Concise Handbook of
Literary and
Rhetorical Terms
Michael S. Mills
Published by Estep-Nichols Publishing at Smashwords
Copyright © 2010 by Michael S. Mills
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
###
Use your device’s SEARCH feature for quickest access to terms.
###
Preface
The purpose of this handbook is to be a comprehensive, yet accessible, handbook of literary terms that engages the reader on a scholarly as well as practical level. As a literature teacher, my most immediate needs for a literary terms dictionary include concise explanations of the terms I am searching for, accurate pronunciations of the terms, and plenty of pertinent examples to illustrate each concept. Sadly, I could find no one resource that did all of this for me. In the course of compiling this handbook, many respected sources were consulted, but none could offer me a comprehensive list of important literary and rhetorical terms as well as the resources I needed to make use of the terms that were included. Rather, I have had to rely on dozens of resources to find what I am looking for, so I decided to compile a handbook that gave me and my students a comprehensive, accessible, and practical reference under one cover.
This handbook provides
clear and concise meanings for over 1600 terms, complete with a detailed index
pronunciations for over 700 terms
categories grouped by themes, so that related terms are easier to find (and connect to)
relevant examples, where needed, to illustrate terms in a more practical and conceptual way
indices that list every literary work and author used in the examples
the inclusion of terms that have become a part of the literary analysis lexicon only recently, like blog, eggcorn, found poem, mondegreen, retronym, snowclone, and steampunk
terms every teacher and student of literature should know but can’t find hardly anywhere else, terms like Négritude, Occam’s Razor, schadenfreude, and treppenwitz
Great pains were taken to organize this book in the most logical way possible, but I readily acknowledge that the inherent vagueness among some categories may warrant debate as to the placement of a particular term.
This handbook is, in no way, intended to completely replace the many varied guides and dictionaries that are specialized and cover their entries in more depth. These are all very good references (as such, I have included them at the end of this book in the list of references). I encourage you to consult them as your specialized needs dictate.
In addition, feel free to visit the website LiteraryHandbook.com for more ideas and resources.
a fortiori
(ah fore tee OR ee)
speaking from a position of strength; the argument that one should accept a claim because a stronger claim has been proven
Examples:
“If I can serve as Governor, I can certainly serve as mayor.”
“This should be easy for you; my two-year-old son can do that!”
a priori
(ah prahy OR ee or ah pree OR ee)
basic, fundamental assumptions or assertions that can be accepted without evidence or experience
contrast with a posteriori (ah poh steer OR ahy), which are assertions dependent upon evidence or experience
a propos
(ah pruh POH)
pertinent; related to the topic being discussed
abjection
a term coined by philosopher Julia Kristeva to denote the act of rejecting things that are reviled because they are not part of the natural order of things; a key component in horror writing in that the reader is forced to confront that which should be avoided
abridged
a term used to describe a condensed version of a text, one that retains the essential aspects of the text yet omits other less suitable or less important parts
abstract diction
language that denotes intangible concepts or ideas; abstract language refers to words that do not appeal to the reader’s physical senses
concrete diction, on the other hand, creates a mental picture and is something the observer (reader) can touch, smell, see, hear, or taste
Example:
“Susan and Kurt are having trouble in their relationship.”
[Here, the word trouble is abstract because it is not something an observer can see or experience in a tangible way.]
abstract generalization
a non-precise representation of a concept
academic drama
the practice, which started during the Renaissance, of performing ancient Roman dramas in schools
also referred to as a school drama
accent
stress or inflection on a syllable
two variations of the accent mark are the grave (à) and the acute (á)
accentual verse
verse that has a set number of stresses in a line, irrespective of the number of syllables
[see also accentual-syllabic verse, meter, scansion]
accentual-syllabic verse
verse that has a fixed number of stresses and syllables in each line; most common form of verse in the English language
[see also accentual verse, meter, scansion]
accident fallacy
a logical fallacy in which a generalization is applied to a case in which an exception should be applied
also referred to as destroying the exception
Example:
“Students are not allowed to hit others while at school, so all football players will be suspended indefinitely.”
