Rhetorical Devices
Beyond the appeals…
Aristotle’s Appeals
Pathos
Ethos
Logos
Rhetoric
the art of effective or
persuasive speaking or
writing, esp. the use of
figures of speech and
other compositional
techniques.
Common Devices
 Humor
 Repetition
 Personification: “Blind justice wept the day
Sam Roberts was acquitted.”
 Irony: Saying one thing, but meaning another
 Imagery: Creating a sensory experience with
words
Simile/ Metaphor/ Analogy
 A good simile is like a clean window
looking into the mind of the writer.
 The metaphor is the window to the poet’s
soul.
 The analogy is as important to the writer
as the computer model is to the builder.
Analogy
 The analogy makes use of something already
well known to explain something that is less
well known.
 Uses:
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Clarify ideas
Expand ideas
Analogy
 You may think laws restricting your ability to
download music from the Internet are unfair,
but you wouldn’t steal a CD from the music
store, would you?
 If you’re going to eat fruits and vegetables
grown with pesticides, you may as well throw
yourself in front of a speeding truck.
Allusion
 You don’t have to be Holden Caulfield to
appreciate a good allusion.
 A reference to a fairly well-known event,
place or person – actual or fictional.
 Short
 Not formally introduced
 Helps the reader understand a concept or
specific emotion
Allusion
 Mythology
 Bible
 Shakespeare
 While you might think that owning your first
car might make you feel like Perseus riding
his winged horse, if you’re not careful, you
find yourself chained to a rock like
Prometheus.
Exemplum
 You’ll find this device to be very useful,
especially in research papers, for
example, when you want to cite specific
authorities or quote specific sources.
 Provides an example to illustrate the point
 Real world examples = best
Exemplum
 People are often attracted to things which are
forbidden to them. During the 1920’s, for
example, Prohibition in the United States
caused illicit alcohol sales to skyrocket.
Rhetorical Question
 Don’t you want to know how to use them
well?
 A question in which the answer is implied
 Gives the writer an opportunity to highlight
something readers know
 Use to emphasize crucial points
 ONLY use when you are 100% certain 100%
of the audience will supply the correct answer
 Most often “yes” or “no”
Rhetorical Question
 For what can war but endless war breed?
 In this age of modernity, can we truly
condone such horrific acts?
 Do you want a world in which those dearest
to you can know peace and safety or a world
in which every moment carries with it the
constant fear of death?
Hypophora
Hi-pa’-fa-ra
 So what is this? Read on, and you will see.
 Asking a question then answering it.
 Uses:
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Introduce an idea
Anticipate questions
Direct questions
Ask effective questions
Hypophora
 How do we know this to be true? We have
observed it in the lab.
 Do we then submit to our oppressor? No. No.
A thousand times, no.
 You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why
sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t
negotiation a better path?” You are quite right
in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the
very purpose of direct action.
Hyperbole
Hi-per’-ba-lee
 This is the most popular and commonly
used rhetorical device in the entire world
of rhetorical devices!
 Exaggerating part of a statement to give
emphasis or focus
 Uses:
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Energize
Humor
Highlight differences
Hyperbole
 Examples:
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The planet is getting so crowded we may have
to take turns sitting down.
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There are more reasons for NASA to find a trip
to Jupiter than there are miles in the journey.
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At these words, the people became so silent
you could hear a beating heart from across the
room.
Understatement
 You might find this device somewhat
helpful as well.
 The force of a descriptive statement is less
than what one would normally expect.
 Uses:
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To highlight how powerful an event or idea
actually is
Impact
Humor
Understatement
 Leonardo da Vinci had a good idea or two.
 The Middle East is currently having some
political squabbles.
 To the uninitiated, neurophysiology can be a
bit of a challenge.
Antithesis
An-tith’-a-sis
 A fairly simple way to show a complex
thought.
 Uses contrasts in language to bring out
contrasting ideas.
