The Power of Rhetorical Devices

What is Rhetoric? Rhetorical Devices: techniques strategically used by a speaker/author to convey a message to the reader/listener. Rhetorical Devices are intended to have a certain effect on the audience. Rhetoric portrays the meaning of the speech/paper with the goal of persuading the audience to believe what they are saying.

Alliteration Repetition of the initial consonant sounds beginning several words in sequence. _________________________________ "Let us go forth to lead the land we love.” -President Kennedy, 1961 "Veni, vidi, vici.” –Julius Ceaser

Allusion Brief or casual reference to a famous person, historical event, place or work of art. Sources include well known history, myth, Bible, movie, novel, or music. _____________________________ “Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” Note: The reference here is to the biblical character Noah.

Assonance Repetition of the same vowel sounds in words close to each other. ____________________________________________________ "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.“ –The Lord’s Prayer "The gloves didn't fit. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.“ -Johnny Cochran, Closing Arguments from the O.J. Simpson Trial

Anaphora The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines. ___________________________________________________________ "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender." (British Prime Minister; Winston Churchill)

Anadiplosis Repeating the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause. __________________________________ As Nietzsche said, "Talent is an adornment; an adornment is also a concealment." Ann Landers once claimed, "The poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy. The single wish to be married, and the married wish to be dead."

Antistrophe Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. ____________________________________________________ "In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo - without warning. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia - without warning. In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria - without warning. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia - without warning. Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland - without warning. And now Japan has attacked Malaya and Thailand - and the United States - without warning.“ -President Roosevelt

Antithesis Opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. ________________________________________________ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (Neil Armstrong) "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more". (" Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare)

Apostrophe A turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present. _____________________________________________ "For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel. Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him". -Mark Antony in Julius Caesar William Shakespeare

Climax Arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of ascending power. Often the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause is repeated as the first emphatic word of the next. "One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." (Tennyson, " Ulysses")

Euphemism Substitution of an agreeable or at least non- offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant. _______________________________________ Euphemism for “stupid”: A few fries short of a Happy Meal. Euphemism for “ugly”: Not that attractive… How would you say “someone has died?”

Hyperbole Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect. _______________________________________ “If you call me that name again, I'm going to explode!” “I nearly died laughing.”

Hypophora When the speaker raises a question and then immediately answers it. "Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't." (Pete Seeger in Loose Talk, ed. by Linda Botts, 1980) "Ask any mermaid you happen to see, 'What's the best tuna?' Chicken of the Sea." (television commercial)

Imagery Vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste). 'The bed linens might just as well be ice and the clothes snow.' From Robert Frost's "The Witch of Coos"

Metaphor a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. “Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage. " (Shakespeare, Macbeth )

Oxymoron Apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which seem to contradict one another. Contrasting ideas combined to make one meaning. “I must be cruel only to be kind.“ (Shakespeare, Hamlet) "Hurts so good…“ (John Cougar Melancamp) “Jumbo Shrimp”

Paradox An assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it. “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young." (George Bernard Shaw)

Parallelism When the speaker/author establishes similar patterns of grammatical structure and length in their writing. For instance, "King Alfred tried to make the law clear, precise, and equitable." The previous sentence has parallel structure in use of adjectives. However, the following sentence does not use parallelism: "King Alfred tried to make clear laws that had precision and were equitable."

Personification Attribution of human qualities/characteristics to non- human things or objects. The sun smiled down on the town. The clouds cried that evening.

Repetition Using a word, phrase or clause more than once in a passage (REPEATING a word, clause, or phrase). "Love," he wrote, "is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.“ Robert Frost

Rhetorical Question A thought-provoking question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. If the speaker asked an entire audience, “What did you want to be when you grew up?” -Obviously, he doesn’t expect the audience to answer him, he just wants to make them think.

Simile An explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'. “My love is as a fever, longing still For that which longer nurseth the disease" (Shakespeare, Sonnet CXLVII) “Reason is to faith as the eye to the telescope" (D. Hume) “Let us go then, you and I, While the evening is spread out against the sky, Like a patient etherized upon a table" (T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”)

Syllepsis Use of a word with two others, with each of which it is understood differently. “We must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Tricolon Series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses. (Obama once used this device 22 times in one speech!) “I came. I saw. I conquered.” Julius Caesar “We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow.” Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

Verbal Irony Expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another. 1.Looking at her son's messy room, Mom says, "Wow, you could win an award for cleanliness!“ 2. On the way to school, the school bus gets a flat tire and the bus driver says, "Excellent! This day couldn't start off any better!“ 3. Mark is very upset over the fact that his brand new truck has a little speck of mud on the bumper, and Jennifer, who has a used car, says, "My goodness! That's a shame!"

3 Part List Exactly what it looks like. A list that is made up of three parts; listing three things. Homes lost, jobs shed, and businesses shattered. “We have the best product on the market. We have the best team. Yet we did not make the sales target.”