[see also converse accident fallacy, slippery slope]
accismus
(ak SIS muss)
pretending to not want something while actually wanting it; being coy; from “affectation” (Greek)
Examples:
“Oh, you shouldn’t have.”
“I couldn’t possibly accept such an expensive gift!”
“Then he / offered it to him again; then he put it by again: / but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his / fingers off it.” (Julius Caesar, I.ii, Shakespeare)
acephalous
(ey SEF uh luhs)
a line of poetry that does not have a first syllable although the meter seems to indicate a syllable should exist; also referred to as headless rhyme
Example:
[First Stanza]
Thĕ tíme yŏu wón yŏur tówn thĕ ráce
We chaired you through the market-place;
[Second Stanza]
Eyés thĕ shádў níght hăs shút
Cannot see the record cut,
(“To an Athlete Dying Young,” Robert Houseman)
Acmeism
(AK mee izm)
refers to early 19th century Russian poets who countered the Symbolist movement by advocating accuracy and precision in writing
notable Acmeists include Anna Akhmatova, Nikolai Gumilev, Osip Mandelstam, and Sergei Gorodetsky
acronym
(AK ruh nim)
a memorable term or phrase created by using the first letters (initials) of multiple words
Examples:
laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
radar (radio detection and ranging)
[see also acrostic, backronym, RAS Syndrome]
acrostic
(ah KROSS tik)
a poem in which the initial letters of each line spell a name (or message)
also referred to as an abecedarius (ab uh sih DARE ee us)
variations on the initial pattern are
mesostich (MAY zoh stik)—using the middle letters
telestich (TELL ih stik)—using the final letters
Example:
A boat beneath the sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July—
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear
(Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll)
act
one of the major divisions of a play; classic plays are often divided into five acts whereas most modern plays are divided into three
actant
one of six roles devised by A.J. Greimas that constitute basic fictional roles: Subject/Object; Sender/Receiver, Helper/Opponent
the Sender sets forth what the Receiver is to do or want (object), thereby transforming the Receiver into the Subject; the Subject is then aided by the Helper and hindered by the Opponent
human characters, non-human entities, and inanimate objects can all fulfill these roles
Example:
from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
Sender: Professor McGonagall (indirectly)
Receiver/Subject: Harry Potter
Object: Rescue Ginny Weasley
Helper: Fawkes the Phoenix, the Sorting Hat
Opponent: Basilisk, Voldemort (Tom Riddle)
[see also narratology]
acyron
(AK err on)
poetic license in which words are used with opposite their intended meanings; from “without authority” (Greek)
Example:
“You are thought here to be the most / senseless and fit man for the constable of the / watch” (Much Ado about Nothing, III.iii, Shakespeare)
ad hominem argument
(add HAHM uh nim)
attacking an opponent’s character rather than supporting or refuting an actual position
Examples:
“My opponent is wrong because he’s uneducated and foolish.”
ad populem argument
(add POP yoo lim)
insisting that because other people support a proposition, argument, or product, so should the audience as well
also referred to as the bandwagon appeal
Example:
“Ask your doctor about Botox—most women have already made the wise choice to do so.”
adianoeta
(ah dee ah noh EE tah)
an expression that has a hidden meaning in addition to the apparent meaning
Examples:
“The executives of the soap company want to clean out Wall Street.”
“Margie will bring forth the same leadership as our last president.” [the suggestion here is that the last president was a weak leader]
adynaton
(uh DIN uh tahn)
a type of hyperbole that states the impossibility of expressing something in order to emphasize it
Examples:
“There are no words that can express how much I love you.”
