Mrs. Winrow

The form of a piece of writing is the manner or style in which its parts are arranged to achieve an effective result.

• A rhetorical device is a use of language, usually in a persuasive manner, to create a literary effect (and possibly to induce an emotional response).
• A figure of speech is a use of language in a nonliteral or unusual way to achieve a rhetorical effect.
• A logical fallacy is an argument or method of reasoning that does not have a sound basis in reason; logical fallacies may be employed in expository writing to achieve a rhetorical effect.

The items in this list describe literary forms and devices. Consider using these terms in your analysis of pieces of writing.

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ad hominem argument: (in Latin: argumentum ad hominem, "argument against the person") a logical fallacy in which an argument attacks a person instead of that person's own argument or stance

• "You would understand my point of view if you weren't so stupid."
• "That research isn't valid because the scientist is a racist."

alliteration: the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of words in a group

• The titles of the books in the Lemony Snicket series feature alliteration: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, etc.
• Many tongue-twisters are alliterative: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

allegory: a moral story featuring a symbolic representation of ideas through fictional characters (often animals)

• Watership Down is a story about rabbits; this allegory concerns different types of government.
• Animal Farm is a story about farm animals; this allegory concerns communism.

allusion: a direct or an indirect reference (to an event, work of writing or art, myth); a casual mention

anaphora: the repetition of a word or set of words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

• "To raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy; it takes business people; it takes community leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us." - Hillary Clinton, addressing the 1996 Democratic Convention

(Note: This quote also features alliteration: "happy, healthy, and hopeful.")

anecdote: a short account of an interesting event (often biographical)

annotation: a comment or note added to a text; a commentary

antithesis: the placement of words, phrases, or sentences in a parallel structure to form a balanced contrast of ideas

• "Give me liberty or give me death." - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

antonomasia: the substitution of a common word or phrase for a proper name; the use of a proper name associated with a particular quality to describe a person or group

• "The Bard" for William Shakespeare
• "a Benedict Arnold" for a traitor

aphorism: a saying that describes a common observation or belief; a brief statement of a principle

• "Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experimenting dangerous, reasoning difficult." - Hippocrates, Aphorisms

Hippocrates was the first to use the term "aphorism" in his book describing brief statements of medical principles. His introductory line is the origin of the aphorism "Life is short."

apostrophe: a form of personification featuring an address to an absent or imagined person or to a personified abstract idea

• "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so" - John Donne
• "Mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt!" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

assonance: the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a group of words

• "Gillette: The best a man can get" (advertising slogan, 1992)
• "Flying too high with some guy in the sky / Is my idea of nothing to do" - Cole Porter ("I Get a Kick Out of You," 1934)

begging the question: a logical fallacy in which the point being argued is assumed to be true without any logical support (Note that "to beg the question" does not mean "to raise the question"; the "question" is the issue under debate.)

• "God must exist because He created the universe."

The argument that God exists is based on the assumption that God created the universe. No logical support is offered to validate this claim.

conceit: an elaborate, clever metaphor; a passage or poem containing an elaborate, clever metaphor

consonance: the repetition of similar consonant sounds (especially at the ends of words) in a group of words

• "A million housewives every day pick up a can of beans and say, 'Beanz Meanz Heinz.'" (advertising slogan, 1967)

either/or reasoning (black or white thinking; false dilemma): a logical fallacy in which an argument maintains that only two alternatives (often on opposite ends of a spectrum) exist when in fact there are more options

• "You're either with us or against us."

This statement rules out the possibility of neutrality.

epigraph: a quotation or motto at the beginning of a piece of writing, usually used to establish a theme

eponym: a word or phrase derived from the name of a person, or the name of a person for whom something is named; in contemporary language, the term "eponymous" has developed a new meaning: "self-titled"

The verb "bowdlerize" ("to censor") is an eponym derived from the name of Thomas Bowdler, who produced a censored edition of the works of Shakespeare in the 19th century.

euphemism: a less offensive substitution for an unpleasant word or phrase

• "passed away" vs. "died"
• "rest room" vs. "toilet"
• "left the company to pursue other interests" vs. "was fired"

homily: a sermon; a serious, moralizing lecture; an inspirational cliché

hyperbole: an extravagant exaggeration

• "I've told you a million times: hyperbole is exaggeration!"

invective: an abusive expression; insulting language

irony: language, actions, or situations contrary to what is intended or expected

• verbal irony: language that expresses a meaning that is the opposite of the intended meaning (sarcasm is a type of verbal irony; not all verbal irony is sarcasm)

• "I wanted to go to the beach. I'm just thrilled that it's raining."

