Words to Know #1

1. Rhetorical and Literary Terms Words to Know #1

2. In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as Anaphora. Anaphora, possibly the oldest literary device, has its roots in Biblical Palms used to emphasize certain words or phrases. Gradually, Elizabethan and Romantic writers brought this device into practice. Examine the following psalm: “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?” Other Example: “Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better” “My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.” anaphora

3. A rhetorical term for a writing style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (the opposite of polysyndeton). Examples: "He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac."(Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957) "Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it."(Bubba in Forrest Gump, 1994) asyndeton

4. A rhetorical term for the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one. Examples You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit."(Star Trek: The Next Generation) "We were partners, not soul mates, two separate people who happened to be sharing a menu and a life."(Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses. Ivy Books, 1995) zeugma

5. The definition of hortative is a choice of words that encourage action. Examples: "Just try it at least once!“ “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.” hortative sentence

6. Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence then builds and adds on. Example “But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.” cumulative sentence

7. “A sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.” Example “To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support.” periodic sentence

8. A figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole Example Do you take plastic? They pumped him full of lead Yo, check out my new threads! synecdoche

9. In rhetoric, a verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the words in reverse grammatical order (A-B-C, C-B-A). Example: "Women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget."(Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937) "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on us."(Malcolm X) antimetabole