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
adynaton
(ah DIN ah ton)
an exaggerated expression of impossibility
Examples:
“I will sooner have a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one of his cheek” (Henry IV, Part 2, I.ii, Shakespeare)
“I wouldn’t go out with you even if you were the last woman on earth!”
aesthetic
(ess THET ik)
refers to the artistic beauty of a work, and what makes it so
also spelled esthetic
Aestheticism and Decadence Movement
(ess THET ih sizm / DEK uh dents)
occurred during the latter part of the Victorian Period (1880-1900)
much of the literature from this movement included novels and lyric poetry that emphasized brevity and a focus on nonconformity and counter-culturalism
the concept of art for art’s sake (art has inherent value even without a specific purpose) developed throughout this movement, and its chief proponent was Oscar Wilde
afflatus
(uh FLAY tuss)
poetic inspiration
[see also ligne donnée]
Age of Sensibility
refers to the period from 1745-1785 in English literary history
much of the literature during this time focused on decorum, empathy, and sensitivity
notable writers during this time were Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding
also referred to as the Age of Johnson
part of the Age of Enlightenment, which was also known as the Age of Reason
agitprop
(AJ it prop)
a term applied to the propaganda movement, respective to dramatic form, that followed the Russian Revolution of 1917
the term is a portmanteau of the words agitation and propaganda
agon
(AG ohn)
the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist in ancient Greek drama, or the debate or contest between two characters in ancient Greek comedy
[see also deuteragonist]
aleatory
(AL ee uh tore ee or EY lee uh tore ee)
randomness of presentation in a literary work (e.g., stream of consciousness)
alexandrine
(al ig ZAN drin or al ig ZAN dreen)
a line of poetry consisting of six iambs
also referred to as iambic hexameter
Example:
“Wĭthóut ă gráve, ŭnknélled, ŭncóffĭned, ánd ŭnknówn.”
(Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Lord Byron)
alienation effect
a principle set forth by Bertolt Brecht that advocates the detachment of an audience from the play they are watching and, often, the actors from the characters they are portraying
methods include allowed audience interruptions, reminders that the play is fictional, and frequent staging changes
also referred to as the A-effect or V-effekt
allegory
(AL uh gore ee)
a narrative that has underlying symbolic meanings; from “speaking otherwise” (Greek)
Examples:
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
The Divine Comedy (Dante)
The Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan)
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
[see also beast fable, parable]
alliteration
(uh LIT uh RAY shun)
the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of neighboring words
extreme alliteration, in which nearly every word in a line or sentence begins with the same consonant, is sometimes referred to as paroemion (pah ROH mee on)
Examples:
“There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing.” (A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry)
“Five miles meandering with a mazy motion” (“Kubla Khan,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
[see also assonance, consonance]
allusion
(uh LOOZH un)
reference to a historical, mythical, or literary figure, event, or narrative
Examples:
“Dwayne fought with Herculean strength.” (Reference to the Greek hero Hercules).
“‘Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,’ she went on with sudden serious sweetness, ‘but nobody could ever count my love for you.’” (“The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry; Reference to Luke 12:7).
“Getting him away from his friends is his Achilles heel. Without them, he isn’t so tough.” (Reference to the Trojan warrior Achilles’s vulnerable spot.)
“The more I think about it, old Billy was right / Let's kill all the lawyers, kill 'em tonight” (“Get Over It,” The Eagles, referring to the line “The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers” from Henry VI, Part II, IV.ii, Shakespeare [note: Billy is a common nickname for William])
alter-ego
a character’s separate identity or persona within a narrative
Examples:
Macbeth, the brave and loyal Thane of Cawdor, is contrasted by his alter-ego, a plotting murderer willing to usurp the throne of Scotland (Macbeth, Shakespeare)
The comic book characters Superman & Clark Kent (DC Comics) are two separate identities of the same person, as are Spider-Man and Peter Parker (Marvel Comics).
