1. Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices
English I

2. What is rhetoric?
Definition: the art of persuasive speaking or writing

3. Logos = the facts and logic
Rhetorical Appeals
Ethos = trustworthy
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
Logos = the facts and logic
Pathos = emotions

4. Rhetorical devices
Tools of Persuasion

5. Asyndeton For And Nor But Or Yet So
Definition: leaving out conjunctions in a sentence
Purpose: speeds up a speech
Example: “He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.” – Jack Kerouac

6. Polysyndeton Definition: using several conjunctions in a row
Purpose: slows down a speech
Example: The farmer took his horse, and his cow, and his chickens, and his sheep, and his pigs to the market.

7. Anaphora
Definition: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of groups of sentences or clauses
Purpose: to emphasize an idea
Example: Every day, every hour, every minute I think about food.

8. Epistrophe
Definition: repetition of a word or phrase at the end of groups of sentences or clauses
Purpose: to emphasize an idea
Example: You know my friends. You talk to my friends. You are one of my friends.

9. Tautology Definition: the repetition of meaning using similar words
Purpose: to emphasize a specific idea or term
Example: In Rome, we saw dilapidated ruins.

10. Oxymoron
Definition: two contradictory (opposite) ideas next to each other
Purpose: to get the reader’s attention
Example: jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, civil war

11. Allusion
Definition: a brief reference to a person, place, event, idea or work of art/literature
Purpose: strengthens a writer’s argument through comparison
Example: It’s hotter than Hades outside!

12. Cacophony Definition: unpleasant word sounds
Purpose: attract the reader’s attention by making them uncomfortable/irritated
Example: She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

13. Euphony Definition: pleasant word sounds
Purpose: attract the reader’s attention by making them comfortable
Example: “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!”
– The Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll

14. Chiasmus
Definition: when words or ideas are repeated in a reverse order in a sentence
Purpose: to emphasize an idea
Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” - JFK

15. Metonymy
Definition: replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else it is related to
Purpose: helps the text come together
Example: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” – Shakespeare Julius Caesar

16. Synecdoche
My new wheels!
Definition: when the part represents the whole, or the whole represents the part
Purpose: emphasize an important part
Example: I’m driving my new wheels (car). The White House made a press release.

17. Litote Definition: an understatement that uses double negatives
Purpose: to show strong emotion
Example: The ice cream was not too bad.

18. Parallelism
Definition: the repetition of similar grammatical structures; the sentence “mirrors” itself
Purpose: to balance and add rhythm to a speech/writing
Example: Like father, like son.
Whether in class, at work or at home, Bob was always busy.