Rhetorical Devices Set 1

Front 1

Allegory

Back 1

Using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning.

Front 2

Alliteration

Back 2

Repetition of sounds, mainly initial consonants in tow or more neighboring words. Ex. "She sells seas shells.."

Front 3

Allusion

Back 3

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known (book, myth, place, or work of art)

Front 4

Ambiguity

Back 4

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

Front 5

Analogy

Back 5

Similarity or comparison between 2 different things.

Front 6

Anaphora

Back 6

Devices of repetition, in the same expression, is repeated at the beginning of 2 or more lines.

Front 7

Anecdote

Back 7

Short narrative detailing particulars of an interesting episode or event. Refers to an incident in the life of a person.

Front 8

Antecedent

Back 8

The word, phrase, or clause referred by a pronoun.

Front 9

Antithesis

Back 9

2 contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure.

Front 10

Aphorism

Back 10

Terse statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle.

Front 11

Apostrophe

Back 11

Figure of speech that directly addresses an absent person, idea, or abstraction.

Front 12

Asyndeton

Back 12

Omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Front 13

Atmosphere

Back 13

Emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work.

Front 14

Chiasmus

Back 14

2 phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

Front 15

Clause

Back 15

Contains a subject and a verb

Front 16

Colloquial/colloquialism

Back 16

Use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.

Front 17

Coherence

Back 17

Principle demanding that the parts of any composition be arranged so that the meaning of the whole may be immediately clear and intelligible.

Front 18

Conceit

Back 18

Fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Front 19

Connotation

Back 19

Nonliteral meaning of a word; an implied, suggested meaning.