A GLOSSARY OF RHETORICAL TERMS WITH EXAMPLES

Socrates: The fact is, as we said at the beginning of our discussion,

that the aspiring speaker needs no knowledge of the truth about
what is right or good... In courts of justice no attention is paid
whatever to the truth about such topics; all that matters is
plausibility... There are even some occasions when both prosecution
and defence should positively suppress the facts in favor of
probability, if the facts are improbable. Never mind the truth --
pursue probability through thick and thin in every kind of speech; the
whole secret of the art of speaking lies in consistent adherence to
this principle.
Phaedrus: That is what those who claim to be professional teachers
of rhetoric actually say, ocrates.
--Plato Phaedrus 272
All!terat!o" A"acolutho" A"ad!#los!s A"a#hora
A"astro#h
e
A"t!stro#he A"t!thes!s A#or!a A#os!o#es!s
A#ostro#h
e
Archa!s$ Asso"a"ce As%"deto" &rach%lo'%
Caco#ho"
%
Catachres!s Ch!as$us Cl!$a( Eu#he$!s$ He"d!ad%s
H%#alla'e H%#er)ato" H%#er)ole
H%stero"-
Protero"
Iro"%
L!totes Meta#hor Meto"%$%
O"o$ato#oe!
a
O(%$oro"
Parado(
Para#rosdo*!
a"
Paro"o$as!
a
Perso"!+!cat!o
"
Pleo"as$
Pol%s%"deto
"
Praeter!t!o Prole#s!s S!$!le S%lle#s!s
S%"ch%s!s S%"ecdoche S%"es!s Tautolo'% ,eu'$a
Note! There are a few links below to "erseus. To see the figures in
#uestion, you$ll often need to e%amine the &reek versions of these
te%ts. '(elated sites.)
All!terat!o": repetition of the same sound beginning several words in
se#uence.
-*et us go forth to lead the land we love. +. ,. -ennedy,
Inaugural
-.iri validis cum viribus luctant. /nnius
1
-.eni, vidi, vici. +ulius 0aesar
A"acolutho": lack of grammatical se#uence; a change in the
grammatical construction within the same sentence.
-1greements entered into when one state of facts e%ists --
are they to be maintained regardless of changing
conditions2 +. 3iefenbaker
A"ad!#los!s: '4doubling back4) the rhetorical repetition of one or
several words; specifically, repetition of a word that ends one clause
at the beginning of the ne%t.
-5en in great place are thrice servants! servants of the
sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of
business. ,rancis 6acon
-enatus haec intellegit, consul videt; hic tamen vivit. .ivit2
Immo vero etiam in senatum venit. 0icero, In 0atilinam
-1eschines 7.877
A"a#hora: the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
successive phrases, clauses or lines.
-9e shall not flag or fail. 9e shall go on to the end. 9e
shall fight in ,rance, we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength
in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the
landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the
streets, we shall fight in the hills. 9e shall never surrender.
0hurchill.
-Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas, #uod non ego non
modo audiam, sed etiam videam plane#ue sentiam. 0icero,
In 0atilinam
-*ysias, 1gainst /ratosthenes :8
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown <=
A"astro#he: transposition of normal word order; most often found in
*atin in the case of prepositions and the words they control.
1nastrophe is a form of hyperbaton.
-The helmsman steered; the ship moved on; yet never a
bree>e up blew. 0oleridge, The (ime of the 1ncient
5ariner
-Isdem in oppidis, 0icero
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown 87
A"t!stro#he: repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of
successive clauses.
-In 8?78, ten years ago, +apan invaded 5anchukuo --
without warning. In 8?7@, Italy invaded /thiopia -- without
warning. In 8?7=, Aitler occupied 1ustria -- without warning.
In 8?7?, Aitler invaded 0>echoslovakia -- without warning.
*ater in 8?7?, Aitler invaded "oland -- without warning. 1nd
now +apan has attacked 5alaya and Thailand -- and the
Bnited tates --without warning. ,ranklin 3. (oosevelt
-1eschines, 1gainst 0tesiphon 8?=
A"t!thes!s: opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or
parallel construction.
