Literary and Rhetorical Terms

a short story that appeals to readers and is usually exciting

Ex: One day, I tripped over a stray cat, and when I fell down, I found a $20 bill right in front of my face. (True story)

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning which is usually political or a moral.

Ex: The Tortoise and the Hare

A word or phrase that references or hints at something else without stating it clearly

Ex. “She was great at science, but poetry was her Achilles’ heel.”

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a clause.

Ex: “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…” ~Winston Churchill

A concise, memorable expression that states a general principle

ex: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification

ex: The structure of an atom is like that of a solar system.

the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds in a series of words, phrases, or syllables

ex: “Our hounds were loud for an hour.”

the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in a series of words, phrases or syllables

ex: “The sheep in the shabby shed wished for milkshakes.”

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. (Assonance and consonance are types of alliteration.)

ex: “Betty bought blue bracelets.”

the connection and flow of ideas in an argument in a fashion that makes sense to the reader

ex: I ate a hot dog. However, it was expired and moldy. Now I am sick and have a severely upset stomach.

a slang or informal term, used in conversation more often than literature

ex: the use of “ain’t” instead of “isn’t” or “is not”

A difference in speech within a language used by a certain ethnic or regional group

The dialects of even closely-situated counties in a particular area can include subtly different accents and colloquialisms.

An idea or feeling that a word invokes aside from its original meaning

ex: The word “cheap” means, in a literal sense, inexpensive, but its connotation suggests that it is poorly made.

The literal meaning of a word, in contrast to the feeling the word suggests

ex: “Skinny” suggests an insult about being underweight (connotation), but it actually simply means thin (denotation)..

A word or phrase given to a noun to describe a quality about the given noun.

ex: In the epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus is often referred to as the “master mariner and soldier” because of his knowledge of sea travel and battle.

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

ex: Passed away instead of died; Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide; Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths; Put to sleep instead of euthanize

an exaggerated statement, an overstatement

ex: Seeing someone strong and saying “he could lift a ton”

a statement that is made less important, or smaller than it is

ex: during a tornado saying, “it’s windy”

a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase

ex: “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “he’s getting cold feet”.

A type of figurative language that evokes one or more of the five senses through usage of descriptors. The five types being visual (sight), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (feel), and auditory (hearing)

ex: Visual: Soft moonlight gleamed down upon the barren path. Olfactory: The pungent odor of fish penetrated the entire market. Gustatory: The unexpected bitterness of the banana peel made him gag. Tactile: The course roughness of the carpet against her bare feet brought back memories of home. Auditory: The gentle crackling of the campfire gave everybody a feeling of safety in the silent and still night.

when the audience knows information that the characters in the novel do not

ex: Someone in a horror movie hides in the closet because they believe it to be safe. But the audience knows that the murderer is hiding in the closet.

when the situation is different than what is expected

ex: A shipwrecked sailor dies of thirst while floating on the ocean.

when the speaker says the opposite of what is actually occurring

ex: A character saying, “What lovely weather we’re having,” when it is actually raining outside.

states a fact or opinion always ends with a period

ex: The dog is sitting.

Makes a statement, but conveys emotion. Ends in an exclamation point

ex: I am angry!

Used to make a command. Usually end in a period or an exclamation point

ex: Give it back.

Used to ask a question. Ends with a question mark

ex: Are you hungry?

a figure of speech that makes an implied/hidden comparison between two unrelated things, yet share common characteristics

ex: “You are my sunshine.”

“The world is your oyster.”

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (uses “like” or “as”)

ex: “She was as fierce as a lion.”

“The boy was like an angel.”

The atmosphere of a work or passage; feeling invoked in the reader.

ex: “It was a dark and stormy night”

(creates an ominous, dark ambiance)

The writer’s attitude towards a subject/audience; the intended feel of the work

ex: “You can only watch infantile humor for so long before you want to punch yourself in the face.”

a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme, while a theme is a central idea or message.

ex: In The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, motifs of imprisonment help support the message that we are all, in some way, imprisoned by society.

The formation of a word by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

ex: The use of the word “BOOM” to replicate the sound of an explosion.

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

ex: Jumbo Shrimp

Act naturally

Alone together

Bittersweet

a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

ex: “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” -Gandhi

“It’s weird not to be weird.” -John Lennon

“Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” -Albert Einstein

“I know one thing: that I know nothing.” -Socrates

The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

ex: The use of -ing(or not) on the verbs is repeated throughout the sentence.

