Antanagoge is a rhetorical device that means: putting a positive point on something negative. (2) answering the charge of an adversary, by a counter charge. Example: She always forgets my birthday, but she gives me gifts during the year. He lost his job, but he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family.
What is Anacoluthon?
Anacoluthon is beginning a sentence in one syntax, but ending it in another, usually with an unexpected shift in subject. For example: “I told you not to play by the river–where did you get those coins?” Or, “Drive carefully. There’s a bump in the–I’ve said enough.” Anacoluthon is not a non-sequitur (Latin for “it does […]
Motif
What is the difference between motif and theme? A motif in narrative is a recurring element throughout a literary work. A motif can be an image, words, an object, a sound, color, or ideas. A motif is not a symbol. A symbol represents something, for example, a light bulb means “new idea”. Often symbols occur […]
Rhetorical Device Epanalepsis
President John Kennedy said, “Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind.” Our ears heard it, but we could not believe our ears. The theory sounds all wrong; but if the experiment is a success, I cant worry about theory. “Next time there won’t be a next […]
Rhetorical Devices Anastrophe and Antanaclasis
Anastrophe is the deliberate changing of normal word order for emphasis. For example: “Enter the forest primeval.” “On a black cloak sparkle the stars.” “Bright he was not.” Antanaclasis is when the same word is repeated but with a different sense each time. Antanaclasis creates comic effect when used in the form of irony and […]
Rhetorical Devices Euphony and Cacophony
The Rhetorical devices euphony and cacophony are opposites. Euphony is the use of words having pleasant and harmonious effects by using long vowels and the consonants l, m. n, r, f, v, y, th, and wh. An example of euphony is from ‘The Lotos-Eaters’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson: “The Mild-eyed melancholy lotos-eaters came.” John Keats […]
Rhetorical Device Chiasmus
The Rhetorical Device, Chiasmus means repetition of ideas in inverted order. For example: “It is boring to eat; to sleep fulfilling.” Chiasmus frequently uses the pattern above which is present participle-infinitive; infinitive-present participle. Other examples: “The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursues him.” (Voltaire) “Bad men live that they […]