Rhetorical Appeals
An appeal to the audience's emotions, often using tug-at-the-heartstrings stories or vivid imagery.
What is pathos?
The main character of a story, often the "hero" the audience roots for.
What is the protagonist?
The dictionary definition of a word, free from any emotional "baggage."
What is the denotation?
A comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
A group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose.
What is a stanza?
An appeal to logic, facts, data, and statistics to support an argument.
What is logos?
The force or person that opposes the main character, creating the primary conflict.
What is the antagonist?
The emotional or cultural associations a word carries (e.g., "home" vs. "residence").
What is the connotation?
An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or humor, not meant to be taken literally.
What is hyperbole?
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter (usually iambic pentameter).
What is a sonnet?
An appeal to the speaker's credibility, character, or ethics to prove they are worth listening to.
What is ethos?
A character with multiple personality traits and complex motivations who undergoes internal change.
What is a complex character?
The repetition of initial consonant sounds, like "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
What is alliteration?
Giving human characteristics or emotions to non-human things or abstract ideas.
What is personification?
A long narrative poem that tells the story of a hero’s journey and grand deeds.
What is an epic poem?
A question asked merely for effect or to make a point, rather than to get an actual answer.
What is a rhetorical question?
A recurring pattern, character type, or symbol that is universally recognized across cultures (like "The Hero" or "The Mentor").
What is an archetype?
A humorous play on words that suggests two or more meanings, or words that sound similar but mean different things.
What is a pun?
A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work (often the Bible or Greek Mythology).
What is allusion?
A dramatic speech where a character speaks their inner thoughts aloud while alone on stage.
What is a soliloquy?
A comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification (e.g., "Life is like a box of chocolates").
What is an analogy?
The specific personality defect or "error in judgment" that leads to a hero's downfall in a tragedy.
What is a tragic flaw?
The author's specific choice of words, which helps establish the tone and style of the piece.
What is diction?
A statement that seems contradictory or impossible but actually reveals a deeper truth.
What is a paradox?
A pair of back-to-back rhyming lines in a poem that usually share the same meter.
What is a couplet?