Literary and Rhetorical Terms

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Diction

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a writer’s or speaker’s choice of words

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Syntax

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the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence

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Tone

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the author’s attitude toward the subject

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Imagery

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language that appeals to the senses and produces a vivid impression

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Allusion

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a reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, myth, politics, sports, science, or pop culture

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Juxtaposition

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placing two disparate images/ideas side by side

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Parallelism

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the repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking for effect and meaning

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Antithesis

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a literary device that contrasts opposing ideas through parallel grammatical structures

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Anaphora

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repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent

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Asyndeton

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a figure of speech that omits coordinating conjunctions in a sentence or series of sentences