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AICE Language Terms
Rhetorical and Literary Terms
90
English
11th Grade
06/16/2009

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Term
Abstract language
Definition
Language describing ideas and qualities rather then observable or specific thing, people, or places.
Term
Ad Hominem argument/attack
Definition
A personal attack on the character or other traits of one’s opponent rather than an argument against his/her ideas.
Term
Alliteration
Definition
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words
Term
Allusion
Definition
A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art
Term
Ambiguity
Definition
The multiple meanings, with intentional or unintentional, of a work, phrase, sentence, or passage.
Term
Analogy
Definition
A brief recounting of a relevant episode, frequently personal or biographical.
Term
Anticlimax
Definition
A sudden drop from the dignified or important in thought or expression to the commonplace of trivial, often for humorous effect.
Term
Antithesis
Definition
A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses.
Term
Antecedent
Definition
The word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun.
Term
Aphorism
Definition
A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.
Term
Apostrophe
Definition
A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, a personified abstraction, or sometimes an inanimate object.
Term
Assonance
Definition
Repetition of vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity.
Term
Asyndeton
Definition
Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words.
Term
Atmosphere
Definition
The emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described.
Term
Balanced sentence
Definition
Construction in which both halves of the sentence are about the same length and importance.
Term
Begging the question
Definition
Often called circular reasoning it occurs when the believability of the evidence depends on the believability of the claim.
Term
Bombast
Definition
Inflated language; the use of high-sounding language for a trivial subject.
Term
Caricature
Definition
A grotesque likeness of striking characteristic in persons or things.
Term
Chronological order
Definition
Arrangement by the order in which things occur; usually moves from past to present.
Term
Classification
Definition
Arrangement of material into groups; media classified as print, video, or audio, with representation examples of each.
Term
Clause
Definition
A grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb.
Term
Colloquial/colloquialism
Definition
The use of slang or informalities in speech or writing.
Term
Connotation
Definition
The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.
Term
Consonance
Definition
Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.
Term
Denotation
Definition
The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.
Term
Didactic
Definition
A term used to describe a work that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of moral or ethical behavior or thinking.
Term
Either/or fallacy
Definition
Reducing an argument or issue to two polar opposites and ignoring possible alternatives.
Term
Ellipsis
Definition
(1) In grammar, the omission of a word or words necessary for complete construction but understood in context; e.g. “If [it is] possible, [you] come early.” (2) The sign […] that something has been left out of a quotation; e.g., “To be or not… that is the question.”
Term
Epigraph
Definition
A quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work that is suggestive of the theme.
Term
Equivocation
Definition
The use of the same term in two different senses in an argument.
Term
Euphemism
Definition
(from the Greek, “good speech”) A more agreeable or less unpleasant substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept.
Term
Expository writing/prose
Definition
Writing that explains or analyzes.
Term
Extended metaphor
Definition
A metaphor developed at length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.
Term
False analogy
Definition
When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.
Term
Flashback
Definition
Returning to an earlier time in a narrative for the purpose of making something in the present clearer
Term
Figurative language
Definition
Writing or speech not intended to convey literal meaning, usually imaginative and vivid.
Term
Figure of speech
Definition
A device used to produce figurative language.
Term
Genre
Definition
The major category into which a literary work fits.
Term
Generic conventions
Definition
The traditions for each genre, helping to differentiate between divisions and subdivisions.
Term
Homily
Definition
Literally, “sermon,” but may include any serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral and spiritual advice.
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
Figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Term
Imagery
Definition
Sensory details or figurative language used to describe, around emotion, or represent abstractions.
Term
Inductive reasoning
Definition
A form of reasoning which works from a body of fact to the formulation of a generalization (opposite of deduction); frequently used as the principal form of reasoning in science and history.
Term
In medias res
Definition
Beginning a narrative in the middle of the action.
Term
Invective
Definition
An emotionally violent verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language.
Term
Inverted syntax
Definition
Reversing the normal word order of a sentence
Term
Irony/ironic
Definition
The contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true.
