LAST-MINUTE REVIEW
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “LIFE IMITATES ART FAR MORE THAN ART IMITATES LIFE.” ~
(THE INIMITABLE) OSCAR WILDE
ANSWER:
• CHIASMUS (TWO PHRASES IN WHICH THE SYNTAX IS THE
SAME BUT THE PLACEMENT OF THE WORDS IS REVERSED.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• AS YOU LEARNED FOR YOUR VOCAB TEST, CELIBATE PEOPLE DO
NOT MAKE LOVE.
ANSWER
• EUPHEMISM
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “WHAT LIES BEHIND US AND WHAT LIES BEFORE US
ARE TINY COMPARED TO WHAT LIES WITHIN US.” ~
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
ANSWER
• ANAPHORA (THE REPETITION OF A WORD OR GROUP OF
WORDS AT THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESSIVE PHRASES,
CLAUSES, OR SENTENCES.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “BEFORE, A JOY PROPOSED; BEHIND, A DREAM.” ~
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
ANSWER
• PARALLELISM
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “IN THE BED OF THE RIVER THERE WERE PEBBLES AND BOULDERS,
DRY AND WHITE IN THE SUN, AND THE WATER WAS CLEAR AND
SWIFTLY MOVING AND BLUE IN THE CHANNELS.” ~ ERNEST
HEMINGWAY
ANSWER
• POLYSYNDETON (THE DEVICE OF REPEATING CONJUNCTIONS IN
CLOSE SUCCESSION)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “ALL MEN KILL THE THING THEY LOVE.” ~ OSCAR WILDE
(BECAUSE WOW, CAN THAT MAN DANCE!)
ANSWER
• PARADOX (A STATEMENT THAT SEEMS ABSURD OR EVEN
CONTRADICTORY BUT THAT OFTEN EXPRESSES A DEEPER TRUTH)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• IN THE PRIME OF HIS LIFE, HE WAS CUT DOWN.
ANSWER
• PERIODIC SENTENCE (A SENTENCE THAT DELAYS INTRODUCING THE
SUBJECT AND VERB [OR INDEPENDENT CLAUSE] UNTIL THE END.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• "DISABLED ," BY CONTRAST, SUGGESTS ANY INCAPACITY, PHYSICAL
OR MENTAL. AND I CERTAINLY DON'T LIKE "HANDICAPPED," WHICH
IMPLIES THAT I HAVE DELIBERATELY BEEN PUT AT A DISADVANTAGE,
BY WHOM I CAN'T IMAGINE (MY ( 25 ) GOD IS NOT A
HANDICAPPER GENERAL), IN ORDER TO EQUALIZE CHANCES IN THE
GREAT RACE OF LIFE. ~ NANCY MAIRS (“I AM A CRIPPLE”)
ANSWER
• EUPHEMISM
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “NOT THAT I LOVED CAESAR LESS, / BUT THAT I LOVED
ROME MORE.” ~ BRUTUS IN SHAKESPEARE’S JULIUS
CAESAR
ANSWER
• ANTITHESIS (THE CONTRASTING OF IDEAS BY THE USE OF
PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN PHRASES OR CLAUSES)
• STUDY TIP: GO BACK AND JUXTAPOSE EXAMPLES OF
CHIASMUS AND ANTITHESIS TO CLARIFY THE DISTINCTION IN
YOUR MIND.
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “I CAME. I SAW. I CONQUERED.” ~ JULIUS CAESAR
ANSWER
• ASYNDETON (THE OMISSION OF COORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS [READ: FANBOYS], SUCH AS IN A SERIES.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• IT’S NOTHING. I’M JUST BLEEDING TO DEATH IS ALL.
ANSWER
• LITOTE (DELIBERATE UNDERSTATEMENT. OFTEN, THOUGH
NOT ALWAYS, AN IDEA IS AFFIRMED BY NEGATING ITS
OPPOSITE. THIS EXAMPLE DOES NOT DO THAT.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• IF I’VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I’VE TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES,
DO NOT USE 2ND PERSON PRONOUNS IN YOUR WRITING.
ANSWER
• HYPERBOLE (EXCESSIVE OVERSTATEMENT OR CONSCIOUS
EXAGGERATION OF FACT – OPPOSITE OF LITOTE.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• THE CROWN CARRIES MANY RESPONSIBILITIES.
ANSWER
• METONYMY (A FIGURE OF SPEECH IN WHICH SOMETHING
IS REFERRED TO BY ONE OF ITS ATTRIBUTES)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• WANT TO TAKE A RIDE IN MY NEW WHEELS?
ANSWER
• SYNECDOCHE (A FIGURE OF SPEECH IN WHICH A PART OF
AN ENTITY IS USED TO REFER TO THE WHOLE ~OR~ WHEN
A GENUS IS REFERRED TO BY A SPECIES.)
• STUDY TIP: JUXTAPOSE METONYMY AND SYNECDOCHE
EXAMPLES TO CLARIFY THE DISTINCTION..
NAME THAT DEVICE
• THE WORD “SOPHOMORE” MEANS “WISE FOOL.”