• dramatic irony (tragic irony): a device used to heighten dramatic intensity by contrasting a character's limited understanding of a situation with the audience or reader's more comprehensive knowledge of the situation; the character's beliefs and actions are ironic because they result from an incomplete understanding of reality

The dramatic irony in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex results from Oedipus' lack of knowledge that he was adopted. In response to the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, he abandons his adoptive parents. Unaware of the identities of his birth parents, he kills his father and marries his mother. He then sets out to find his father's murderer.

• situational irony: a device in which what happens is the opposite of what is expected; the situations may be improbable or strangely appropriate and often surprise both the characters and the readers or audience

"The Gift of The Magi" by O. Henry features situational irony. An impoverished man and his wife sacrifice their cherished belongings so that each may buy the other a Christmas present. The wife sells her hair to buy the husband a chain for his pocket watch, and the husband sells his pocket watch to buy combs for her hair.

• cosmic irony (irony of fate): situational irony that is interpreted to be a result of the intervention of a greater external force, such as fate or a deity

litotes (ly-toh-teez): an understatement expressing a thought by denying its opposite, used either to amplify or minimize the emphasis of the claim (Meiosis is a form of litotes used to minimized the emphasis of a claim.)

• "You all did love him once, not without cause" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

Antony says "not without cause" instead of something like "for good reason" to underscore the justification of the people's love of Caesar.

metaphor: a direct comparison of two unlike things to suggest a similarity, often in the form "X is Y"

• "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine" - from the state song of Louisiana, written by Charles Mitchell and former Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis
• "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

meiosis (my-oh-sis): an understatement, generally used to minimize the emphasis of the claim (a form of litotes)

• "It's only a cough" when it's really bronchitis and the speaker wants to avoid medical attention
• "He's just a puppy" when it's a menacing dog and the speaker wants to assuage one's fear

metonymy (met-on-imi): the use of the name of one thing or idea to describe another related thing or idea; often, a single characteristic or attribute is used to refer to a more complex entity (Metonymy differs from synecdoche in that the former employs the use of an association while the latter employs the use of the actual part for the whole or the actual whole for the part.)

• "Washington" used to refer to the government of the United States
• "suits" used to refer to businessmen
• "lend me your ears" used to refer to the ability of one's ears to listen

moral: a lesson expressed in a story

narrative: a story or an account of an event

onomatopoeia (on-uh-mat-uh-pee-ah): the use of a word or phrase that imitates a sound

• buzz
• murmur
• ka-ching

oxymoron: the combination of two contradictory words or phrases for dramatic effect (The word "oxymoron" is itself an oxymoron: in Greek, "oxy" means "sharp" and "moros" means "dull." )

• "O anything of nothing first create! / O heavy lightness, serious vanity! / Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! / Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!" - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 1

This quote contains 7 oxymora (another plural form of "oxymoron" is "oxymorons"):

1. "heavy lightness"
2. "Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms"
3. "serious vanity" (one meaning of "vanity" is "uselessness; worthlessness")
4. "feather of lead"
5. "bright smoke"
6. "cold fire"
7. "sick health"

The clause "O anything of nothing first create" is a paradox.

parable: a short story that teaches a truth, principle, or moral lesson through comparison

paradox: a statement that seems to be contradictory or unbelievable but that may actually be true

• "I never tell the truth."

