ABBREVIATED GLOSSARY OF COMMON RHETORICAL TERMS
Mr. Mendelsohn/ English-Language Arts/Verdugo Hills High School
ETHOS: Persuasion based upon the credibility, character, background, expertise, and ethics of the speaker or writer.
LOGOS: Persuasive appeal based on logical structure of an argument; facts, statistics, graphs, charts, surveys
PATHOS The appeal of a text to the emotions or feelings of the audience.
Allegory: Extended use of related metaphors in a unified narrative
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a political allegory of events in Russia and the Communist revolution: Pigs represent people in power, Mr. Jones represents the monarchy, Boxer represents the working class, etc.
Alliteration: repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence.
Let us go forth to lead the land we love. JF Kennedy, Inaugural Address
Allusion: A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some particular body of knowledge
“A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye.
In the most high and palmy state of Rome,
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell,
The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets,”
(Horatio speaking in Hamlet)
Colloquialisms: Words used in informal spoken language or conversation; mild slang
Connotation: The implied meaning of a word, in contrast to its dictionary meaning.
Denotation: The dictionary meaning of a word.
Diction: Word choice (formal v. informal, concrete v. abstract, denotative v. connotative, etc.)
Double entendre: Double (or multiple) meanings (often sexual) of a group of words.
Euphemism: Substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.
• “Friendly fire”- Soldier killed in error by his own troops
• “Collateral damage”- Innocent civilians/bystanders killed during a military operation
• “Fiscal underachiever”- A poor person
Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect.
"His thundering shout could split rocks!”; “This new and improved dish detergent will change your life!”
Inference: A conclusion that a reader or listener reaches by means of his/her own thinking, rather than by a direct statement in a text; that which is implied.
Irony: Expression of something that is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)
Metaphor: Implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it.
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. (Winston Churchill)
Onomatopoeia: Use of words to imitate natural sounds; accommodation of sound to sense.
Zip, Zoom, Wham, Bam, Pow, Screech, Meow, Bow Wow
Oxymoron: Paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which seem to contradict one another.
• I must be cruel only to be kind. (Shakespeare, Hamlet) • genuine fraud
• jumbo shrimp • accurate estimate
• Icy Hot • silent alarm
Paradox: An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.
What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young. (George Bernard Shaw)
Personification: Attribution of human qualities/personality to an impersonal thing.
"The grey-ey'd morn smiles on the frowning night, Check'ring the Eastern clouds with streaks of light." (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
Pun: A play on words for comedic effect
She had a photographic memory but never developed it.
After hours of waiting for the bowling alley to open, we finally got the ball rolling.
Refutation/rebuttal: Part of a text or speech where the writer/speaker addresses specific counter arguments.
Rhetorical question: Posed by a writer/speaker not to be answered, but to provoke thought and discussion.
“How many times has Senator Smith failed to deliver on his promises? How much more can you stand?”
Sarcasm: The use of mockery or bitter irony, biting humor to make a serious point
“I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.” (Groucho Marx)
Simile: An explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'.
My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth the disease, (Shakespeare, Sonnet CXLVII)
Reason is to faith as the eye to the telescope. D. Hume [?]
Slang: Informal language, often considered inappropriate for formal text
Style: Choice of language/words made by speaker/writer, for example: sounds, words (diction), sentence structure (syntax), characterization, organization and more
Syntax: The order of words in a sentence, order of sentences in a paragraph, etc.
Tone: Writer or speaker’s attitude toward the subject matter: sympathetic, harsh, loving, sarcastic, etc.
Tropes: Artful variations from expected modes of expression, figure of speech
Sources:
Everyday Use by Hephzibah Roskelly and David A. Jolliffe
University of Kentucky,Division of Classics
Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
http://www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html
Revised 8/2017