alterity
(al TARE ih tee)
a description of the distinctions between one’s self and others; a critical concept in developing a frame of reference that includes other cultures and their ideas
amanuensis
(uh man yoo EN sis)
a person who transcribes what is being dictated
Example:
Alex Haley for Malcolm X (The Autobiography of Malcolm X)
ambiguity
(am buh GYOO uh tee)
an element of non-clarity or vagueness; may be intentional
the adjective form is ambiguous (am BIG yoo us)
American Romanticism
the period that spanned from 1820 to 1860 in American literary history
much of the literature during this time focused on rejecting the notions of the earlier neoclassical movement and embracing nature and passion rather than science and reason; self-awareness was often a major theme during this time
notable writers during this time were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman
also referred to as the American Renaissance
[see also Dark Romantics, Romantic Period Transcendentalism]
ampersand
the symbol for the word and (&)
amphiboly
(am FIB uh lee)
an ambiguous statement (i.e., one having multiple or confusing meanings) due to the grammatical structure of a statement (includes misplaced or dangling modifiers); also, prophecies with double meanings
Examples:
“I stood by my friend crying.”
[It is not clear who cried.]
Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.
(the three witches’ prophecies to Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, IV.i)
amphibrach
(AM fih brak)
a foot made up of three syllables, which are unstressed, stressed, and unstressed (accentual meter); or short, long, short (quantitative meter)
Examples:
cŏnféssiŏn
tŏgéthĕr
amphidiorthosis
(am fee dahy or THOH sis)
dodging an attack by qualifying what one says
Example:
“I’m not saying you’re fat. I’m just saying your dress doesn’t flatter you.”
amphimacer
(am FIM uh ser)
a foot made up of three syllables, which are stressed, unstressed, and stressed (accentual meter); or long, short, long (quantitative meter)
also referred to as a cretic foot
Examples:
“Soúnd thĕ Flúte! / Nów ĭt’s múte.” (“Spring,” William Blake)
[see also amphibrach]
ampliatio
(AM plee AH tee oh)
using a label to categorize someone or something after the label is no longer valid, appropriate, or understood within mainstream contemporary society
Examples:
“He may have voted with the Republicans on this bill, but Senator Jones is still a bleeding-heart liberal.”
“The ladies might have liked you in high school, but you’re no James Dean now.”
[see also antonomasia]
anachronism
(uh NAK kroh nizm)
a character or some other plot element placed in an inappropriate time; from “against time” (Greek)
Examples:
Reference to the University of Wittenberg in Shakespeare‘s Hamlet and a reference to clocks in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, both of which did not exist at the time of the setting of these respective plays, are anachronisms.
Some movies have intentional anachronisms; for example, The Flintstones (1994) (modern appliances), Moulin Rouge (2001) (20th century songs); and Romeo + Juliet (1996) (set in 20th century).
anacoluthon
(an uh kuh LOO thahn)
a sudden shift in the implied grammatical sequence within a sentence; often used stylistically; from “not marching together” (Greek)
Examples:
“Had ye been there—for what could that have done?” (Lycidas, John Milton)
“If thou beest he; But O how fall'n! how chang'd / From him” (Paradise Lost, Book I, John Milton)
anacrusis
(an uh KROO sis)
an unstressed syllable (or syllables) that begins a line of verse but is not counted as part of the actual meter of the line
Example:
“Frŏm ráinbŏw cloúds thĕre flów nŏt” (“To a Skylark,” Percy Shelley)
anadiplosis
(an uh dahy PLOH sis)
repetition of a word or phrase at the end of one line or clause and the beginning of the next line or clause
Examples:
“As thou being mine, mine is thy good report.” (“Sonnet 36,” Shakespeare)
“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, 1999)
[see also conduplicatio]
anagnorisis
(ah nag NOHR uh sis)
the turning point in a drama in which a character (usually the protagonist) discovers a truth and finally recognizes what is really going on
usually combined with the play’s peripeteia
also referred to as discovery or recognition
Examples:
When Macbeth in the tragedy Macbeth (Shakespeare) realizes that the prophecies told to him by the weird sisters contained double meanings:
To doubt the equivocation of the fiend
That lies like truth. “Fear not, till Birnam wood
Do come to Dunsinane,” and now a wood
Comes toward Dunsinane.
