Rhetorical Devices

Front 1

Alliteration

Back 1

Repetition of the initial consonant sounds at the beginning of several words in sequence.

i.e: Aleks ate apples at noon

Front 2

Anadiplosis

Back 2

The repetition of the end of the same word, phrase, or sentence as the next word, phrase, or sentence.

i.e: the general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor.

Front 3

Anaphora

Back 3

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

i.e: We shall not flag. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight France, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air.

Front 4

Anastrophe

Back 4

Inversion of the normal syntactic order of words or events for rhetorical purpose.

i.e: To the market went she.

Front 5

Antistrophe

Back 5

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

i.e: In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo-- without warning. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia-- without warning.

Front 6

Apostrophe

Back 6

A sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present.

i.e: For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel

Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him

Front 7

Assonance

Back 7

Repetition of the same vowel sounds in words close to each other.

i.e: Green as a dream and deep as death

Front 8

Chiasmus

Back 8

Two corresponding pairs of arranged not in parallels (a-b-a-b) but in inverted order (a-b-b-a); from the Greek letter chi (X)

i.e: Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my prayers always

Front 9

Climax

Back 9

Arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of ascending power. Often the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause is repeated as the first emphatic word of the next

i.e: One equal temper of heroic hearts

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Front 10

Euphemism

Back 10

Substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.

i.e: Shell Shock --> Battle fatugue --> Exhaustion --> Post traumatic stress disorder

Front 11

Hyperbole

Back 11

Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect

i.e: If you call me that name again, I'm going to explode

Front 12

Irony

Back 12

1.) Verbal Irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.

2.) Dramatic Irony is when an audience knows something that a character doesn't know.

3.) Irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.

Front 13

Litotes

Back 13

Understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed.

i.e: War is not healthy for children and other living things

One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day

Front 14

Metaphor

Back 14

Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it.

i.e: Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player/That Struts and frets his hour upon the stage.

Front 15

Vehicle

Back 15

The vehicle is called what it is because it is the part of the metaphor that best describes the tenor, the focus of the sentence

Front 16

Simile

Back 16

A metaphor in which two unlike things are compared using "like" or "as"

i.e: My love is like a red, red rose

Front 17

Personification

Back 17

A comparison in which the vehicle is a person (implied) and the tenor is the non-human (stated). Giving human qualities to something non-human.

i.e: England expects every man to do his duty

The rose was as soft as a baby's butt

Front 18

Synecdoche

Back 18

A type of metaphor in which the comparison is between part of something and the whole thing

i.e: A nice pair of legs just walked into the room.

Front 19

Metonymy

Back 19

A substitution of one word for another which it suggests. It is a type of metaphor in which the comparison is between two strongly associated things, one of which stands for the other.

i.e: Warren beat Stevenson in wrestling

The White House issued a statement

The pen is mightier than the sword

Front 20

Oxymoron

Back 20

Apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which seem to contradict one another.

i.e: I must be cruel only to be kind

And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true

Healthy Tan

Front 21

Paradox

Back 21

An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it

i.e: What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young

Front 22

Portmanteau

Back 22

Combination of two or more words to create a new word

i.e: Smog is the combination of smoke and fog

Front 23

Synesthesia

Back 23

The conflation of senses.

i.e: That florescent vest is really loud (mixing sight and sound)

I think Louis left his socks in the car because the air seems extra sharp today (mixing smell and touch)