Nothing Compares 2 U
A reference to a famous historical figure or event.
What is an allusion?
The construction of a phrase, sentence, or paragraph to have similar or the same grammatical construction.
What is parallelism?
A statement whose two ideas seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought. Oscar Wilde's famous quote "I can resist anything but temptation" is an example of this term.
What is paradox?
Steinbeck writes using this type of language, as seen in the dialogue of Lenny and George in Of Mice and Men: "If I get in any trouble, you ain’t gonna let me tend the rabbits!”
What is colloquial language?
Another Romeo & Juliet reference; Shakespeare uses this device when he laments “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!"
What is an oxymoron?
A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or vice versa (for example, calling a business man a suit or calling a car wheels).
What is synecdoche?
Here is an example by Tolkien: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
If your pilot has a fear of heights, this term would be appropriate to use.
What is irony?
The harsh joining of sounds; often include harsh consonants or hissing sounds. Letters may include b, d, g, k, p, s, and t.
ex: “With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, / Agape they heard me call.”--S.T. Coleridge
What is cacophonous language?
This element of rhetoric can be described in six parts; you know the acronym - it includes message, audience, and purpose. These parts work together to better describe the circumstances and contexts of a piece of writing.
What is the rhetorical situation?
''The story jumped off the page” is an example of this device.
What is personification?
The lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words: “But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”
What is asyendeton?
Opposition or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction:
What is antithesis?
“Deep into that darkness peering, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”--Edgar Allan Poe
What is alliteration?
This is considered "the spark" - meaning, what inspired the writing to write / speaker to speak.
What is exigence?
The poet Robert Burns employed this device when he wrote that "[his] love is like a red, red rose"
What is a simile?
Your boss is using this literary device if he tells you have been "let go" from your job
What is a euphemism?
Romeo's soliloquy in the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet has an excellent example of this device - "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon!"
What is an apostrophe?
It sounds like this: Who knows why the cold wind blows
What is assonance? (will accept alliteration)
Although he wrote the book on it in the 4th century B.C.E., his theories on rhetoric remain largely unchanged.
Who is Aristotle? (will accept "Big Daddy Aristotle")
What is hyperbole?
“We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, and we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air.”--Winston Churchill
What is anaphora?
If you were to tell Moses he isn't as young as he used to be, you'd be using this device.
What is litotes?
You hear this sound devices when I say "toss the glass, boss."
What is consonance?
A short, non-fiction piece by Amy Tan, which examines her mother's experiences as an English Language learner and the oppressive nature of language prejudice she has faced in the United States
What is "Mother Tongue?"