short story, typically used to emphasize or illustrate an important point

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Antecedent

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the noun to which a pronoun refers

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Antithesis

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The placement of two opposing ideas within the same sentence in order to form a balanced contrast

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Aphorism

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a brief statement of trust or moral principle

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Apostrophe

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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 intesity

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Appositive

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a noun-in the form of a word or phrase-which describes a noun

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Archaism

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the use of an old or out-of-date word or phrase

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Assonance

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the repetition of an internal vowel sound

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Asyndeton

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the purposeful exclusion of conjunctions in a series of phrases or clauses

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Audience

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The person or group to whom a writer directs his/her message

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authorial aside

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a direct statement by the author to the audience in order to directly convey the author's true opinion, purpose, or meaning

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balanced sentence

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a sentence which has phrases of equal (or similar) length and weight separated by a semicolon

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cacophony

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a collection of words or phrases intended to create a sense of discord for the reader

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cliche

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a worn-out word or phrase

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colloquial language

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(also colloquialism) the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing

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complex sentence

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a sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause

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compound sentence

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two independent clauses joined by a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction

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connotation

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the implied or suggested meaning of a word; association

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denotation

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the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word

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diction

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word choice; diction must be "named." an author's choice of diction contributes to the tone and mood of the piece

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effect

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the impact created through a writer's language

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ethos

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the traits and character or a writer; the credibility of a writer

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euphenism

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a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept

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genre

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the type or category of a particular kind of literature

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hyperbole

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exaggeration for emphasis or humor

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Ambiguity

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the uncertainty or doubtfulness of the meaning of a statement or word

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Imagery

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the use of language to represent objects, actions, feelings, thoughts or any sensory experience

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Irony

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the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant. Three types: verbal, situational, dramatic

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Juxtaposition

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the placement of two distinct ideas or statements side by side for some effect

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Logos

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an appeal to logic

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Loose Sentence

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A sentence which connects two or more phrases or clauses by a series of conjunctions

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metaphor

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one thing is spoken of as though it were something else; through this identification of dissimilar things, a comparison is suggested or implied

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objective

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a neutral or unbiased point of view

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oxymoron

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a combination of contradictory words and meanings

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onomatopoeia

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words imitate the natural sounds they name

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paradox

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a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer examination contains some degree of truth or validity

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parallelism

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the placement of two or more words, phrases or clauses in a balanced series

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parody

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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

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periodic sentence

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a type of sentence in which the most important information is found at the end

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personification

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presenting or describing concepts, animals or inanimate objects by giving them human qualities

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point of view

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the perspective from which a story is told (or an essay is written): first person voice (I, we) or third person voice (he, she, it ,they). Also, the author's position about the subject.

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purpose

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the reason a text is written

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repetition

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words, phrases, actions, and ideas that appear over and over again; usually, ______ in good literature highlights a pattern or makes a point.

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rhetoric

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the art of writing and speaking effectively and persuasively

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satire

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a work (literature, music, film) that uses irony, wit, parody, caricature, hyperbole, understatement and sarcasm to target human vices and follies or social institutions and convents for reform or ridicule

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shift/rhetorical shift

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a change in verb tense, location, speaker, narrative method, setting or tone

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simile

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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, _____ use like or as to make the comparison

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subjective

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influenced by one's own thoughts and feelings; contains bias

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subordinate clause

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a clause which cannot stand alone in a sentence; begins with a subordinating conjunction

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syntax

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sentence construction.

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thesis

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the sentence or group of sentences that directly express a writer's opinion, purpose, idea or meaning

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tone

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the author's attitude toward his or her subject and toward the audience; the way the author's personality is reflected in the work

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understatement/litotes

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the minimalization of fact or presentation of something as less significant than it is; the opposite of hyperbole

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metonymy

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a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another object closely associated with it

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pathos

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an appeal to emotion