-/%tremism in defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in
the pursuit of justice is no virtue. 6arry &oldwater
-6rutus! Not that I loved 0aesar less, but that I loved (ome
more. hakespeare, +ulius 0aesar
-The vases of the classical period are but the reflection of
classical beauty; the vases of the archaic period are beauty
itself.4 ir +ohn 6ea>ley
-3emosthenes, ;lynthiac :.:C
A#or!a: e%pression of doubt 'often feigned) by which a speaker
appears uncertain as to what he should think, say, or do.
-Then the steward said within himself, $9hat shall I do2$
*uke 8C
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown 8:?
A#os!o#es!s: a form of ellipse by which a speaker comes to an
abrupt halt, seemingly overcome by passion 'fear, e%citement, etc.) or
modesty.
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown 7
A#ostro#he: a sudden turn from the general audience to address a
specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present.
-,or 6rutus, as you know, was 0aesar$s angel.
+udge, ; you gods, how dearly 0aesar loved him.
hakespeare, +ulius 0aesar
Archa!s$: use of an older or obsolete form.
-"ipit sate upright in her chair
ome distance from where I was sitting; T. . /liot, 41
0ooking /gg4
Asso"a"ce: repetition of the same sound in words close to each
other.
-Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
-; fortunatam natam me consule (omamD 0icero, de
consulatu
As%"deto": lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses,
or words.
-9e shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the
survival and the success of liberty. +. ,. -ennedy, Inaugural
-6ut, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. *incoln, &ettysburg
1ddress
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown :EE
&rach%lo'%: a general term for abbreviated or condensed e%pression,
of which asyndeton and >eugma are types. /llipse is often used
synonymously. The suppressed word or phrase can usually be supplied
easily from the surrounding conte%t.
-1eolus haec contra! .ergil, 1eneid
-Non 0innae, non ullae longa dominatio. Tacitus, 1nnales
I.8
Caco#ho"%: harsh joining of sounds.
-9e want no parlay with you and your grisly gang who work
your wicked will. 9. 0hurchill
-; Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne tulistiD /nnius
Catachres!s: a harsh metaphor involving the use of a word beyond its
strict sphere.
-I listen vainly, but with thirsty ear. 5ac1rthur, ,arewell
1ddress
-0ynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis. "ropertius I.8.8
Ch!as$us: two corresponding pairs arranged not in parallels 'a-b-a-b)
but in inverted order 'a-b-b-a); from shape of the &reek letter chi 'F).
-Those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my
prayers always. 5ac1rthur
-(enown$d for con#uest, and in council skill$d. 1ddison et
pacis ornamenta et subsidia belli. 0icero, "ro lege 5anilia
-"lato, (epublic <?<e
Cl!$a(: arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of
ascending power. ;ften the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause
is repeated as the first emphatic word of the ne%t.
-;ne e#ual temper of heroic hearts,
5ade weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Tennyson, Blysses
-Nonne hunc in vincula duci, non ad mortem rapi, non summo
supplicio mactari imperabis2 0icero, In 0atilinam
-,acinus est vincere civem (omanum; scelus verberare;
prope parricidium necare! #uid dicam in crucem tollere2 verbo
satis digno tam nefaria res appellari nullo modo potest.
0icero, In .errem
-3emosthenes, ;n the 0rown 8G?
Eu#he$!s$: substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive
e%pression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or
unpleasant.
-9hen the final news came, there would be a ring at the front
door -- a wife in this situation finds herself staring at the front
door as if she no longer owns it or controls it--and outside the
door would be a man... come to inform her that unfortunately
something has happened out there, and her husband$s body
now lies incinerated in the swamps or the pines or the
palmetto grass, 4burned beyond recognition,4 which anyone
who had been around an air base very long 'fortunately +ane
had not) reali>ed was #uite an artful euphemism to describe a
human body that now looked like an enormous fowl that has
burned up in a stove, burned a blackish brown all over, greasy
and blistered, fried, in a word, with not only the entire face and
all the hair and the ears burned off, not to mention all the
clothing, but also the hands and feet, with what remains of the
arms and legs bent at the knees and elbows and burned into
absolutely rigid angles, burned a greasy blackish brown like
the bursting body itself, so that this husband, father, officer,
gentleman, this ornamentum of some mother$s eye, Ais
5ajesty the 6aby of just twenty-odd years back, has been
reduced to a charred hulk with wings and shanks sticking out
of it. Tom 9olfe, The (ight tuff
He"d!ad%s: use of two words connected by a conjunction, instead of
subordinating one to the other, to e%press a single comple% idea.