"She likes cooking, jogging, and reading."

"She likes to cook, jog, and read.”

“She likes the creativity of cooking, the vigor of jogging, and the enrichment of reading.”

The attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions.

ex: often relates to the mood the author attempts to express. “The rain dances across the silky green fields” or “The rain barges in through the roof, breaking the silence of the room.” Both “dances” and “barges in” are typical human movements that are given to the rain and also convey different emotions.

A joke exploiting the different meanings of words and how some words sound alike. Dad jokes. Groaners. (Unless Shakespeare does it -- then it’s awesome.)

ex: “A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat.”

“She had a photographic memory, but she never developed it.”

“The grammarian was extremely logical; he had a lot of comma sense.”

A literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight, and is representative of several other aspects, concepts or traits than those that are visible in the literal translation alone.

ex: Black, or darkness, for example, is often used to symbolize death in literature. The color black obviously is not death itself, but it represents the grief, pain, and fear of dying and the concept of death.

The main idea, lesson, message, or underlying meaning of a literary work, stated in a complete sentence. Careful: some sources, like Shmoop, use it differently. But we’re right!

ex: “Excessive pride inevitably leads to destruction.”

“Patient love can heal emotional wounds.”

a comedy with horseplay, crude characterization, and ludicrously impossible situation

ex: In “Home Alone,” robbers are depicted as stupid, with the situation of Kevin defending the house as ludicrous

an imitation of style, usually to a dramatic exaggeration and comical effect

ex: A funny remake of a popular song

use of exaggeration, irony, ridicule, or humor to criticize people’s views, typically on political or topical issues.

ex: Political cartoons or comedy sketches that make fun of someone

A character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character; can also be used for any comparison that is drawn to portray a difference between two things

ex: In To Kill a Mockingbird, the lawyer Mr. Gilmer is a ___ for Atticus: his mean-spirited questioning of Tom Robinson emphasizes Atticus’s respect.

a device used in descriptive writing and visual arts in which particular aspects of a subject are exaggerated to create a silly/comic effect (can be an exaggeration of natural features, plastic illustration, derisive drawing)

ex: “Over the course of the last several weeks, commentators have taken to portraying Mr. Obama as clinical and insufficiently emotive, which is really just another way of saying the president is not really knowable. It is a caricature his opponents can exploit in part because a lot of voters remain murky on his cultural identity.”

a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

ex: “Doors are closed, the lights are off, and no one is in the library, which probably means that the library is closed.”

the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.

ex: The fact that the library is closed implies that I can’t go in there.

The placement of two things close together in order to compare and contrast them and to imply a relationship between them

ex: “Beggars can’t be choosers” is a ____ of opposites, implying that you can only be one or the other, not both.

when two objects are so closely related but distinct, you can use them interchangeably.

ex: The White House issued a statement. (“White House” refers to the office of the president.)

when a word or phrase that refers to a part of something is substituted to stand in for the whole, or vice versa.

ex: “All hands on deck” is a demand for all of the crew to help, yet the word “hands”—just parts of the crew members—stands in for the crew members, themselves.

A statement that holds little to no relevance to its predecessor and/or contain a logical fallacy.

ex: “I can’t be a vegetarian. I’m an American.”

A question someone asks without expecting an answer. The question might not have an answer, or it might have an obvious answer.

ex: “If you prick us, do we not bleed?

If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

If you poison us, do we not die?

And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

-Shakespeare

A style of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character’s thought process, often through the incorporation of sensory impressions, incomplete ideas, unusual syntax, and/or rough grammar.

ex: “She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. Not that she thought herself clever, or much out of the ordinary. How she had got through life on the few twigs of knowledge Fraulein Daniels gave them she could not think. She knew nothing; no language, no history”

- Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Wolfe

Used to create a temporary departure from the main subject of the narrative to focus on apparently unrelated topics, explaining background details.

ex: When Agamemnon encounters his brothers in a battle, Homer (the author) stops the action of the scene and uses digression. Agamemnon launches into a speech on the nature of war.

a story meant to warn its readers

ex: A story about a kid who burns his house down serves as a warning to kids about playing with matches.

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

ex: The ____ of The Good Samaritan is a fiction that communicates a lesson about loving one’s neighbor.