RHETORICAL DEVICES

Imagery

to use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses and makes use of particular words that create visual representation of ideas in our minds purpose is to generate a vibrant and graphic presentation of a scene that appeals to as many of the reader's senses as possible "Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn: Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft..." - To the Autumn by John Keats

Cumulative Sentence

Also known as a "loose sentence," is a sentence that starts with an independent clause or main clause, which is simple and straight, provides main idea, and then adds subordinate elements or modifiers Since these sentences are easier to understand, straightforward, and simple, they allow for the reader to understand what the main idea is "The radiators put out lots of heat, too much, in fact, and old-fashioned sounds and smells came with it...." - More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow

Paradox

Comes from the Greek word that means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion and is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth in most poems, it normally strives to create feelings of intrigue and interest in readers' minds to make them think deeper and harder "The earth that's nature's mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is Rainbow in her womb," - The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Allusion

a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text, the use of allusions enables writers or poets to simplify complex ideas and emotions "Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word" - Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Analogy

a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it writers use this to link an unfamiliar or a new idea with common and familiar objects to make it easier for readers to comprehend a new idea, "This flea is you and I, and this, Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is" - The Flea by John Donne

Personification

a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes as the non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings it serves the purpose of giving deeper meanings to literary texts to the audience as it allows for us to relate to the object if they possess human traits "Pearl Button swung on the little gate in front of the House of Boxes. It was the early afternoon of a sunshiny day with little winds playing hide-and-seek in it." - How Pearl Button was Kidnapped by Katherine Mansfield

Archaic Diction

a figure of speech in which a used phrase or word is considered very old fashioned and outdated role of this in history is to suggest a superior, but maybe mythical, ancient golden age and also can be used for creating humor and irony to the audience "Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find..." - Ode to Autumn by John Keats

Irony

a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words it makes a work of literature more intriguing and forces the readers to use their imagination and comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts "Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.." - The Rime of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Simile

a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things using the words "like" or "as", making an explicit comparison the use makes it easier for the readers to understand the subject matter of a literary text, which may have been otherwise too demanding to be comprehended "I would have given anything for the power to soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in its invincible ignorance like a small bird beating about the cruel wires of a cage." - Written by Joseph Conrad

Metonymy

a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated by the use of it, texts exhibit deeper or hidden meanings and thus drawing readers' attention and the use also helps achieve conciseness in the audience "As he swung toward them holding up the hand, Half in appeal, but half as if to keep, The life from spilling" - Out, Out by Robert Frost

Hyperbole

a figure of speech which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis and is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation technique of this device is employed to catch the reader's attention in a piece of literature as it makes common human feelings remarkable and intense to such an extent that they do not remain ordinary "He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame" - The Adventures of Pinocchio by C. Colloid

Metaphor

a figure of speech which makes an implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics and it actually makes an implicit or hidden comparison and not an explicit one when used appropriately, it appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers, sharpening their imaginations to comprehend what is being communicated to them "Before high-pil'd books, in charact'ry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain." - When I Have Fears by John Keats

Logos

a literary device that can be defined as a statement, sentence or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic Uses thoughts and ideas that are presented in a logical way before the audience for persuasion as rationality and logic are greatly valued "Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation" - Of Studies by Francis Bacon

Connotation

a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly as words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings Allows the reader to have a better understanding of the work as connotative phrases allow for writers to add symbolism that makes the work have more dimension and deeper understanding "She is all states, and all princes, I." - The Sun Rising by John Donne

Appositive

a noun or word is followed by another noun or phrase that renames or identifies it and appears before or after a noun or noun phrase and is always used with commas Gives meaning to different sentences in literary texts and helps in identifying other nouns as well as provides information for the reader "My father, a fat, funny man with beautiful eyes and a subversive wit" - Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self by Alice Walker

Euphemism

a polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant as it is an idiomatic expression which loses its literal meanings and refers to something else in order to hide its unpleasantness helps writers to convey to the reader those ideas which have become a social taboo and are too embarrassing to mention directly "Royal wench! She made great Caesar lay his sword to bed. He plowed her, and she cropped." - Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

