1. Beyond My Wildest TROPES and SCHEMES!
Rhetorical Tropes & Schemes in Writing and Speech

2. Rhetorical Tropes
Trope: ______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________
Essentially, artful ___________
Many literary devices are actually tropes
Tropes are poetic, but they can also change the tone of the writing—more playful, more solemn, more formal—it all depends on the context
First, a few familiar faces…

3. Rhetorical Tropes Hyperbole Oxymoron Simile Metaphor Personification
Exaggeration for effect
Oxymoron
Self-contradictory phrase – “cold fire”
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Allusion
Sensory Imagery

4. Paradox para- = “contrary to,” dox- = “opinion”
_______________________________________ ____________________
Darth Vader is the epitome of a heroic villain: true, he exterminates the Jedi and murders countless innocents, but by throwing the Emperor to his death, he also saves the galaxy.
Note the difference from an oxymoron: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Litotes
“LIE-toe-tees”
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He was not uncharitable toward his foes.
Usually functions as a form of understatement; he clearly wasn’t hugely generous, but he was somewhat charitable.
“But their response, it didn’t thrill us / They locked the doors and tried to kill us.” --Weird Al Yankovic, “The Saga Begins…”
Here understatement is sarcastic. Not only did it fail to thrill us; it really upset us.

6. Euphemism eu- = “good/true,” phem- = “speak”
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They’re not civilian casualties! They’re collateral damage!
I’m not a criminal! I’m a troubled youth!
It’s not abortion! It’s reproductive health services!
I’m not a garbage man! I’m a waste disposal engineer!

7. Rhetorical Schemes
Scheme: _____________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________
Essentially, artful ____________
Tend to have Greek names describing their function
Schemes serve to call attention to certain elements in the sentence, change its tone, show relationships among ideas, or simplify eliminate awkwardness or create euphony.

8. Parallelism
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parallelism of words: She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate.
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parallelism of phrases: Singing songs, writing poems, and constructing cathedrals all glorify God.
parallelism of clauses: “The elephant is larger, the horse is swifter and stronger, the butterfly is far more beautiful, the mosquito is more prolific, even the simple sponge is more durable.” —Inherit the Wind

9. Parallelism
Be the companion of his thought, the friend of his friendship, the lover of his virtue—but no kinsman of his sin —Ralph Waldo Emerson
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How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints —C.S. Lewis

10. Rhetorical Climax
“…you’re also likely to be tense, shaken—anything but reassured.” —Peter Suderman
“Political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness.” —George Orwell
_______________________________
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End with longest or most significant
Must have _______________________________ _________________________________________

11. Ellipsis
And so the losers grow more aggrieved in defeat and the winners less generous in victory. —James Poniewozik
Happy the natural college thus self-instituted around every natural teacher; the young men of Athens around Socrates; of Alexander around Plotinus; of Paris around Abelard… —Ralph Waldo Emerson
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12. Anaphora Literally: “carrying back”
Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of the age? Corinthians 1:20
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 Winston Churchill, 1941
Literally: “carrying back”
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13. Anastrophe (Inversion)
Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try —Master Yoda
Punished we were, disproportionate to the crime! —Hector Barbossa
Gathered along the ramp were firefighters in their black helmets and black coats.
—Suzanne Berne
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How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.
And on the boy who lived in their letters, the splendid phantom who lived in all my hopes, it seemed to me I saw at last, my own face.

14. Antithesis
Americans in need are not strangers; they are citizens; not problems, but priorities. —George W. Bush, 2001 Inaugural
…Your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.
—Barack Obama, 2009 Inaugural
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints… —Billy Joel (never elected)
When he dives, the movie soars. —Peter Suderman
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15. Antimetabole
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country —John F. Kennedy
The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right —G.K. Chesterton
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16. Antimetabole!
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind —attr. to Dr. Seuss
There are some who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change. —Sarah Palin
People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power. —Bill Clinton

17. Zeugma Literally: “yoke” (not “yolk”)
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I bought the salesman’s story, and his product.
He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men. —Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried
You held your breath and the door for me —Alanis Morrissette
I’m gonna lose my temper and some sleep —Brad Paisley
You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff —Groucho Marx, Duck Soup