Rhetorical Devices 1
A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature
Anecdote
A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast
Foil
What is implied by a word. For example, the words off the chain, it's lit, and I'm down all have connotations that are quite different from their actual definitions.
Connotation
a question that isn’t intended to be answered. The point of asking the question is to make an audience think or to cause an emotional reaction.
rhetorical question
using grammatically similar phrases or sentences together.
Example: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
parallelism
A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief.
Aphorism
A satirical imitation of a work of art for purpose of ridiculing its style or subject.
Parody
Words and devices that bring unity and coherence to a piece of writing. Examples: however, in addition, and on the other hand.
Transitions
a nickname or descriptive term used to refer to someone.
epithet
an instance of informal language or a local expression
colloquialism
A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp" or "deafening silence."
Oxymoron
A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true.
Paradox
The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It is sentence structure and how it influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing.
Syntax
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words. Example: I came, I saw, I conquered. Example: She and Lee see the bees in the tree.
Assonance
An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language
Hyperbole
—A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader
Allusion
A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of
something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience
Epiphany
The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels, such as pitter-patter, splish-splash, and click-clack.
Consonance
Sensory details in a work; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an object. Imagery involves any or all of the five senses
Imagery
Desire to return in thought or fact to a former time
Nostalgia
A literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness
Satire
A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes, such as buzz or hiss.
Onomatopoeia
The literary practice of attempting to describe life and nature without idealization and with attention to detail
Realism
the act of purposefully using harsh sounds.
Example: The gnashing of teeth and screeching of bats kept me awake.
cacophony
using parallel sentences or clauses to make a contrast.
Example: No pain, no gain.
Antithesis