(Macbeth, V.v, Shakespeare)
[see also epiphany]
anagram
(AN uh gram)
a word or name resulting from the transposition of letters
Example:
In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Marvolo Riddle refashioned his name to read “I am Lord Voldemort.”
analects
(AN uh lekts)
a collection of passages or sayings from an author; from “things gathered up” (Greek)
Example:
The Analects of Confucius
analogue
(ANN uh log)
a story whose essential plot or theme is similar in stories from several other cultures
Example:
A notable example is The Great Flood, which is present in both the Old Testament of the Holy Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
analogy
(uh NAL uh jee)
a comparison of two dissimilar things to show that they are alike in some respects (often expressed as similes, metaphors, or allegories), or
the comparison of two pairs of words that have the same relationship
an extended analogy is a comparison that spans several lines or throughout the entire work
Example:
“hot is to cold as fire is to ice”
anamnesis
(AN am NEE sis)
bringing up a past issue to support an argument
Example:
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (“The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe)
[see also apomnemonysis]
anapest
(ANN uh pest)
a metrical foot made up of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable (as in the word ĭntĕrrúpt)
Example:
“Nŏt ă wórd tŏ eăch óthĕr; wĕ képt thĕ greăt páce / Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place.” (“How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix,“ Robert Browning)
anaphora
(an NAFF or uh)
the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses
Examples:
“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.” (Winston Churchill)
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
“I haven’t heard how his policy on Iran is going to be different than George Bush’s. I haven’t heard how his policy with Israel will be different than George Bush’s. I haven’t heard how his policy on Afghanistan will be different than George Bush’s. I haven’t heard how his policy in Pakistan will be different than George Bush’s.” (Vice Presidential Debate, Joe Biden, 2008)
[see also epistrophe]
anapodoton
(AN uh POH doh tahn)
a rhetorical figure in which the subordinate clause, which is present, implies the meaning of the main clause, which is not present; from “leaving out the main clause” (Greek)
Examples:
“When you’re ready.”
“Because people care about the economy!”
[see also ellipsis]
anastrophe
(an ASS truh fee)
a rhetorical figure involving a reversal of word order to make a point
also referred to as inversion or hyperbaton
Example:
“This is the sort of English up with which I will not put!”
(Winston Churchill’s reply to the rule that sentences should never end with prepositions)
ancillary character
(ann SILL ee air ee)
secondary characters in a narrative who either contrast or complement the protagonist and also offer additional insight into the narrative’s plot or theme
[see also chorus, characterization, foil, raisonneur]
anecdote
(ANN ek dote)
a short, humorous story
Angry Young Men
refers to authors, playwrights, and, particularly, the anti-heroes of various plays from the mid-20th century in which characters in the work demonstrate defiant, disapproving attitudes toward society
the term gained widespread use by journalists, particularly to describe Jimmy Porter, the dark, rebellious protagonist in John Osbourne’s 1956 play Look Back in Anger
annotation
(ann oh TAY shun)
supplementary notes in a text, usually for clarification or elaboration
anoiconometon
(ah noi koh noh MEE tahn)
poorly arranged words with a confused meaning
Example:
“Hence, although the imagination is not dazzled in the conquest of Florida, with descriptions of boundless wealth and regal magnificence—although the chiefs are not decked in ‘barbaric pearls and gold’—their sturdy resistance, and the varied vicissitudes created by the obstacles which nature presented to the conqueror’s march, afford numberless details of great interest.” (A Conquest of Florida, Edgar Allan Poe)
antagonist
(an TAG oh nist)
the main opposing character to the protagonist; from “opponent, rival” (Greek)
Examples:
Teiresias is the antagonist to Oedipus in Sophocles‘s Oedipus the King.
Claudius is the antagonist to Hamlet in Shakespeare‘s The Tragedy of Hamlet.
