Rhetorical Elements 131-147

Syllogistic Progression

?

Testimony

A rhetorical term for a person's account of an event or state of affairs Ex. "One of the Soviet Georgia's senior citizens thought Dannon was an excellent yogurt. She ought to know. She's been eating yogurt for 137 years." (advertising campaign for Dannon Yogurt)

Tapinosis

A rhetorical term for name calling: undignified language that debases a person or thing

Synathroesmus

A rhetorical term for the piling up of words (usually adjectives) Ex. "He was a gasping, wheezing, clutching, covetous old man"

Zeugma

A rhetorical term for the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one

Trope

Another term for a figure of speech A rhetorical device that produces a shift in the meanings of words

Tenor

In a metaphor, the tenor is the principal subject illuminated by the vehicle (that is, the actual figurative expression). The interaction of tenor and vehicle evokes the meaning of the metaphor. Ex. For example, if you call a lively or outspoken person a "firecracker" ("The guy was a real firecracker, determined to live life on his own terms"), the aggressive person is the tenor and "firecracker" is the vehicle.

Sprezzatura

The rehearsed spontaneity, studied carelessness, and well-practiced naturalness that underlies persuasive discourse Ex. "Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee"

Understatement

a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is

Syllepsis

a rhetorical term for a kind of ellipsis in which one word (usually a verb) is understood differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governs

Tetracolon Climax

a rhetorical term for a series of four members (words, phrases, or clauses), usually in parallel form

Tricolon

a rhetorical term for a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses

Synechdoche

figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole (for example, ABCs for alphabet)

Vehicle

the actual figurative expression of a metaphor

Topics

the particular issue or idea that serves as the subject of a paragraph, essay, report, or speech

Voice

voice is the quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice)