Rhetorical Devices

Diacope

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase. Sample Sentence:"They will laugh, indeed they will laugh, at his parchment and his wax." (they repeated "they will laugh" twice) "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." (diacope was "unhappy family)

alliteration

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of initial consonant sounds. Sample Sentence: Tim's took tons of tools to make toys for tots.

Catachresis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Extravagant, implied metaphor using words in an unusual way Sample Sentence: A man that studies revenge keeps his own wounds green....

Anadiplosis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or terms in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase. Sample Sentence: "For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime, Young Lycidas and hath not left his peer."

Epistrophe

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses. Sample Sentence: "Where now? Who now? When now?"

Antimetabole

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of words in reverse order. Sample Sentence: "Eat to live, not live to eat."- Socrates

Anacoluthon

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Finishing a sentence with a different grammatical structure from that with which it began. Sample Sentence: "I will have such revenges on you both, That all the world shall-I will do such things, What they are, yet I know not....."

Climax

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Most exciting moment of the story; turning point Sample Sentence: As soon as he killed Tybalt, Romeo says: "O! I am Fortune's Fool!"

Conduplicatio

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of a key word over successive phrases or clauses. Sample Sentence: "Drugs don't just destroy their victims; they destroy entire families, schools, and communities." (they repeated destroy in both clauses)

Assonance

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity. Sample Sentence:"Men sell the wedding bells." (The same vowel sound of the short vowel "-e-" repeats itself in almost all the words excluding the definite article.)

Epizeuxis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Repetition of a word of phrase for emphasis (usually with no words in between). Sample Sentence: Alone, alone, all, all alone, Alone on a wide, wide sea (The repetition of words, "alone", "all" and "wide" is creating a rhythmic effect.)

Epanalepsis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: This device repeats the opening word or phrase at the end of the sentence to emphasize a statement or idea. Sample Sentence: "A minimum wage that is not a livable wage can never be a minimum wage." "The King is dead, long live the King!"

Analogy

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: comparison of two different things that are similar in some way. Sample Sentence: "Structure of an atom is like a solar system. Nucleus is the sun and electrons are the planets revolving around their sun."

Dirimens Copulatio

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: mentioning a balancing or opposing fact to prevent the argument from being one-sided or unqualified Sample Sentence: The bus was cheap and a convenient way to travel, however it was rarely on time. (The first clause was the positive, while the second clause was the negative)

Antiphrasis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: one word irony, established by context. Sample Sentence: "Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money-and a woman-and I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it....."

Metanoia

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: qualifies a statement by recalling it (or part of it) and expressing it in a better, milder, or stronger way. Sample Sentence: "Fido was the friendliest of all St. Bernards, nay of all dogs"

Symploce

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: repeating words at both the beginning and the ending of a phrase Sample Sentence: Saint Paul wrote, "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I," (2 Corinthians 11:22).

Simile

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A comparison using like or as. Sample Sentence: •"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get." "Your as blind as a bat."

Litotes

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. In other words, a positive statement is being expressed by negating its opposite expressions. Sample Sentence: "not too bad" (Means: Very bad) "She is not a beauty queen," (Means: She's ugly)

Synecdoche

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole. Sample Sentence:The word "suits" refers to businessmen The phrase "gray beard" refers to an old man.

Understatement

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or she means; the opposite of exaggeration. Sample Sentence: "He is not too thin" while describing an obese person. "Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy" while describing deserts of the world.

Personification

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. Sample Sentence: Your phone is dropping all your calls.

Metonymy

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it. Sample Sentence:"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." (They use the term "ears" to say that he wants the people present there to listen to him attentively)

Oxymoron

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. Sample Sentence: "I can resist anything, except temptation."

Zeugma

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A general term describing when one part of speech (most often the main verb, but sometimes a noun) governs two or more other parts of a sentence (often in a series). Sample Sentence:"John lost his coat and his temper." (the verb "lost" applies to both noun "coat" and "temper")

Rhetorical Question

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A question that is asked for the sake of argument. Sample Sentence: "Who knows?" "Are you stupid?" "Did you hear me?" "Why not?"

Onomatopoeia

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A word that imitates the sound it represents. Sample Sentence: "The moan of doves in immemorial elms, and murmuring of innumerable bees..." (The Onomatopoeias were moan and murmuring)

Parenthesis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, A word, phrase, or sentence inserted as an aside in a sentence complete by itself. Sample Sentence: •"My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I was three."

Hyperbole

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, An extreme exaggeration. Sample Sentence: "She is so dumb, she thinks Taco Bell is a Mexican phone company"

Hypophora

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, Asking a question, then answering it Sample Sentence:"What made me take this trip to Africa? There is no quick explanation. Things got worse and worse and worse and pretty soon they were too complicated." (In this passage, the writer asks the question and immediately explains. )

Polysyndeton

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, Deliberate use of many conjunctions Sample Sentence: We have ships and men and money and stores. He ran and jumped and laughed for joy.

Parallelism

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, Phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other. Sample Sentence:"Alice ran into the room, into the garden, and into our hearts." (We see the repetition of a phrase that not only gives the sentence a balance but rhythm and flow as well)

Hyperbaton

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, Separation of words which belong together, often to emphasize the first of the separated words or to create a certain image. Sample Sentence: Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.... (This disordering of words helps in emphasizing the phrase "virtue fall".)

