AICE English Rhetorical Devices

personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions. Often, the personification is inherent in the verb used in the description. Ex: 'the moon smiled.'

oxymoron

A figure of speech wherein the author puts together seemingly contradictory terms to draw attention to the phrase. Ex: 'jumbo shrimp' and 'cruel kindness.'

extended metaphor

A metaphor which is drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout an entire poem, throughout a passage, or across chapters in a novel, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas. Note how the metaphor subtly shifts throughout the piece.

paradox

A statement that appears to be self contradictory, foolish, or false, but upon closer inspection contains some deeper truth. Ex: Macbeth's "fair is foul and foul is fair" & "The rich are poor and the poor are truly rich"

metonymy

A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name." A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated (such as "crown" for "royalty"). Ex: The white house announced today. . . instead of The President announced today.

invective

An emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong or abusive language . Example from Shakespeare's the Comedy of Errors: "He is deformed, crooked, old and sere, Ill-faced, worse-bodied, shapeless everywhere; Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind; Stigmatical in making, worse in mind."

figurative language

Any language not meant to be taken literally, with a deeper, secondary meaning. Appealing to the imagination, figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world. It often makes use of a comparison between different things. Metaphors, imagery, metonymy are all examples of figurative language.

imagery

Any writing that appeals to the five senses or describes something so it can be pictured. Imagery can have an emotional effect on the reader. Pay attention to HOW an author creates imagery and the EFFECT of the imagery. Ex: Nature imagery

symbol

Anything that represents or stands for something else. Generally, a symbol is something concrete (an object) that stands for something more abstract (a feeling, idea, etc). There are certain conventional symbols that persist through literature and culture, but most literary symbols must be decoded in context. Common symbols seen in Literature: Winter= decline/ death Spring= rebirth Water=cleansing Apple= temptation/ knowledge

metaphor

Compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other, exposing a deeper similarity. Unlike a simile or analogy, a metaphor asserts that something IS another thing, not just that it's LIKE another thing. Through this identification of dissimilar things, a figurative comparison is implied

hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis; can be comedic or serious. Also known as overstatement.

prose

One of the major divisions of genre, prose refers to fiction and nonfiction, including all its forms, because they are written in ordinary language and most closely resemble everyday speech. Anything that isn't poetry or drama is prose.

dysphemism

Substitution of a more offensive or disparaging word or phrase for one considered less offensive; can often create an insult. Ex: "boneyard," instead of cemetery

mood

The feeling created by the text in the reader. The emotional 'climate' of a passage created through the author's choice of emotionally loaded words.

genre

The major category into which a literary work fits. The basic divisions of literature are prose, poetry and drama, but within those larger genres exist other smaller genres: autobiography, memoir, criticism, etc. Each genre has its own unique generic conventions—traditions and attributes of each genre

irony

_______ can take many forms, and is notoriously difficult to define, but it virtually always involves some sort of contrast between two layers of something: between a surface layer and an underlying layer, or between two opposites. Generally, the contrast between what is expected and reality OR what is stated explicitly and what is meant.

antithesis

________ literally means opposite. Establishing a clear contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Organizing ideas into a clear contrast within a sentence. Ex: "To err is human; to forgive, divine" Alexander Pope "Be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil" Romans 16:196 "Marriage may have pains, but celibacy has no pleasures" Samuel Adams

situational irony

_________ involves a difference between expectation (what appears to be about to happen) and actual events, or a difference between a character's intentions and actual results of his / her actions.

verbal irony

_________ occurs when a speaker's literal words (and their surface meaning) are at odds with his or her actual meaning.

dramatic irony

___________ occurs when a character naively speaks what he or she believes to be the truth, and/or acts on what he or she believes to be the truth, while the audience knows that he or she has got it all wrong. The tensions between a character's view of the world and the audience's view.

allusion

a brief reference to something famous: literature, geographical locations, historical events, legends, myths, religion, traditions and/or elements of popular culture. Used to link text to history/ classics or make ideas more universal. Ex: Biblical allusions like David+Goliath, mythological allusions like Medusa's stare, political allusions like as honest as Abe Lincoln or Richard Nixon?

apostrophe

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 intensity. In older poetry, often indicated by "O! So-and-So"... Ex: "Oh love, when will I see your face?"

euphemism

a more agreeable or less offensive substitute for an unpleasant word or concept; Often obscures or softens the harsh truth.

pun

a play on words in which words that are either identical in sound (homonyms) or similar in sound, but that are sharply different in meaning are deliberately confused; Exploiting double or ambiguous meaning for comedic effect.

homily

a sermon or serious talk, speech or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice Consider MLK's—"I Have a Dream" speech. Consider parental and religious homilies.

allegory

a story with two levels of meaning--one literal and the other symbolic, moral or political; often in allegories, characters stand for various concepts and are given names that make their symbolic meaning clear. A work with the primary aim of delivering a message about humanity. Ex: George Orwell's Animal Farm

parody

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. Seeks to use the conventions of the original work in order to make fun of it.

satire

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 conventions for reform or ridicule; Does NOT necessarily imitate. As in a parody.

syntax

sentence construction: short, medium, long? Flowing rhythmically with few breaks, or very choppy? Syntax creates a purposeful effect; some sentences are written with a short and choppy cadence to parallel an intense action in the text. The sentence structure in this case would contribute to the text's intensity.

rhetoric

the art of writing and speaking effectively and persuasively; refers to the choices an author or speaker makes in order to do so

tone

the author's attitude toward his or her subject and/or toward the audience. Must use an ATTITUDE WORD Ex tones: playful, serious, sarcastic, judgmental, joyous.

theme

the central idea or message of a text; the insight about life the author wishes to convey. Theme is not typically stated by the author directly and must be stated in an entire sentence, not one word.

connotation

the implied or suggested meaning of a word; association. Any emotions, ideas, or situations associated with a word.

understatement

the minimizing of fact or presentation of something as less significant than it is; the opposite of hyperbole. Understatement is used to be comedic or to actually stress the seriousness of an issue. Ex: AICE junior year is a bit challenging ☺

point of view

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

alliteration

the repetition of the initial sounds in two or more neighboring words. Done for emphasis. Often, alliterative sound correlates with intended meaning/ effect.

denotation

the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word

parallelism

to give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. May also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction. Adds readability, rhythm, emphasis and organization. If there are three parallel clauses, phrases, or words, which happen to come in quick succession without any interruption, it's called a tricolon. Ex: Dickens—"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" "You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe."

colloquial

using slang or informalities in speech or writing; (noun = colloquialism). Includes local or regional dialects. Ex: "Y'all come back now, y'hear!"

diction

word choice; An author's diction may be formal or informal, ornate or plain. An author's choice of diction contributes to the tone and mood of the piece and depends on his/ her purpose.