-It sure is nice and cool todayD 'for 4pleasantly cool4)
-I love the *ord, because he hath heard my voice and my
supplications. "salms 88C
-"erfecti oratoris moderatione et sapientia. 0icero, 3e oratore
H%#alla'e: '4e%changing4) transferred epithet; grammatical agreement
of a word with another word which it does not logically #ualify. 5ore
common in poetry.
-/%egi monumentum aere perennius
regali#ue situ pyramidum altius, Aorace, ;des III.7E
2
H%#er)ato": separation of words which belong together, often to
emphasi>e the first of the separated words or to create a certain
image.
-peluncam 3ido du% et Troianus eandem .ergil, 1eneid
<.8:<, 8C@
H%#er)ole: e%aggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect.
-5y vegetable love should grow
.aster than empires, and more slow;
1n hundred years should got to praise
Thine eyes and on thine forehead ga>e;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
6ut thirty thousand to the rest. 1ndrew 5arvell, 4To Ais 0oy
5istress4
-3a mi basia mille, deinde centum,
3ein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
3einde us#ue altera mille, deinde centum. 0atullus, to his.
H%stero" Protero" '4later-earlier4)! inversion of the natural se#uence
of events, often meant to stress the event which, though later in time,
is considered the more important.
-4I like the island 5anhattan. moke on your pipe and put
that in.4 -- from the song 41merica,4 9est ide tory lyric
by tephen ondheim 'submitted per litteram by guest
rhetorician 1nthony celba)
-"ut on your shoes and socksD
-Aannibal in 1fricam redire at#ue Italia decedere coactus
est. 0icero, In 0atilinam
Iro"%: e%pression of something which is contrary to the intended
meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.
-Het 6rutus says he was ambitious;
1nd 6rutus is an honourable man. hakespeare, +ulius
0aesar
L!totes: understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of
the thing being affirmed. 'ometimes used synonymously with
meiosis.)
-1 few unannounced #ui>>es are not inconceivable.
-9ar is not healthy for children and other living things.
-;ne nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day. 'meiosis)
Meta#hor: implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of
words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous
to it.
-*ife$s but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage. hakespeare,
5acbeth
-. . . while he learned the language 'that meager and fragile
thread . . . by which the little surface corners and edges of
men$s secret and solitary lives may be joined for an instant
now and then before sinking back into the darkness. . . )
,aulkner, 1bsalom, 1bsalomD
-,rom tettin in the 6altic to Trieste in the 1driatic, an iron
curtain has descended across the continent. 9. 0hurchill
Meto"%$%: substitution of one word for another which it suggests.
-Ae is a man of the cloth.
-The pen is mightier than the sword.
-6y the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread.
O"o$ato#oe!a: use of words to imitate natural sounds;
accommodation of sound to sense.
-1t tuba terribili sonitu taratantara di%it. /nnius
O(%$oro": apparent parado% achieved by the ju%taposition of words
which seem to contradict one another.
-,estina lente.
-I must be cruel only to be kind. hakespeare, Aamlet
Parado(: an assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that
may yet have some truth in it.
-9hat a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.
&eorge 6ernard haw
Para#rosdo*!a": surprise or une%pected ending of a phrase or
series.
-Ae was at his best when the going was good. 1listair
0ooke on the 3uke of 9indsor
-There but for the grace of &od -- goes &od. 0hurchill
-*audandus, ornandus, tollendus. 0icero on ;ctavian
Perso"!+!cat!o": attribution of personality to an impersonal thing.
