Literature Questions
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A mnemonic device that stands for Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker. It is a handy way to remember the various elements that make up the rhetorical situation.
A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information.
A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule.
The deliberate use of a series of conjunctions.
Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others. Polemics generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.
One's intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing.
A question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer.
A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true.
The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing.
To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument.
The study of effective, persuasive, language use; according to Aristotle, use of the "Available means of persuasion."
A Greek term that refers to suffering but has come to be associated with broader appeals to emotion; one of Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals (see ethos and logos).
An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing.
A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.
a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.
instead of dealing with the actual issue, it attacks a weaker or oversimplified version of the argument
A word, phrase, or clause that qualifies or describes another word phrase, or clause.
Characteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing
An assertion, usually supported by evidence.
The use of tropes or figures of speech; going beyond literal meaning to achieve literary effect.