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Refers to the situation when a writer personally attacks a person/opponent rather than their ideas or arguments.
Latin for "against the man"
Considered an irrelevant attack |
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Repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds
i.e. "she sells sea shells" |
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| A direct or indirect reference to something that is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art |
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| In drama, the discovery or recognition that leads to the reversal of fortune |
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| A word or phrase made by transposing the letters of another, as "cask" is an anagram of "sack." |
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| Device of repetition, in which the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences. |
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| A brief story that may be interesting or humorous inserted into texts as a way of developing a point or injecting humor. |
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| An arrangement of details such that the lesser appears at the point where something greater is expected. |
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A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses that manifests parallelism in their syntax.
i.e. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." |
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| A terse statement of known authorship that expresses a general truth or moral principle (if the author is unknown, the statement is generally considered to be a folk proverb) |
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| A figure of speech in which someone (usually but not always absent), some abstract quality, or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present. |
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A word or phrase that renames the word or phrase just before or after it
i.e. My sister, Janice, is a designer. |
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A device of sound that features the repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
i.e. Alliteration, etc.. mainly used in poetry. |
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The deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clauses, to produce a hurried rhythm in the sentence.
(opposite of polysyndeton) |
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Contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
i.e. When it rains, it pours. |
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Contains two or more main clauses joined by a semi-colon or comma and coordinating conjunction
i.e. Sue bought a new car, but she wrecked it on the first day. |
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| Compound-complex Sentence |
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| A sentence with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. |
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The relation between words in which the final consonants in the stress syllables agree but the vowels that precede differ.
i.e. "add-read", "mill-ball," or "torn-burn" |
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The omission of one or more words that, while essential to a grammatical structure, are easily supplied and assumed.
i.e. John forgives Mary and Mary, John. |
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| A figure of speech that uses deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis. |
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Saying the opposite of what is meant or expected, the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant, the difference btwn what appears to be and what is true.
i.e. Verbal, situational, and dramatic |
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Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by denying its opposite.
i.e. "It isn't very serious, I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. |
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| A type of sentence in which the main idea (ind. clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical unites such as phrases and clauses. Makes for an informal, repetitive, and conversational tone. |
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| Comparison of unlike things without use of "like" or "as" |
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| Repetition of the same word or clause after intervening matter. More strictly, repetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause. |
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"Substitute name." A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.
i.e. News from the White House (rather than "from the President), crown rather than royalty, etc |
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| "Does not follow," when the conclusion or one statement does not logically follow or connect to the preceding argument. |
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When natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.
i.e. Buzz, hiss, hum, crack, etc |
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| An antithesis where seemingly contradictory words are combined or juxtaposed, like "wise-fool," or "jumbo-shrimp." Used to suggest a paradox or produce a startling effect. |
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A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but contains some truth or validity.
i.e. "Art is a form of lying in order to tell the truth." |
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Parallel syntactic structure, "beside one another." Can involve repetition of a grammatical element such as a preposition or verbal phrase.
i.e. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." |
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| One that places the main idea or central thought at the end of the sentence (near the period) after intro. elements. Preceded by a phrase or clause that cannot stand alone. Adds emphasis and structural variety. |
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| Human-like qualities to concepts, animals, or inanimate objects to make them more vivid to the reader |
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| The deliberate use of many conjunctions, opposite of asyndeton. Slows the rhythm of the prose. Can be used to produce special emphasis. |
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A play on words that are either identical in sound or very similar in sound but are sharply diverse in meaning. Often humorous.
i.e. "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man." |
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| A comparison using "like," "as," or "than." |
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| Using the part to refer to the whole. The part mentioned suggest something else. An oblique manner of speaking. (see metonymy) |
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Figure of speech involving a "turn" or change of sense - the use of a word in a sense other than the literal.
i.e. figures of comparison, ironic expressions, etc. |
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| The ironic minimizing of fact. Presents something as less significant than it is. Can produce a humorous or emphatic effect. Opposite of hyperbole. |
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| Departure from normal word order for emphasis |
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Repetition of identical words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order
i.e. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. |
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| Repetition of ideas or grammatical structures in inverted order (not to be confused with antimetabole) |
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| The repetition of the last word (or phrase) from the previous line, clause, or sentence at the beginning of the next. |
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| Ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words. |
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