Pathos

a quality of an experience in life or a work of art that stirs up emotions of pity, sympathy and sorrow and can be expressed through words, pictures or even with gestures of the body a method of convincing people with an argument drawn out through an emotional response "Darkies work on de Mississippi, Darkies work while de white folks play" - Ol' Man RIver by Paul Robeson

Syllogism

a rhetorical device that starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it draws conclusion about something more specific a tool in the hands of a speaker or a writer to persuade the audience or the readers as their belief in a general truth may tempt them to believe in a specific conclusion "Flavius: Have you forgot me, sir? Timon: Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men; Then, if thou grant'st thou'rt a man, I have forgot thee." - Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare

Topic Sentence

a sentence that captures the meaning of the entire paragraph or group of sentences and tells what the passage is mainly about essentially tells readers what the rest of the paragraph is about and ties the ideas of the paragraph back to the thesis statement "Public schools do as well academically as private schools, according to statistics" - Paragraphs and Essays: A Worktext with Readings by Brandon Lee

Hortative Sentence

a sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action or choice of words that encourage action for the audience or reader writers use this type of sentence to encourage and give advice not only to the character, but to the reader and uses it to further the development of the character "Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us" - Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy

Anecdote

a short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh their major purposes are to stir up laughter, to disclose a truth in a general way, or to describe a feature of a character in such a way that it becomes humorous and at the same time gives us a better understanding of the character "Every year, the end of summer lazy and golden, invites grief and regret" - Jack by Maxine Kumi

Claim

a statement essentially arguable but used as a primary point to support or prove an argument and different reasons are usually presented to prove why a certain point should be accepted as logical. role of this in writing any narrative or script is essential and if used correctly, they can strengthen the argument aimed at the audience "All animals are equal" - Animal Farm by George Orwell

Thesis

a statement in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove and are of utmost importance, as they serve as clear indicators as to which directions writers will follow in their work it guides the narrative toward its ultimate purpose, which is the moral lesson it aims to inculcate and reveal to the audience "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Digression

a stylistic device authors employ to create a temporary departure from the main subject of the narrative to focus on apparently unrelated topics, explaining background details, establishing interest, describe character's motivation and build suspense, etc establishes background information, interests, and creates suspense for the readers and uses it to put a check on their audience's sympathetic identification with certain characters "...plans regarding this prose epic ...to leave the two old gentlemen sitting with the watch between them long after it grew too dark to see it..." - Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Asyndeton

a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy applied often intentionally in order to give a unique emphasis to the text, thereby drawing the attention of readers towards a particular idea the author wants to convey to the audience "This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely......." - Rhetoric by Aristotle

Satire

a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule intends to warn the public and audience as to change their opinions about the prevailing corruption/conditions in society "What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and isn't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?" - Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Imperative Sentence

a type of sentence that gives instructions or advice, and expresses a command, an order, a direction, or a request, also known as a jussive or a directive sentence Writers mostly uses these to give clear and straightforward instructions, commands, or to express displeasure, likeness, fondness, and love to the reader "Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina..." - I have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr

Inversion

also known as anastrophe, is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter function is to help the writers achieve stylistic effects like laying an emphasis on a particular point or changing the focus of the readers "To me alone there came a thought of grief: A timely utterance gave that thought relief" - Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by WIlliam Wordsworth

Fallacy

an erroneous argument dependent upon an unsound or illogical contention; some types of these include circular, appeal to ignorance, attacking the person, slippery slope, etc if undetected by the reader, have an intended effect of trying to persuade readers by using different techniques and types "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire. Why, that's the lady. All the world desires her" - The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Cliche

an expression that has been overused to the extent that it loses its original meaning or novelty but may also refer to actions and events which are predictable because of some previous events Helps reader to stimulate behavior (cognition, emotion, volition, action), while it avoids reflection on meanings "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Litotes

derived from a Greek word meaning "simple", is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions the intended effect on an audience is that it makes readers understand the passage more through emphasize of an idea or situation "I am not unaware how the productions of the Grub Street brotherhood have of late years fallen under many prejudices" - A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift

Antimetabole

derived from a Greek word which means "turning about", it is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order The reversal of words is often unexpected and thought-provoking, getting the audience to consider things from a different angle "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us." - Malcolm X by Malcolm X