 Pleasing to the ear
 Tip:
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Alliterate the contrasting words: kind and
cruel, hope and heartache
Antithesis
 That’s one small step for man, one giant leap
for mankind.
 “not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.”
 War is not fought to achieve joy, but rather to
avoid pain.
Parallelism
 Giving students a quiz makes them groan,
but surprising them with a pop quiz makes
them scream.
 Uses the same general structure for multiple
parts of a sentence or for multiple sentences
in order to link them all.
 Matching cadence, form or the subjects
 Adds clarity and fluency
Chiasmus
Ki-az’-mus
 He smiled happily and joyfully laughed.
 A special form of parallelism
 Flips structure
Parallelism vs. Chiasmus
We can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can
not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and
dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world
will little note, nor long remember what we say here,
but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us
the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have
thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather of us to be
here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us… that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom; and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from
the earth.
Apostrophe
 My friend, if you learn to use apostrophe
well, you will surely be a beloved writer.
 Break the flow to directly address a person or
object, present or not.
 Emotional device
Apostrophe
 So the sun set over Paris – Paris, my first
love, sultry and secretive, beguiling and shy,
how I wanted to hold you forever as the sun
went down that summer day.
 Death, be not proud, though some have
called thee / Mighty and dreadful
 So we near our conclusion, and I must ask
you, my wise reader, to bear with me for one
more small digression
Asyndeton / Polysyndeton
 Asyndeton is one of the best, most
expressive, effective rhetorical devices
there is, while polysyndeton is interesting
and instructional and stylish.
 A = no conjunctions, fast-moving,
spontaneous
 Poly = many conjunctions, calculated,
increasing urgency
Asyndeton / Polysyndeton
 They sat under one roof, princes, dukes,
barons, earls, kings.
 The banquet table was a riot of beef and pork
and lamb and fish and fresh vegetables and
candied fruits and all sorts of wonderful
dainties.
 The runner passed the ten-mile mark and the
fifteen and the twenty, and the finish line
loomed in front of him.
Synecdoche
Sin-neck’-da-key
 The use of part of something to represent the
whole
EXAMPLES
 The rancher boasted about how many head
of cattle he owned.
 All hands on deck!
 I was amazed at how many mouths they had
to feed on such a small income.
Metonymy
Ma-tan’-i-me
 Refers to something closely related to the
actual object and use that as a way of
referring to the object.
 Symbols
EXAMPLES
 The White House answered its critics.
 The pen is mightier than the sword.
 Wall Street hopes to see gains today.
Synecdoche / Metonymy
 Surprise readers by inviting them to consider
a familiar idea from a new angle.
Amplification
 This is an important device – more than
mere repetition – it’s an actual expansion
of the information already given.
 Repeats what was just said, while adding
more detail and information
 Adds style
 Use: to focus the reader’s attention on an
idea he or she might otherwise miss.
 Emphasizes more than informs
Amplification
 It was a cold day, a wicked day, a day of
biting winds and bitter frost.
 Next we come to the fruit fly – the drosophila
melanogaster, that tiny, insubstantial bug, on
whom the foundations of biology have rested
for so long.
 Attitude is the most important part of living:
one’s attitude determines how one perceives,
makes decisions, and achieves success or
suffers failure.
Zeugma
Zoog’ ma
 With mastery of this device, join two
words and the ranks of skillful writers.
 Unexpected items are linked by a shared
word
 Usually eliminates verb repetition
 Help reader make connections
Zeugma
 The runner lost the race and his scholarship.
 The man ran a hundred miles, but out of time.
 The teenage sweethearts, the elderly couple,
and the flickering candles all danced late into
the night.
Rhetorical Devices
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Humor
Irony
Repetition
Imagery
Personification
Simile
Metaphor
Analogy
Allusion
Exemplum
Rhetorical question
Hypophora
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Hyperbole
Understatement
Antithesis
Parallelism
Chiasmus
Apostrophe
Asyndeton
Polysyndeton
Synecdoche
Metonymy
Amplification
Zeugma