Voldemort is the antagonist to Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
[see also characterization, villain]
antanagoge
(AN tah NAH go jee)
illustrating a difficult situation in a positive way; from “against a leading up” (Greek)
often referred to in modern media as spin
Examples:
“But we, we happy few, we band of brothers; / For he today that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother” (Henry V, IV.iii, Shakespeare)
“We may lose this vote, but at least the community will know that we stood up for them!”
antapodosis
(ann toh poh DOH sis)
an extended analogy; a comparison in multiple respects; from “giving back” (Greek)
Example:
“If Jennifer were a state, she’d be Hawaii—she’s laid back, cool, and has a language of her own.”
anthem
(AN them)
a lyric dedicated to a group, nationality, or movement; from “response” (Greek)
a modern interpretation also includes rock songs that have become so popular that they are used for major events
Examples:
“The Star Spangled Banner” (Francis Scott Key)
“The King Shall Rejoice” (George Handel)
examples of the latter definition include the rock band Queen’s “We are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You”
anthimeria
(an thuh MARE ee uh)
using one part of speech to act as another; such as using a noun or adjective as a verb; from “instead of” (Greek)
Examples:
“I’m tired of this committee—I’m all meetinged out!”
“Can you blue this paint up a bit?”
anthology
(an THAHL uh jee)
a collection of poetry or prose, sometimes divided into categories; from “collection of flowers” (Greek)
anthropomorphism
(ann thruh poh MORE fizm)
a type of personification in which deities, animals, or other non-humans are described in human form and as having human qualities; from “form of man” (Greek)
Examples of works featuring anthropomorphism:
Aesop‘s fables
“The Nun’s Priest Tale” (Chaucer)
The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Additionally, many African, Egyptian, Greek, Native American, and Roman myths feature anthropomorphic gods and animals.
[see also anthropopatheia, personification]
anthropopatheia
(ANN throh poh pah THEE uh)
assigning human emotions or attributes to God
Examples:
“But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’” (Genesis 3:9-11)
“God Walks These Hills with Me” (Eddy Arnold)
[see also anthropomorphism, personification]
anthypallage
(an thih PALL ah jee)
changing the grammatical case within a sentence for emphasis
Example:
““I told myself, ‘You need to get your act together!’”
[see also enallage]
anticlimax
(AN tee KLAHY maks)
a sudden and unexpected culmination of events that is a disappointment in relation to the previous intensity in a narrative
also referred to as bathos
[see also plot]
anti-hero
a central character (often the protagonist) who does not exhibit the admirable qualities of the traditional hero
Examples:
Satan (Paradise Lost, John Milton)
Randle McMurphy (One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey)
antilogy
(ann TIH loh jee)
a contradiction within a speech or literary work by an author or speaker; from “against knowledge” (Greek)
Example:
“I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” (John Kerry, U.S. presidential candidate, 2004)
anti-masque
(AN tee mask)
a type of burlesque or farce that precedes or serves as an interlude for a masque; spelled antemasque if preceding a masque
antimetabole
(an tee muh TAH boh lee)
figure of speech in which two or more words are repeated in a successive clause, but in reverse order
a type of chiasmus
Examples:
“All for one, and one for all.” (The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas)
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” (The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan)
antiphon
(AN tuh fon)
song or verse chanted or sung in response to each other in alternating stanzas
[see also hymn]
antiphrasis
(ann TIFF ruh sis)
figurative language that features a word used in its opposite sense and is meant as irony or sarcasm; from “opposite word choice” (Greek)
Examples:
“She sure is in a happy mood!” – referring to a person who is actually in a bad mood
The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men--
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
(Julius Caesar, III.ii, Shakespeare)
antirrhesis
(ann turr RHEE sis)
categorically rejecting an opinion or a person
Examples:
“The judge has no right to do this! She’s a fraud, and this is a kangaroo court!”
“Politicians are nothing but cheats and liars.”
