Rhetorical Devices

Epithet:

A descriptive word, term, or phrase that describes a quality or trait that characterizes a person or thing. It is also a descriptive term for personal titles such as Alexander the Great. You can look at an epithet as a descriptive nickname. Example : Elvis Presley was incredibly popular and he earned the nicknames "The King of Rock and Roll" or just "The King" because of his legend in the music business and his talent in singing and playing piano and guitar.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. Metonyms can be either real or fictional concepts representing other concepts real or fictional, but they must serve as an effective and widely understood second name for what they represent. Example : The original series of Star Trek 778contained a metonymy as well, in the form of the red shirt. Most people in the series wearing red shirts die at some point through the course of the episode.

EPONYM

A person or company, real or imaginary, for who something: place, entity, discovery, procedure, quality, era, fashion or object takes or is said to take its name, be derived from, or be designated. Example : a Sarah, a Kanye These eponyms relate to an action done by someone, and are named after the person doing the action. While the eponyms convey an idea or meaning to those who have previous knowledge of it, they leave unknowing readers at a loss to understand what the writer means.

Allusion

Allusion summed up into one little definition:Allusion is a literary device that is a reference to a well known person, place, thing, and/or actual or fictitious event. Example : "He was a real Romeo with the ladies."

Aporia

An aporia is a rhetorical way of expressing a dilemma in which there is two courses of action or options. The speaker shows their perplexity by deconstructing both sides of a situation. When rhetoric, someone is pondering a choice and asking themselves about the course of action. In conversation between two people, an aporia is used to create confusion by pretending to be ignorant and give the opponent a false sense of having the upperhand. Example : Then the steward said within himself, "What shall I do?" My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis is a rhetorical term that repeats itself in the first part of the sentence as well as in the beginning of the following clause or sentence.This repetition is used for emphasis on a particular word or phrase. Examples : "Strength through purity, purity through strength"

Apophasis

Apophasis is mentioning something by not mentioning it. It includes stating explicitly that it shouldn't or won't be mentioned and suggesting it shouldn't or needn't be discussed. Examples : "I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a Phoenix metaphor been more personified!

Asydeton

Asyndeton: The deliberate removal of conjunctions that ordinarily go between clauses for a hurried or memorized effect. Example : "...they could win over the mechanics, who were a kind of middle class, who had a stake in the fight against England, who faced competition from English manufacturers."

Cacophony

Cacophony: The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition, as for poetic effect; the use of inharmonious or dissonant speech sounds in language. Opposite of euphony which is an agreeable sound, or the quality of being pleasing to the ear, esp. through a harmonious combination of words. Example : 1.The Jabberwocky by Lewis Caroll " 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths -outgrabe. "

Climax

Climax - A rhetorical device in which the terms are artistically arranged so that they appear an order of increasing emphasis and importance. Example: You fuel, you train, you push. - Commercial for the G Series.

Epanalepsis

Definition A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at regular intervals. Repetition of the same word or clause after intervening matter. More strictly, repetition at the end of a line, phrase, or clause of the word or words that occurred at the beginning of the same line, phrase, or clause. Ex. The king is dead, long live the king. Examples :"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind" John F. Kennedy

Hypophora

Definition: At its most basic level, a Hypophora is a question that a writer asks in his work, which he follows directly with and answer. Technically, the Hypophroa is only the question that is posed, the response is called the anthypophora. Hypophoras are used for a variety of purposes including introducing important information, transitioning, and creating a sense of curiosity and interest in the reader. Example : "Why did the cast rotate? A side effect of dying."

Rhetorical Question

Definition: A question that is asked without the expectation of answer. It is meant to make a point and encourage the listener/reader to think. Example 2: "Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?" -Henry Mencken

Apostrophe

Definition: Rhetorical device, not the punctuation. Occurs when a speaker (this device is used often in theater but rarely in literature) breaks off and directs their speech to a person not present (rare), or more commonly an inanimate object or an idea. Most often used as a way to capture extreme emotion; an outburst. Examples : Where, O death, thy sting? Where, O death, thy victory?" "Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk to you again."

Hyperbole

Definition: There are billions of ways to define hyperbole. It can be described as an exaggeration or figure of speech, and it is often use to add humor or emphasis to a work or section. Example : "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole elephant!"

SYLLEPSIS

Definition: the use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense; usually used for comical or satirical effect; usually, but not always, the one word does not syntactically work with both words or phrases that follow *while the two words have merged together in recent times, syllepsis is generally regarded as a specific type of zeugma Extra Example: "she and they have promised to come."

