Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Verbal Irony























Verbal Irony: A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of the intended meaning.

EX. The simple comment "Oh Great" after something horrible happens is an example of verbal irony, in which the speaker's statement is the opposite of the intended meaning. - Mohammad.

Onomatopoeia


Onomatopoeia: a word or phrase that imitates the sound made by something else. -David Ayer
"Oink" said Bob, imitating the sound of a pig.

Dramatic Irony


Dramatic Irony- When the words and action of the characters of the work of literature have a different meaning for the reader then they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader knowing more than the character. Ex: In Romeo and Juliet we know that Juliet isn't truly dead at first, but Romeo doesn't.
Sam

Synedoche

Synedoche: A term denoting a part that represents a whole, or a whole representing a part.

Example: Ramon's push-up-bra breast tops were freckled from too much sun, not that Jimmy was much interested in those any more. He was familiar with the tectonics of cantilevered mammary-gland support devices by now, and anyway he found Ramon's new matronly air repellant. (Oryx and Crake, 175)


Deductive Reasoning





Deductive Reasoning Definition: Deductive Reasoning assumes that the conclusion must be true because it follows the statements of the premises. If you deny the conclusion, that means that one of the premises must be untrue. As long as you use the word "all" correctly in the premise, the conclusion must be true, and thus valid.

Examples: All creatures need water to live, and I am a creature. This concludes that I need water to live. Because both premises are true, the conclusion is true.

All Monkeys like bananas, and Lucy is a monkey. Therefore, Lucy likes bananas.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Parallelism - SC






Parallelism definition: A identifiable similarity in structure between 2 or more consecutive sentences, clauses, phrases, words, etc. Gives a sense of balance in syntax placement.

Example: Bold font is where Parallelism seems to be at work.


Tyler Durden: Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

Fight Club. Dir: David Fincher. Actor: Brad Pitt. Writer: Chuck Palaniuk. Film. Fox 2000 Pictures, 1999.

Didactic




A didactic is a piece of literature or other forms of media that instructs or informs the reader in a way that sometimes almost takes away from the artistic aspect of the media.

The Bible is a didactic because it instructs its believers on their moral decisions and the consequences of their choices.
“The Internet for Dummies” is also a didactic because it teaches its readers how to use the Internet is an easy way.

Information from: www.merriam-webster.com
www.grammar.about.com

Understatement-Chowyu Zhang

Understatement deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. When the writer's audience can be expected to know the true nature of a fact which might be rather difficult to describe adequately in a brief space, the writer may choose to understate the fact as a means of employing the reader's own powers of description.

Antithesis



DEFINITION:
An antithesis is a counter-statement that emphasizes the previous statement with an obvious and intentional contrast in meaning. It is often introduced in parallel structure with its previous, to stress their differences. In fiction, it is also used to define a character who is in some aspect (often moral values, life perspective, etc) the opposite of another character.

EXAMPLES:
“If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.” (VirtualSalt)
“But unlike Google which makes its millions from helping you find what you’re looking for, StumbleUpon helps you discover content that you may not be looking for but will probably find interesting.” (Pronet Advertising)

WORKS CITED:

Harris, Robert. “A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices.” VirtualSalt. N.p., 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. .
Saleem, Muhammad. “StumbleUpon: The Antithesis of Google?” Pronet Advertising. ACS, 8 Oct. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.

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exclamation



an abrupt utterance; a loud complaint or protest or reproach. (princton.edu)

ex: A congressman exclaimed "you lie!" during Obama's speech.

Didactic



Didactic: Intended for instruction in a scholarly (and often rather patronizing) way.

Example: The boring, didactic speaker was inclined to lecture others too much.

Communicate


A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

For example, crown would mean royalty.

Situational Irony



An example of a situation where the end contradicts with the means.