“True! –nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease has sharpened my senses – not destroyed – not dulled them. Above all was the sense of the hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?” (“The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe)
[see also apodioxis]
antisagoge
(ann tiss uh GOH jee)
offering a negative consequence before offering one’s point or presenting alternating consequences for positive and negative situations; from “balancing arguments” (Greek)
Examples:
“We may lose this fight, but we have to continue fighting.”
“Vote for this bill and you will help support the economy. Don’t support the bill, and you will help plunge this country into a depression.”
antistasis
(ann TISS tay sis)
the repetition of a word or phrase in which the latter meaning changes from the first; from “resistance” (Greek)
also referred to as antanaclasis (ANN tan uh KLASS sis)
Examples:
“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.” (Vince Lombardi)
“The recession was fueled by the soaring price of fuel.”
antisthecon
(an TISS thuh kahn)
substituting a word, letter, syllable, or word part for another word, letter, syllable, or word part
Examples:
“I resemble [resent] that remark.”
“A pun is its own reword [reward].”
“And I wuv [love] you too!”
antithesis
(an TIH thuh sis)
a statement or concept that is the direct opposite of another statement or concept
Example:
“She is the light of my future, not the darkness of my past.”
antonomasia
(an tahn oh MAY zhuh)
an epithet or more commonly understood name that replaces a proper name; also the use of a particular proper name to refer to someone with similar qualities
Examples:
the Bard for Shakespeare; His Holiness for a pope; Casanova for a ladies’ man
“The black prince, sir; alias, the prince of darkness; alias, the devil.” (All’s Well That Ends Well, IV.v, Shakespeare)
“I am no great Nebuchadnezzar,
sir; I have not much
skill in grass.” (All’s Well That Ends
Well, IV.v, Shakespeare)
“And it is that promise that 45 years ago today brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.” (“Democratic Candidate Acceptance Speech,” Barack Obama, 2008)
antonym
(AN tuh nim)
words that have opposite meanings
Examples:
“happy” / “sad”
“lost” / “found”
“hot” / “cold”
[see also synonym]
anxiety of influence
a concept described by literary critic Harold Bloom to describe the relationship between poets and their forerunners, particularly with respect to the competing aspects of admiration yet desire to break free from the traditions and styles used by the earlier generation
this notion, rooted in Freudian philosophy, is manifested by the later poet imitating but then reforming the work of the earlier poet in order to claim a dominance as father (the earlier poet) yields his position to the son (later poet)
Bloom’s examples of this concept include the succession of John Milton to William Wordsworth and then William Wordsworth to Percy Shelley, with each later poet initially accepting then rejecting the poetic traditions of the earlier poet
[see also misprision]
apagoresis
(ah pah GORE ee sis)
a declaration intended to prevent someone from doing something; a threat; from “to dissuade” (Greek)
Examples:
“If you go in that room, you’re not going to come out.”
“If you start this fight, I’m going to finish it.”
aphaeresis
(aff AIR rhee sis)
the omission of a first letter, syllable, or word part, usually for the sake of rhythm; also spelled apheresis
Example:
“The King hath cause to plain.” (King Lear, III.i, Shakespeare)
[In this example, plain is complain.]
aphorism
(AFF or izm)
a short, memorable statement presenting an observation, universal truth, or a principled precept to live by; a maxim
aphorisms are unlike proverbs in that aphorisms originate from a known author
also referred to as an apothegm (APP uh them), gnomic verse (NOH mik or NOM ik), or sententia (sin TEN shee uh or sin TEN shuh)
Examples:
“To thine own self be true” (Hamlet, I.iii, Shakespeare)
“‘Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all” (In Memoriam, Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
“Fish and visitors smell in three days.” (Benjamin Franklin)
“In charity there is no excess.” (Francis Bacon)
apocalyptic literature
(uh POK uh lip tik)
prose or poetry that includes prophecies of doom and destruction for mankind; from “disclosure” (Greek)
also referred to as eschatological literature (ess kuh toh LAHJ ih kull)
Examples:
Revelation to John (Holy Bible)
“The Second Coming” (William Butler Yeats)
The Four-Gated City (Doris Lessing)
[see also dystopia]
apocarteresis
(ah poh kar tih REE sis)
giving up hope in one thing and putting that hope in something else
Examples:
“We may have lost the battle, but we can still win the war!”