Parataxis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, The placement of phrases or clauses right next to each other, without conjunctions. Sample Sentence: "Veni, vidi, vici" or, "I came, I saw, I conquered." (There are no conjunctions or joining words used. The phrases are used equally)

Pleonasm

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, Use of redundant words, often enriching thought. Sample Sentence: Compare- "I know you will come." to "I know that you will come." "I am eating a burger." to "I am eating a tuna fish burger."

Scesis Onomaton

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, a series of successive, synonymous expressions. Sample Sentence: That is heart-breaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America"

Sentential Adverb

Part of Speech: Adverb Definition: a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the adverb. Sample Sentence: Compare- "But the lake was not drained before April." "But the lake was not, in fact, drained before April."

Aposiopesis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: ("a falling silent") a breaking off in the middle of a sentence, the syntax of which is never resumed. Sample Sentence: "All quiet on Howth now. The distant hills seem. Where we. The rhododendrons. I am a fool perhaps, He gets the plums, and I the plumstones. Where I come in."

Chiasmus

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: 1. A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed. 2. A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed ("Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary.") Sample Sentence: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You."

Sententia

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: 1. Figure of argument in which a wise, witty, or pithy maxim or aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material. 2. Opinion Sample Sentence: "So, I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord' " -- Martin Luther King, Jr

Apostrophe

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: 1. punctuation mark; 2. appeal to someone not present (a figure of speech) Sample Sentence: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still."

Exemplum

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A brief story used to make a point in an argument or to illustrate a moral truth. Sample Sentence: The Delana spider, family Sparassidae, has the ability to jump to catch its prey."

Epithet

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or something. Sample Sentence: "The earth is crying-sweet, And scattering-bright the air, Eddying, dizzying, closing round, With soft and drunken laughter..." (The description of the air and earth is enhanced by the usage of epithets: crying-sweet, scattering-bright, and soft and drunken laughter.)

Appositive

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately or defines or amplifies its meaning. Sample Sentence: Don't leave your shoes there, or my dog, Ollie, will munch them. (In this example, the appositive is Ollie. It is in apposition (as it's called) to my dog.)

Enumeration

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A numbered list. Sample Sentence:In competitive swimming, a medley is an event during which each contestant swims four different strokes: the breast stroke, back-stroke, butterfly and freestyle.

Eponym

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A person for whom something is or is thought to be named. The substitution of the name of a famous person recognized or famous for a particular attribute, for that attribute. Sample Sentence: "That little Hitler is fooling nobody" "You don't need to be Einstein to see that .... "

Anaphora

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: A rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or sentences. Sample Sentence: "O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?"

Enthymeme

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: An argument in which one premise is not explicitly stated. Sample Sentence:"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit." (The glove doesn't fit the defendant. The glove is evidence. Therefore, you must acquit the defendant)

Distinctio

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: An elaboration on a particular meaning of a word in order to prevent any misunderstanding or ambiguity. Sample Sentence: "The operation will need to be completed quickly; that is, within three months."

Antithesis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: An exact opposite Sample Sentence: "Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind."

Asyndeton

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Commas used (with no conjunction) to separate a series of words, speeds up flow of sentence. X, Y, Z as opposed to X, Y, and Z. Sample Sentence: "This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely......." (The word "and" is not featured in the given lines, which could have functioned as a conjunction here.)

Aporia

Part of Speech: Noun Definition: Expression of doubt (often feigned) by which a speaker appears uncertain as to what he should think, say, or do. Sample Sentence: Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I've succeeded.

Procatalepsis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, by anticipating an objection and answering it, permits an argument to continue moving forward while taking into account points or reasons opposing either the train of thought or its final conclusions. Sample Sentence:This is a stupid question. Or is it? If we look closer we can find some important points here. Of course you know this already, so why am I pointing it out? Well recent research has added new detail...

Metabasis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, consists of a brief statement of what has been said and what will follow. Sample Sentence: "You have heard how the proposed plan will fail; now consider how an alternative might succeed."

Metaphor

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, figure of speech comparing two different things. Sample Sentence: I'm so brokenhearted about this breakup. (Your heart is not literally broken into pieces; you just feel hurt and sad)

Hypotaxis

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:, using subordination to show the relationship between clauses or phrases (and hence the opposite of parataxis). Sample Sentence: So sang a little Clod of Clay, Trodden with the cattle's feet (the second line modifies the phrase "clod of clay")

Allusion

Part of Speech: Noun Definition:A reference to another work of literature, person, or event. Sample Sentence: The town's name is an allusion to its founding family.

Amplification

Part of Speech: Verb Definition: Adding more information to it in order to increase its worth and understandability. Sample Sentence:Original sentence- The thesis paper was difficult. After amplification- The thesis paper was difficult: it required extensive research, data collection, sample surveys, interviews and a lot of fieldwork

Antanagoge

Part of Speech: noun Definition: Placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point. Sample Sentence: Many are the pains and perils to be passed.

Apophasis

Part of Speech:Noun Definition: asserts or emphasizes something by pointedly seeming to pass over, ignore, or deny it. Sample Sentence: "It's not my habit to comment on books that don't interest me or, for various reasons, I don't like."