Advanced Rhetorical Devices Identification vs. Purpose vs. Effect

Review Vocabulary Parallel Structure – Anaphora – Chiasmus – Antithesis –

Review Vocabulary Parallel Structure – using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance Anaphora – Repetition of a word or words at the start of a sentence or phrase Chiasmus – Reversal in syntax to make the second half have different meaning Antithesis –Two opposing ideas placed together to achieve a contrasting effect

Review Vocabulary Hyperbole – Allusion – Synecdoche -

Review Vocabulary Hyperbole - Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally Allusion - a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance Synecdoche - a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

New Vocabulary

New Vocabulary Extended Metaphor Polysyndeton Periphrasis

Extended Metaphor “It never takes longer than a few minutes, when they get together, for everyone to revert to the state of nature, like a party marooned by a shipwreck. That’s what a family is. Also the storm at sea, the ship, and the unknown shore. And the hats and the whiskey stills that you make out of bamboo and coconuts. And the fire that you light to keep away the beasts.” (Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union)

Polysyndeton

Periphrasis

Extended Metaphor A detailed comparison spanning several lines Also referred to as an epic simile or a Homeric metaphor

Extended Metaphor Example: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” (Shakespeare’s As You Like It)

Extended Metaphor Example: “Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cart wheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down.” (Dean Koontz, Seize the Night)

Purpose vs. Effect Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader

Purpose vs. Effect Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader To draw a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things To show the idea in a new light

Purpose vs. Effect Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader To draw a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things To show the idea in a new light Attention is drawn to the section Information is understood with a different perspective

Polysyndeton The use of several coordinating conjunctions in rapid succession

Polysyndeton Examples: In addition to the three standard weapons—the M-60, M-16, and M-79—they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive. They carried catch-as-catch-can. At various times, in various situations, they carried M-14s and CAR-15s and Swedish Ks and grease guns and captured AK-47s and Chi-Coms and RPGs and Simonov carbines and black market Uzis and .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handguns and 66 mm LAWs and shotguns and silencers and blackjacks and bayonets and C-4 plastic explosives. --from The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

Polysyndeton Examples: “Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly–mostly–let them have their whiteness.” --Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Purpose vs. Effect Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader

Purpose vs. Effect Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis Adds weight or insignificance to a list

Purpose vs. Effect Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis Adds weight or insignificance to a list Rhythm and emphasis draw attention to a section Manipulates mood

Periphrasis The use of excessive or longer words to convey a meaning which could have been conveyed with a shorter expression or fewer words A “roundabout” way of talking about something Also called “circumlocution”

Periphrasis Eschew obfuscation: espouse elucidation Example: -Popular joke among nerdy English teachers

Periphrasis Example: Instead of simply saying “I am displeased with your behavior”, one can say, “the manner in which you have conducted yourself in my presence of late has caused me to feel uncomfortable and has resulted in my feeling disgruntled and disappointed with you.”

Periphrasis Example: So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round: And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. --S.T. Coleridge, “Kubla Khan”

Purpose vs. Effect Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader

Purpose vs. Effect Helps create character and voice Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader Helps create character and voice To say a phrase more gently or politically correct To hide or reduce the impact of information while still being truthful

Purpose vs. Effect Helps create character and voice Author’s Purpose Effect on the Reader Helps create character and voice To say a phrase more gently or politically correct To hide or reduce the impact of information while still being truthful Reader learns a lot about a character or voice It is a persuasive technique Readers either miss the significance of the information or place less importance on it