Zeugma

from Greek "yoking" or "bonding", is a figure of speech in which a word, usually a verb or an adjective, applies to more than one noun, blending together grammatically and logically different ideas writers use this in literary texts as it adds flavor and helps produce a dramatic effect for the audience to feel shocked "Who sees with equal eye, as God of all, A hero perish, or a sparrow fall, Atoms or systems into ruin hurled, And now a bubble burst, and now a world." - Essay on Man by Alexander Pope

Periodic Sentence

has the main clause or predicate at the end which is used for emphasis and can be persuasive by putting reasons for something at the beginning before the final point is made is used to create suspense or interest for the reader by putting the main point at the end as the use of this type of sentence is common in an argument "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius." - Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Juxtaposition

is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts Writers use it in order to surprise their readers and evoke their interest by means of developing a comparison between two dissimilar things "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity" - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Tone

is an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience and is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject bestows voice to characters and it throws light on the personalities and dispositions of characters that readers understand better "I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" -The Road not Taken by Robert Frost

Parallelism

is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter and adds balance and rhythm to sentences giving ideas a smoother flow and thus can be persuasive because of the repetition writers employ it as a tool for persuasion for the readers as well because of the repetition it uses "What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp? Dare its deadly terrors clasp?" - The Tyger by William Blake

Denotation

literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings Readers are familiar with these definitions of words and find it convenient to grasp the connotative meanings of words because of the fact that they are familiar to their literal meanings "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts," - As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Evidence

literary device that appears in different categories of essays and theses in the form of paraphrase and quotations it is presented to persuade the readers and used with powerful arguments in the texts or essays and its factual information that helps the reader reach a conclusion and form an opinion about something "While she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. She responded with speed and motion. She would not stop moving" (163) - The Color of Water by James McBride

Antithesis

meaning opposite, it is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect and emphasizes the idea of contrast by parallel structures As a literary device, it makes contrasts in order to examine pros and cons of a subject under discussion and helps to bring forth judgment on that particular subject "To err is human; to forgive divine." - An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

Purpose

refers to a person's reason for writing, such as to inform, entertain, explain, or persuade and is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists the reader is supposed to gain insight to the human condition by understanding the writer's ideas and point for writing a piece George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning to modern society of the damage that can come from embracing totalitarian regimes

Ethos

represents credibility or an ethical appeal which involves persuasion by the character involved confirms the credibility of a writer or a speaker and thus they become trustworthy in the eyes of listeners and readers who as a result are persuaded by their arguments "'and my sojourn, for above a year past, among a people well versed in the kindly properties of simples, have made a better physician of me than many that claim the medical degree...'" - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Anaphora

the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect As a rhetorical device, it is used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order to persuade, inspire, motivate and encourage them "Five years have passed; Five summers, with the length of, Five long winters! and again I hear these waters..." - Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth

Allegory

the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence writers use this to convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning to the audience "All animals are equal but a few are more equal than others" - Animal Farm by George Orwell

Argumentation

the main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel that usually appears as an introduction or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers Aim of this is for the author to give reasons and examples to persuade the point of view of the reader "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Audience

the person for whom a writer writes, or composer composes and the writer uses a particular style of language, tone, and content according to what he knows about his audience knowing this helps the writer to determine what level of details he should provide, and what type of word choices he may make, because the word choice and tone should match the expectations of the audience Ray Bradbury, in his novel, Fahrenheit 451, has targeted both adults and young adult readers as his audience

Colloquialism

the use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing with these expressions tending to sneak in as writers, being part of a society, are influenced by the way people speak helps readers form a strong connection to characters as these expressions impart a sense of realism to literature "Hell, I've forgotten more than you or most people will EVER UNDERSTAND!" - Burro Genius by Victor Villasenor

Declarative Sentence

uses a simple statement instead of an exclamation, a question, or a command as the subject comes before the verb, and a period comes at the end underlines a previous passage or stands strongly alternate so it is easier for the reader to understand what the writer is trying to convey "But to say I know more harm in him than in myself, were to say more than I know" - Richard IV by William Shakespeare