Rhetorical Strategies and Literary Terms

Rhetorical Devices Cheat Sheet

Devices found in every piece: Devices found in most pieces:

Punctuation Imagery
Diction Metaphor
Mood Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance
Point of View Parallelism
Setting
Tone

Figurative Language--Means something other than what it says (You have to figure it out) Imagery--Relating to one of the five senses.
I walked outside and the cool grass brushed against my bair feet.   Metaphor--Comparison of two unlike things. (Make sure that the comparison is not actually real. For instance, I don't actually have an iron heart. If the line said Mr. Flynn has a "beating heart," that would just be a description.)
Mr. Flynn has an iron heart. Simile--Comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”
I run like an antelope. Personification--Giving objects human characteristics.
The sky looked angry. Allusion--A reference to something outside the text
Call me Ishmael.  (Ishmael is a Biblical name) Symbol--When an object has a meaning larger than itself

Sentence Structure--How the author crafts a sentence draws the reader’s attention to certain words and ideas.  Structure can create a rhythm or a mood.  
Alliteration--Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Super silly Assonance--Repetition of vowel sounds
Sad Dad Consonance--Repetition of any consonant sounds
Sad Dad Diction--Overall word choice.  Diction can be formal or informal.  
I don’t get this paper teacher man. Parallelism--Similar word order or grammatical structure within a sentence or paragraph.
Oxymoron--A combination of opposites
Defeaning silence Syntax--Word order, the way in which linguistic elements are arrange to form a grammatical structure
Tone--The writer’s attitude towards a subject matter.  Possibilities: serious, angry, detached, passionate, etc.
Punctuation
Onomatopoeia--When a word’s meaning is the same as it’s sound
Selection of Detail--When the author picks a specific part of a story to emphasize


Overall Story--These are larger picture devices. They carry over through paragraphs and chapters. However, you would still discuss them by looking at specific quotes (maybe more than one). Mood--The overall atmosphere created in the text.  Mood is often suggested by descriptive details.  It’s a feeling.  
Point of View--Every piece has a point of view.  Some pieces, Douglass especially, change their point of view to effect the reader.
Setting
Narrator
Paradox--When something in the story contradicts itself but is nonetheless true.  
Hyperbole--When parts of a story are emphasized to demonstrate an idea
Understatement--When parts of a story are underemphasized to demonstrate an idea.  Usually ironic, sarcastic or humorous.  
Irony--When the reader knows something a character doesn’t.