ZEUGMA

Definition: the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one Examples : "Kill the boys and the luggage!" "He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel/ the other on my heart" -Taylor Swift, "Our Song"

Euphemism

Euphemisms are phrases that generally soften the real meaning. We use them in place of offensive words or harsh phrases. They could be misleading, but their purpose is to weaken what they truly mean. Examples : You might tell your dogs to do their business Ronald Reagan disguised taxes by calling them revenue enhancements. They were taxes, but they went by a different name that sounded more pleasing. The euphemism was a bit misleading, but that was their goal

CHIASMUS

General Definition: (pronounced "ky-AZ-mus") A chiasmus ultimately occurs when the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases are reversed. In this given scenario, the second half of a common expression is balanced against the initial beginning as it's components switch to an opposing inquiry. Examples : "Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair."-"Winners never quit, and quitters never win."-

Gradatio

Gradatio - A rhetorical term of emphasizing the increasing order of magnitude in which the last word of the previous clause is repeated at the beginning of the next. A gradatio is an extended anadiplosis that continues through three or more clauses. Examples : "Aboard my ship, excellent performance is standard. Standard performance is sub-standard. Sub- standard performance is not allowed."

Parallelism

Parallelism is an arrangement of the parts of a composition so that elements of equal importance are balanced in similar constructions. This arrangement may be applied to words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, or complete units of compositions. Examples : "I came, I saw, I conquered"

POLYSYNDETON:

Polysyndeton is the use of many conjunctions in a single sentence, even if they are not necessarily needed. It is often used to show happiness and excitement by writers. Example : "And we'll love again, and we'll laugh again, and we'll fly again, and we'll dance again."

Synecdoche

Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent a whole or a whole for a part, the specific for the general or the general for the specific. Example : I want my own set of wheels.

Anaphora and Epistrophe

The definition of a anaphora can be stated as: A word or phrase placed at the beginning of several consecutive clauses. The purpose of this is to strengthen a specific idea or the passage as a whole. The definition of a epistrophe can be stated as: A word or phrase placed at the end of several consecutive clauses. The purpose of this is to strengthen a specific idea or the passage as a whole. Examples : 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;

Understatement

Used to draw attention to something by making it seem in significant. Usually used for humor, sarcasm, or irony Examples : "The food was tolerable" - on the food that was prepared by the best chef in the world. "I know a little about running a company" - comment by a successful businessman. "I think we have slightly different opinions on this topic" - instead of saying "I don't agree with you at all.

Anastrophe

When the normal syntactical structure (sentence structure) is violated to create emphasis, it is referred to as an anastrophe. Anastrope may also be referred to as being a more complex definition of an hyperbaton as they mean nearly the same thing. Hyperbaton changes the position of only one word. The usual word order may be altered changing the way the sentence sounds. It may also be an inversion of clauses in the sentence that creates the emphasis. Examples : Glistens the dew upon the morning grass. (Normally: The dew glistens upon the morning grass) She looked at the sky dark and menacing. (Normally: She looked at the dark and menacing sky)

Euphony

a pleasant enjoyable sound that is formed by combination of words that create a smooth enunciation of letters and syllables. For example It is used in lullabies. Examples : Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -Only this, and nothing more.'

Litotes

an understatement where the author expresses an idea indirectly by stating that the opposite opinion is untrue. There are two ways to use litotes. They can be exploited to make the writer seem humble and modest; In this way, the author/character is able to use ethos to connect to his audience because he makes himself similar to the majority of readers. Or, it can be written with a hint of disdain, in order to embarrass or humble the whomever the litotes is directed to, be it the reader or another character. Examples : "We are not amused." "Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record?"

aphorism

aphorism is a brief statement which expresses an observation on life, usually intended as a wise observation. Examples: Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac" contains numerous examples, one of which is Drive thy business; let it not drive thee. which means that one should not allow the demands of business to take control of one's moral or worldly commitments. Others from "Poor Richard's Almanac": o Don't count your chickens before they hatch. o Fish and visitors smell in three days.

Metanoia/Correctio

noun: a profound, usually spiritual, transformation; conversion. The term "metanoia" is more commonly known as correctio.

(parentheses)

noun: an aside or an interjection in a sentence that adds more detail to the sentence, or adds information needed to fully understand the sentence. This interjection may be a word, a phrase, or a whole sentence. They may also be examples, translations, or definitions. YES! Dashes, commas, as well as real parentheses are all used in the same way. Here are some examples on how to use parentheses in you writing: Examples :"I would fain prove so. But what might you think, When I had seen this hot love on the wing - As I perceived it, I must tell you that, Before my daughter told me-what might you, Or my dear majesty your queen here, think..."

Epizeuxis

repetition of a word or a phrase two or more time in succession due to fervor, or emphasis. Used during intense speech or writing to make a point or express and opinion. Examples : We are never, ever, ever, getting back together

Antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, phrases, or words so as to produce the effect of blance. The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangement or words, clauses, or sentences Examples : "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King, Jr. 2.) "To err is human, to forgive, divine." Alexander