Long explanation of example: The phrase "Global Warming" implies that the world will warm up and temperature will increase worldwide. In the picture however, Hawaii, a typically tropical area, is frozen over. How can there be global warming, but Hawaii be frozen over? That would be a case of situational irony.

Short explanation:
Global warming -> hot.
Hawaii-> hot.
Hawaii and ice -> what?


Another example if you really don't get it: A firestation on fire. (Mr. Purdom's example.)

Pun















Pun - A type of word play in which similar senses or sounds two words or phrases are confused.

I used to have a fear of hurdles, but i got over it.

Ellipsis


















A ellipsis is omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the listener or reader.

EX: Ms. Green owns 105 cats, her sister 31.

Analogy




Neil Magnuson

English Honors, Purdom

Period 7



Analogy



Definition: Analogy compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended.



Definition Credit: http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric4.htm#Analogy



My Definition: an analogy is something that shows how two things relate by comparing the first two things with another two things that relate in the same way. Often related too something that happens reoccurringly so the average person can understand.



My Examples:

· The flashy sports car was really low to the ground like it was a person doing the limbo.

· He is the strongest man of the group, like an alpha lion, leader of the pack.

· Doe is to ray as one is to two. (both are related by “sequence” aspect)

· Having kids and sex is like bread and butter. (they both go together)





Two things relate in a certain way. An analogy uses the same way the first two things relate by relating two new things that relate in the exact same way. Used for someone who doesn’t understand how the first two things relate and needs to see something he or she is familiar with in order to understand.

Oxymoron



oxymoron: conjoining contradictory terms.

The deafening silence after the thunder brought fear and confusion.

Zori

Oxymoron

Bittersweet
Black soil and baking heat
Sweat of bowed backs and little feet
Ripen as brown cacao meat
Add to the bitter for something sweet
Confectioners make a molten treat
For those of means fine dessert to eat

Contradictory in origin and in taste
Edible oxymorons don't go to waste
It is with care and not with haste
that we call you Bittersweet

Oxymoron

Oxymoron: Figure that binds together two words that are ordinarily contradictory.
Example: "Jumbo Shrimp" is an oxymoron because "jumbo" means large and "shrimp" means small. "Jumbo" and "shrimp" are contradictory words.

Monday, March 29, 2010

(Parenthesis)

Parenthesis: the use of an aside inserted into the middle of another sentence, set apart by rounded parentheses or dashes.


Example: Roger Ebert gave the movie a thumbs-down–and it was one to which he was looking forward–because it didn't live up to his expectations.

Inductive Reasoning


Definition:
"A.) Any form of reasoning in which the conclusion, though supported by the premises, does not follow form them necessarily.
B.) The process of estimating the validity of observations of part of a class of facts as evidence for a proposition about the whole class." -Random House Dictionary

Example:
All observed crows are black. Therefore: all crows are black.
(I didn't make up the lame example; it's supposedly famous, I swear!)

Dramatic Irony


Definition: When the reader knows a piece of information that the characters in the story do not know and when the characters have a different understanding of the words or actions of the characters.

Example: In Romeo and Juliet when Romeo believes that Juliet is truly dead when the reader knows she is merely under the influence of the potion and poisons himself.



Euphemism

Euphemism:

Substitution for an offensive word that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.


Example:



A bun in the oven instead of pregnant.

Paradox


A paradox is a statement that seems true, but contradicts itself when analyzed.

EX: This statement is false.

EX in image: I always lie.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Anaphora





Anaphora: Rhetorical term for the repetition of a term, with parallelism, at the start of successive clauses. Can be used for emphasis or to stress a point.

Ex: He sang his favorite song, sang his mother's favorite song, and finally, sang his father's favorite song.

Albert

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

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hello

What is Rhetoric?


What is Rhetoric?
Simple: It is the practice of using language effectively to please or persuade.

This is the blog/wiki for 7th period Honors English at Albany High School. This site will provide a common location for the class to define and explore all things rhetorical. All class members are contributors to the site.