Rhetorical Terms Quiz(Vocabulary Quest)

Rhetorical Terms Quiz(Vocabulary Quest)Allusion An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text, although it can be other things commonly known, such as plays, songs, historical events) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. Anecdote A brief recounting of a relevant episode. Anecdotes are often inserted into fictional or non fictional texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. 00:47 01:33 Antecedent The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun. Diction Word choice, particularly as an element of style. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. Colloquial Ordinary or familiar type of conversation Connotation Rather than the dictionary definition, the associations associated by a word. Implied meaning rather than literal meaning or denotation. Denotation The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations. Jargon The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity. Vernacular 1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech Didactic A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking. Adage A folk saying with a lesson Allegory A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. Ellipsis The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author. Euphemism A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. Analogy A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables. Hyperbole Exaggeration Idiom A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally. Metaphor Making an implied comparison, not using "like", "as", or other such words. Metonymy Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept. Synecdoche A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa. Simile Using words such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two very different things. Personification Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human. Imagery Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind. Usually this involves the five senses. Irony When the opposite of what you expect to happen does. Juxtaposition Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison. Motif A recurring idea in a piece of literature. Oxymoron When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox. Paradox A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true. Parallelism Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns. Anaphora Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row. Chiasmus When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed. Antithesis Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure. Zuegma (Syllepsis) When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies. Alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. Polysyndeton When a writer creates a list of items which are all separated by conjunctions. Normally, a conjunction is used only before the last item in a list. Pun When a word that has two or more meanings is used in a humorous way. Rhetoric The art of effective communication. Rhetorical Question Question not asked for information but for effect. Satire A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of life to a humorous effect. It targets human vices and follies, or social institutions and conventions. Tone A writer's attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language and organization. Understatement The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement presents something as less significant than it is. The effect can frequently be humorous.