ANSWER
• OXYMORON (THE JUXTAPOSITION OF TWO
CONTRADICTORY TERMS)
• STUDY TIP: JUXTAPOSE AN EXAMPLE OF AN OXYMORON
AND AN EXAMPLE OF A PARADOX TO DISTINGUISH
BETWEEN THE TWO
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “I COME TO BURY CAESAR, NOT TO PRAISE HIM.” ~ MARC
ANTONY IN JULIUS CAESAR
ANSWER
• ANTITHESIS (THE CONTRASTING OF IDEAS BY THE USE OF
PARALLEL STRUCTURE IN PHRASES OR CLAUSES)
• DID YOU JUXTAPOSE ANTITHESIS AND CHIASMUS LIKE I
SUGGESTED???
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “TO STOP TOO FEARFUL, AND TOO FAINT TO GO.”
ANSWER
• CHIASMUS
• BY THE WAY, IF YOU ARE SITTING IN FRONT OF YOUR COMPUTER
WITH THE LIST OF TERMS I GAVE YOU RATHER THAN WITH
FLASHCARDS YOU HAVE MADE, YOUR STUDY SKILLS ARE
PERFUNCTORY AND INEFFECTIVE.
NAME THAT DEVICE
• WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET
GOING.
ANSWER
• CHIASMUS
• BY THE WAY, IF YOU ARE NOT MAKING ADDITIONAL
FLASHCARDS WITH THESE ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES, YOUR
STUDY SKILLS ARE SUBSTANDARS.
NAME THAT DEVICE
• JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT’S SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE
WATER, A SHARK BITES YOU.
ANSWER
•PERIODIC SENTENCE (BECAUSE YOU ARE LEFT IN
SUSPENSE. REMEMBER, PERIODIC SENTENCES LEAVE
YOU HANGING UNTIL THE END; CUMULATIVE
SENTENCES PILE ON DETAILS AFTER THE MAIN IDEA
LIKE CARS ON A TRAIN ENGINE.)
NAME THAT DEVICE
•HE IS NOT UNFRIENDLY.
ANSWER
• LITOTE (UNDERSTATEMENT)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL KNOW ONLY THE TRIVIAL SIDE
OF LOVE; IT IS THE FAITHLESS WHO KNOW LOVE’S
TRAGEDIES.” ~ LORD HENRY IN THE PICTURE OF DORIAN
GRAY BY OSCAR WILDE
ANSWER
• PARADOX
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “IT IS RATHER FOR US TO BE HERE DEDICATED TO THE GREAT TASK
REMAINING BEFORE US -- THAT FROM THESE HONORED DEAD WE
TAKE INCREASED DEVOTION TO THAT CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY GAVE
THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION -- THAT WE HERE HIGHLY
RESOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN -- THAT
THIS NATION, UNDER GOD, SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM --
AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE
PEOPLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH.” ~ ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IN THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
ANSWER
• EPISTROPHE (THE REPETITION OF A WORD OR GROUP OF
WORDS AT THE END OF SUCCESSIVE PHRASES, CLAUSES,
OR SENTENCES)
• THIS DEVICE IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHICH DEVICE?
NAME THAT DEVICE
• “AS CAESAR LOVED ME, I WEEP FOR HIM. / AS HE WAS
FORTUNATE, I REJOICE AT IT. / AS HE WAS VALIANT, I
HONOR HIM. / BUT AS HE WAS AMBITIOUS, I SLEW HIM.”
~ BRUTUS IN SHAKESPEARE’S JULIUS CAESAR
ANSWER
• ANAPHORA (REPEATED USE OF A WORD OR PHRASE AT THE START OF
SUCCESSIVE PHRASES OR SENTENCES FOR EFFECT)
• SOMETHING TO PONDER: WHY ARE SO MANY OF THESE EXAMPLES
FROM JULIUS CAESAR? (NO, NOT BECAUSE I ALSO TEACH THAT PLAY,
THOUGH THAT IS TRUE AND I LOVE THE PLAY. . . .)
NAME THAT DEVICE
• MY TEACHER IS A TOTAL PSYCHOPATH.
ANSWER
• HYPERBOLE
NAME THAT DEVICE
• THE TITLE OF WILLIAM FAULKNER’S NOVEL THE SOUND
AND THE FURY.
ANSWER
• ALLUSION (AN IMPLICIT REFERENCE WITHIN A LITERARY WORK
TO A HISTORICAL OR LITERARY PERSON, PLACE, THING, OR
EVENT.)
• IF YOU TOOK ENGLISH II HONORS LAST YEAR AND DO NOT
RECALL THE SOURCE OF THIS ALLUSION, HANG YOUR HEAD IN
SHAME. . . .
A CLOSING NOTE ON ALLUSIONS
• ALLUSIONS ARE LIKE CULTURAL “INSIDERS,” SO TO SPEAK. THE ARTS ARE
FULL OF THEM. YOU SEE THEM IN VISUAL ART, IN LITERARY ART, IN MUSIC.
(SEE WHAT I DID THERE? NAME THAT DEVICE.)
• ALLUSIONS THEREFORE ARE CULTURE-SPECIFIC. INSOFAR AS AMERICAN
CULTURE IS A WESTERN CULTURE, OUR BIG SOURCES FOR ALLUSIONS
ARE 1. GREEK MYTHOLOGY; 2. THE BIBLE; 3. SHAKESPEARE. (OBVIOUSLY,
ALLUSION SOURCES WOULD LOOK DIFFERENT IN, SAY, IRAN OR INDIA.)
• THEREFORE, IF YOU PLAN TO SERIOUSLY STUDY THE ARTS OF A CULTURE,
YOU OUGHT TO HAVE A SOLID GROUNDING IN THEIR CULTURAL
FOUNDING IDEAS.
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