Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Euphemism


eu·phe·mism –(noun)

1. the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
Examples: "Heavy set" vs. fat
"to pass away" vs. to die
"rest room" vs toilet

Antithesis


Antithesis: Contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses or sentences.
Easy on the eyes, hard on the heart.

Onomatopoeia



Onomatopoeia

the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.

(Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)

Situational Irony


Main Entry: iro·ny
Pronunciation: \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural iro·nies
Etymology: Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōn dissembler
Date: 1502

1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony
2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance
3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony

ex. It was ironic that Reagan was shot after the bullet ricocheted off of his "bulletproof" car.

Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Understatement is pretty unnecessary in life..


(Scan was cropped at the bottom, so I added the text on my computer)

Understatement: noun 1 : a statement represented as less than is the case
2 : a statement stated or presented with restraint especially for effect

(Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)

ex: To say that time travel is exciting would be an understatement.

Ellipsis


Definition: The omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction

Example: The New York Times calls Titanic "...a breathe taking drama".

Pun


The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/)

Example:



Tuesday, March 30, 2010

inductive reasoning




inductive reasoning: reasoning from detailed facts to general principles - dictionary.com

ex above (since you can't really read it): 3 is an odd number, 5 is an odd number, and 3+5 = 8. The answer is an even number. Therefore, we can conclude that whenever two odd numbers are added together, the answer is always an even number.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Paradox

Paradox: a statement that contradicts itself. (wordnetweb.princeton.edu)

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen." -Shakespeare, Macbeth.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Situational Irony

Analogy





analogy: Similarity in some respects between two relationships. A comparison of two relationships between two things.

Ex. Father is to son as Sun is to moon.

Ex. Man is to money as the beast is to flesh.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

What is Rhetoric?


Simple: It is the practice of using language effectively to please or persuade.
This is the blog/wiki for 6th 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.

Rhetoric Visual Assignment

The following is a list of key rhetorical strategies.  First, define your term.  Then create an 8 ½” x 11” illustration of your device that will be presented in class.  Do not write the device name on the illustration.  These will later be scanned in and can be used as a study guide for the AP test.  In addition to the illustration and definition, please come up with an additional written example of your device.  Within your class, every one of the below devices must be covered.
(Note: We will look at fallacies at a later date.)

Analogy

Anaphora

Antithesis
Deductive reasoning
Didactic
Ellipsis
Euphemism
Exclamation
Inductive reasoning
Situational Irony
Dramatic Irony
Verbal Irony
Metonymy
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Parallelism
Parenthesis
Pun
Synecdoche
Understatement

This assignment is worth 40 points.