Understatement

Deliberate representation of something as much less than it really is.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of something to create an effect.

Extreme exaggeration of something that in reality may be quite logical to prove a point.

1. "lynch you in Texas with a Texas accent and lynch you with a Mississippi accent."

Sarcasm

A form of verbal irony generally intended as witty insult.

1. "That is one of Brother Lomax's words. I stole it from him."

Pun

A play on words created from words with multiple meanings or words that sound the same.

1. "You have been the veterans of creative suffering."

Idiom

An expression whose intended meaning is different than the literal meaning of the words used.

Colloquialism/Dialect

Convesational/familiar language particular to a particular region or dialect.

1. "Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you're going to catch hell just like I am." 

Loaded Terms

Words that inspire deeply positive (purr words) or deeply negative reactions (weasel words)

1. "And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition."

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the begginning of successive clauses

1. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

• We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

Anecdote

A briefly summarized story usually included to personalize an issue and connect emotionally with the reader/listener.

1. "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity."

Anadiplosis

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause.

1.  we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem

Analogy

Using either a familiar object or idea to compare to a less familiar idea to help the listener/reader understand, OR using a well-accepted favorable idea to compare with a less-favorable one to gain audience approval or vice-versa.

1. [image]But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Epanalepsis

Repetition of the first word of a clause at the end of the same clause

1. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses

1.        I'm not here tonight to discuss my religion. I'm not here to try and change your religion.

Opponent's Point-of-View

Acknowledge and refute opponent's argument.

1. "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny."
    

Paralellism (Repetition)

Intentional repetition of the same gramattical structure, which may also include a repeated word or phrase, in the same structural position at least 3 times in nearby sentences or segments of a sentence

Personification

An inanimate or abstract object is given human qualities.

1. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

Consonance

Intentional repetition of 3 or more consonant sounds among nearby words

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today

Assonance

Intentional repetition of 3 or more vowel sounds among nearby words

Symbol

An image, object, or character that stands for something intangible beyond its literal meaning.

1. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Slogan

A repeated phrase or idea that identifies the audience with an essential concept of speech/campaign

Let freedom ring -- from the mighty mountains of New York.

          Let freedom ring -- from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

         Let freedom ring -- from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

         Let freedom ring -- from the curvaceous slopes of California.

          But not only that.

                     Let freedom ring -- from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

         Let freedom ring -- from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

         Let freedom ring -- from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside , let freedom ring!

Simile

Comparison of two unlike things using "Like" or "As"

1. "It came as a joyous daybreak"
   
    

parallelism (syntax)

 - intentional balancing clauses within a sentence to create equality of development between ideas (a.k.a. balanced sentence

Bandwagon

Using peer pressure to make it seem like everyone else agrees with you.

1. "We cannot walk alone."

rhetorical fragment –

intentional use of a sentence fragment to emphasize an idea