If I never tell the truth, then this statement cannot be true.

parody: a humorous imitation of a serious work

pathetic fallacy: the assignment of human characteristics to inanimate objects or nature in an indirect and implicit manner, usually through the use of allusion and usually to create an analogy (The word "pathetic" in this term does not mean "pitiable"; rather, it is related to "empathy," which means "the attribution of one's own emotions to an object; the understanding of the feelings of another." The word "fallacy" in this term reflects the opinions of John Ruskin, the man who coined the term; he believed that art should truthfully represent the world and not be described in terms of imagination.)

personification: the assignment of human characteristics to inanimate objects or nature in a direct and explicit manner

• The baking cookies beckoned with their sweet aroma, so I wandered into the kitchen to wait for my mother to take them out of the oven.
• The alarm clock told me it was time to awaken.
• That book speaks to me; it is one of my favorites because I truly understand the author's position.

prose: fiction and nonfiction written in ordinary language (as opposed to poetry)

pun: a play on words, suggesting different meanings of either the same word or phrase or words or phrases that sound alike

• "O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

Antony uses the redundant phrase "brutish beasts" (one meaning of "brute" is "beast"; another is "a brutal, insensitive person") to make a pun on the name "Brutus."

(Note: This quote is an apostrophe: Antony is speaking to "judgment," a personified abstract idea.)

purple prose (a patch of purple prose): literary works, or passages in literary works, that feature exaggerated sentiment or extravagant and flowery language

Many romance novels and mysteries are often criticized for their purple prose.

red herring: something that diverts attention from a central issue

• Many mystery novels and dramas include red herrings to engage readers or audience members by encouraging them to suspect an innocent character, which diverts their attention from the guilty character.
• The red herring as a logical fallacy diverts attention from an argument by introducing an unrelated idea. ("I shouldn't be expelled for plagiarizing that paper. I'm the captain of the football team and I have never missed a day of school. Bob set fire to a garbage can and he was only suspended.")

rhetorical question: a question posed without the expectation of an answer and used to emphasize an idea or to encourage reflection

• "He hath brought many captives home to Rome / Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: / Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

Antony poses this rhetorical question twice in his "Friends, Romans, countrymen" funeral oration to assert that Caesar was not ambitious without actually saying so directly.

sarcasm: the use of verbal irony, usually in a harsh or mocking manner, for negative or destructive purposes

• "Brutus says he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honourable man" - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2

Antony repeats this statement throughout his "Friends, Romans, countrymen" funeral oration, but he actually does not believe it to be true. He reminds the crowd that Caesar brought wealth to Rome, sympathized with the poor, and refused the crown and asks if these represented "ambition." The juxtaposition of each example and the "ambitious/honourable man" statement counters the accusation and causes the audience to question whether Brutus is in fact honorable.

satire: the use of irony, ridicule, or wit (usually to expose and/or mock negative qualities)

semantics: a linguistic study of the meaning, development, and connotations of words individually and in relation to other words; the interpretation of the meaning of words

simile: a comparison of two unlike things to suggest a similarity through the use of "like" or "as" ("X is like Y")

• "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." - Gloria Steinem

straw man: a logical fallacy in which an opponent's position is restated so that it is easier to attack; after the attack, the restated position is attributed to the opponent

Speaker A: "Stem cell research could advance medical knowledge and offer relief to many who suffer from debilitating diseases."
Speaker B: "Stem cell research destroys embryos. My opponent wants to kill children."

syllepsis: the use of one word, phrase, or clause in association with two or more other words, phrases, or clauses in a manner that is grammatically correct but that creates an incongruity in meaning

• I opened the book and my mind to a world of imagination.
• He lit the candle and my heart on fire.

symbolism: the use of a representative figure to suggest an idea or attribute significance to an object, event, or relationship

synecdoche (sih-nek-doh-kee): a type of metaphor in which the part is used to represent the whole, the whole is used to represent the part, or the material of which something is made is used to represent the thing

• "wheels" for "car"
• "America" for "the United States of America"
• "plastic" for "credit card"

thesis: a statement of the purpose of a piece of expository writing in one or more sentences

transition: a word, phrase, or sentence that links ideas

wit: intellectually surprising and amusing language, usually brief and pointed