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In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, using language designed to encourage or provoke an emotional display of a given perspective or action.
Owing to its origin in ancient Greece and Rome, English rhetorical theory frequently employs Greek and Latin words as terms of art. This page explains commonly used rhetorical terms in alphabetical order. The brief definitions here are intended to serve as a quick reference rather than an in-depth discussion. For more information, click the terms.
The earliest known text listing them, though not explicitly as a system, is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of unknown authorship, where they are called πλεονασμός (pleonasmos —addition), ἔνδεια (endeia —omission), μετάθεσις (metathesis —transposition) and ἐναλλαγή (enallage —permutation). [4]
Parallelism as a rhetorical device is used in many languages and cultures around the world in poetry, epics, songs, written prose and speech, from the folk level to the professional. An entire issue of the journal Oral Tradition has been devoted to articles on parallelism in languages from all over. [ 3 ]
In rhetoric, parallel syntax (also known as parallel construction, parallel structure, and parallelism) is a rhetorical device that consists of repetition among adjacent sentences or clauses. The repeated sentences or clauses provide emphasis to a central theme or idea the author is trying to convey. [ 1 ]
Hyperbole (/ h aɪ ˈ p ɜːr b əl i / ⓘ; adj. hyperbolic / ˌ h aɪ p ər ˈ b ɒ l ɪ k / ⓘ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and creates strong impressions. As a ...
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The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms offers a much broader definition for zeugma by defining it as any case of parallelism and ellipsis working together so that a single word governs two or more parts of a sentence. [17] Vicit pudorem libido timorem audacia rationem amentia. (Cicero, Pro Cluentio, VI.15)