-/ngland e%pects every man to do his duty. *ord Nelson
-Nunc te patria, #uae communis est parens omnium
nostrum, odit ac metuit et iam diu nihil te iudicat nisi de
parricidio suo cogitare. 0icero, In 0atilinam
Paro"o$as!a: use of similar sounding words; often etymological
word-play.
-...culled cash, or cold cash, and then it turned into a gold
cache. /.*. 3octorow, 6illy 6athgate
-Thou art "eter '&reek petros), and upon this rock '&reek
petra) I shall build my church. 5atthew 8C
-The dying 5ercutio! 1sk for me tomorrow and you shall find
me a grave man. hakespeare, (omeo and +uliet
-Aic est sepulcrum haud pulchrum feminae pulchrae.
Pleo"as$: use of superfluous or redundant words, often enriching the
thought.
-No one, rich or poor, will be e%cepted.
-/ars pierced while you waitD
-I have seen no stranger sight since I was born.
Pol%s%"deto": the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate
words, phrases, or clauses.
-I said, 49ho killed him24 and he said, 4I don$t know who killed
him but he$s dead all right,4 and it was dark and there was
water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke
and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and
everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found
my boat where I had her inside 5ango 6ay and she was all
right only she was full of water. Aemingway, 1fter the torm
-omnia 5ercurio similis, vocem#ue colorem#ue
et crinis flavos et membra decora iuventae .ergil, 1eneid
<.@@=-?
-Aorae #uidem cedunt et dies et menses et anni, nec
praeteritum tempus um#uam revertitur, nec #uid se#uatur sciri
potest. 0icero, 3e senectute
Praeter!t!o ./#arale!#s!s0: pretended omission for rhetorical effect.
-That part of our history detailing the military achievements
which gave us our several possessions ... is a theme too
familiar to my listeners for me to dilate on, and I shall
therefore pass it by. Thucydides, 4,uneral ;ration4
-*et us make no judgment on the events of 0happa#uiddick,
since the facts are not yet all in. 1 political opponent of
enator /dward -ennedy
Prole#s!s: the anticipation, in adjectives or nouns, of the result of the
action of a verb; also, the positioning of a relative clause before its
antecedent.
-.i%i et #uem dederat cursum fortuna peregi, .ergil, 1eneid
<.C@7
-0onsider the lilies of the field how they grow.
S!$!le: an e%plicit comparison between two things using $like$ or $as$.
-5y love is as a fever, longing still
,or that which longer nurseth the disease, hakespeare,
onnet 0F*.II
-(eason is to faith as the eye to the telescope. 3. Aume I2J
-*et us go then, you and I,
9hile the evening is spread out against the sky,
*ike a patient etheri>ed upon a table... T.. /liot, The *ove
ong of +. 1lfred "rufrock
S%lle#s!s: use of a word with two others, with each of which it is
understood differently.
-9e must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang
separately. 6enjamin ,ranklin
S%"ch%s!s: interlocked word order.
-aurea purpuream subnectit fibula vestem .ergil, 1eneid
<.87?
S%"ecdoche: understanding one thing with another; the use of a part
for the whole, or the whole for the part. '1 form of metonymy.)
-&ive us this day our daily bread. 5atthew C
-I should have been a pair of ragged claws
cuttling across the floors of silent seas.
T. . /liot, 4The *ove ong of +. 1lfred "rufrock4
-The B.. won three gold medals. 'Instead of, The members
of the B.. bo%ing team won three gold medals.)
S%"es!s ./co"struct!o ad se"su$0: the agreement of words according
to logic, and not by the grammatical form; a kind of anacoluthon.
-,or the wages of sin is death. (omans C
-Then "hilip went down to the city of amaria, and preached
0hrist unto them. 1cts C
Tautolo'%: repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence.
-9ith malice toward none, with charity for all. *incoln, econd
Inaugural
,eu'$a: two different words linked to a verb or an adjective which is
strictly appropriate to only one of them.
-Nor 5ars his sword, nor war$s #uick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
-*onga tibi e%silia et vastum maris ae#uor arandum. .ergil,
1eneid
3