“Well, Julie won’t go out with me, but there are other girls I can ask.”
apocope
(uh POK uh pee)
the omission of a last letter, syllable, or word part, usually for the sake of rhythm; from “to cut off” (Greek)
Example:
“Season your admiration for awhile / With an attent ear.” (Hamlet, I.ii, Shakespeare)
[In this example, attent is attentive.]
[see also syncope]
apocryphal
(uh POK kruh full)
writings of uncertain or unknown authorship or dubious authenticity; the term usually refers to the collection of spiritual writings known as the Apocrypha, which are not considered part of the canon (officially recognized books) commonly known as the Holy Bible
apodioxis
(app oh dahy OKS iss)
rejecting an opponent or his argument as out of touch, absurd, or evil
Examples:
“How can you, of all people, question my motives?”
“That we know more about global warming today than we did five years ago is ridiculous.”
[see also antirrhesis]
apodixis
(ah poh DIKS iss)
an assertion based on the belief something is common or general knowledge; from “proof” (Greek)
Examples:
“Why would I steal your iPod? Everyone knows that I already have the newest model.”
“Well, he certainly should not be dating her. Everyone knows that it’s not right for a high school senior to be dating someone in junior high.”
apology
a work written to defend a person’s ideas or to clarify an issue; from “defense” (Greek)
Example:
Plato’s Apology of Socrates, which features Socrates defending himself before the governing body of Athens
apomnemonysis
(ah pom nim oh NAHY sis)
citing an authority from memory to support one’s argument
Examples:
“Wasn’t it Patrick Henry who said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’?”
“Would Gandhi or Dr. Martin Luther King approve of these tactics?”
[see also anamnesis]
apophasis
(ah POFF ah sis)
asserting something within a denial of saying it; from “denial” (Greek)
Examples:
“I’m not saying that you’re too talkative, but you certainly have a lot to say.”
“Wert thou not my father, I would have called thee unwise.” (Antigone, Sophocles)
[see also paralipsis]
aporia
(uh PORE ee uh)
the expression of doubt by a speaker in the form of a self-directed question
also, a paradox or insolvable contradiction within a literary work; from “difficult passage” (Greek)
Examples of first definition:
“‘Well,’ replied my friend, ‘that is all very fair, to be sure. Let me think! – what should I have? Oh! I will tell you. My reward shall be this. You shall give me all the information in your power about these murders in the Rue Morgue.’” (“The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” Edgar Allan Poe)
Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee?
But yet I’ll make assurance double sure
And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live!
(Macbeth, IV.i, Shakespeare)
Example of second definition:
“There is no God and we are his prophets.” (The Road, Cormac McCarthy)
[see also dubitatio]
aposiopesis
(ah poh sahy oh PEE sis)
a rhetorical figure in which a speaker abruptly stops speaking, either from an external distraction or from an overwhelming emotion; from “silence” (Greek)
aposiopesis is usually written in text with ellipses (…) or a dash (—)
Example:
HAMLET:
A murderer and a villain
A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe
Of your precedent lord; a vice of kings;
A cut-purse of the empire and the rule,
That from a shelf the precious diadem stole,
And put it in his pocket!
QUEEN:
No more!
HAMLET:
A king of shreds and patches, —
Enter Ghost
Save me, and hover o’er me with your wings,
You heavenly guards! What would your gracious figure?
(Hamlet, III.iv, Shakespeare)
apostrophe
(uh POSS troh fee)
addressing something that is abstract or someone or something that is not physically present; from “a turning away” (Greek)
Examples:
“Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Hamlet, I.ii, Shakespeare)
“Hail, Holy Light, offspring of heaven firstborn!” (Paradise Lost, Book III, John Milton)
apotheosis