Term
Juxtaposition
Definition
The placement of elements, characters, scenes, objects, etc. side by side for purposes of comparison and contrast.
Term
Loose sentence
Definition
A sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses.
Term
Meiosis (understatement)
Definition
The ironic minimizing of fact, understatement resents something as less significant that it is.
Term
Metaphor
Definition
A figure or speech using an implied comparison of seemingly unlike thing or the substitution or one for the other, suggesting some similarity.
Term
Metonymy
Definition
(From the reek, “changed label” or “substitute name”) A figure of speech in which the name or one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it
Term
Mood
Definition
Indicates the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a work
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.
Term
Order of importance
Definition
A method of organizing an essay according to the relative significance of the subtopics.
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
(From the Greek, “Pointedly foolish”) A figure of speech in which an author juxtaposes apparently contradictory terms. A rhetorical antithesis.
Term
Parable
Definition
A brief story from which a lesson may be drawn; Jesus used the parable to teach his followers moral truths.
Term
Paradox
Definition
A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains and acceptable and often profound meaning.
Term
Parallelism
Definition
It refers to the grammatical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity.
Term
Parody
Definition
A work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule.
Term
Pathos
Definition
Qualities of a work that evoke pity or sorrow. An excess of pathos can create over-emotionalism.
Term
Pedantic
Definition
An adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly, scholarly, academic, or bookish.
Term
Periodic sentence
Definition
A sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at the end, after all introductory elements such as words, phrases, and dependent clauses.
Term
Persona
Definition
The fictional voice (or mask) that a writer adopts to tell a story.
Term
Personification
Definition
A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes.
Term
Pathetic fallacy
Definition
A subdivision of personification, this figure of speech refers specifically to the technique of assigning human emotion to a concept, animal, or inanimate object.
Term
Point of view
Definition
In literature, the perspective from which the story is told.
Term
Polysyndeton
Definition
Sentence that uses and or another conjunction (with no commas) to separate the items in a series
Term
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
Definition
When a writer implies that because on thing follows another, the first cause the second.
Term
Predicate adjective
Definition
One type of subject complement – an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb.
Term
Predicate nominative
Definition
A second type of subject complement—a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject.
Term
Red herring
Definition
The fallacy of raising an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue.
Term
Rhetoric
Definition
The art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse.
Term
Rhetorical modes
Definition
This flexible term describes the variety, the conventions, and the purposes of the major kinds of writing.
Term
Sarcasm
Definition
Involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.
Term
Satire
Definition
A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.
Term
Semantics
Definition
The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another.
Term
Spatial order
Definition
Organization of information using spatial cues such as top to bottom or left to right.
Term
Stream of consciousness
Definition
Refers to an attempt on the part of an author to reproduce the unembellished flow of thoughts in the human mind with its feelings, judgments, associations, and memories.
Term
Style
Definition
The sum of choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices.
Term
Subject complement
Definition
The word ( with any accompanying phrases) or clause that follows a linking verb and complements or completes, the subject of the sentence by either(1) renaming it, or (2) describing it.
Term
Subordinate clause
Definition
Containing both a subject and a verb, but unlike the independent clause, unable to stand alone; it does not express a complete thought.
Term
Symbol/ symbolism
Definition
Generally, anything that represents, stands for, something else.
Term
Synecdoche
Definition
A figure of speech in which part of something stands for the whole thing.
Term
Synesthesia
Definition
A sensation produced in one sense when stimulus is applied to another; i.e., seeing a color when hearing a sound.
Term
Tone
Definition
Describes the author’s attitude toward his or her material, the audience, or both.
Term
Transition
Definition
A word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, or longer passage of writing that serves as a link in the writing.
Term
Unity
Definition
All of the parts are related to one central idea or organizing principle
Term
Verisimilitude
Definition
The quality of realism in a work that persuades the reader that he/she is getting a vision of life as it really is.
Term
Wit
Definition
The quickness of intellect and the power and talent for saying brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scenes.
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