Transcript Rhetorical Devices:

Rhetorical Devices:
More than you ever wanted
to know, almost all you will
ever need…
What is Rhetoric?
• The basis of this class…how
people use language to
create meaning.
• Don’t forget the rhetorical
triangle
• Modes: narration, description,
process analysis,
exemplification,
compare/contrast,
classification/division, definition,
cause/effect…
Schemes and Tropes
• In classical rhetoric, the tropes and
schemes fall under the canon of style.
These stylistic features certainly do
add spice to writing and speaking.
And they are commonly thought to
be persuasive because they dress up
otherwise mundane language; the
idea being that we are persuaded by
the imagery and artistry because we
find it entertaining. There is much
more to tropes and schemes than
surface considerations. Indeed,
politicians and pundits use these
language forms to create specific
social and political effects by playing
on our emotions.
Definitions
• Trope: The use of a word,
phrase, or image in a way
not intended by its normal
signification.
• Scheme: A change in
standard word order or
pattern.
• Tropes and schemes are
collectively known as
figures of speech.
Tropes—involving repetition
• Alliteration- Recurrence of initial
consonant sounds.
• Assonance- Similar vowel
sounds in successive or
proximate words containing
different consonants
• Epanalepsis—(also known as
symploche) repetition of word
at beginning and at the end of
phrase or clause.
• Diacope-Repetition of a word
or phrase after an intervening
word or phrase
Tropes Involving Comparison
• Metaphor-comparison without
using like or as
• Implied Metaphor- not straight
forward; reader knows what is
being compared based on
diction
• Simile- Comparison using like or
as
• Synecdoche- substitution of
part for whole
• Metonymy-Substitution of
something associated with
another term for the term itself.
Cont’d
• Personification-giving the
characteristics of human beings
to inanimate objects.
• Analogy-Compares two things,
which are alike in several
aspects, for the purpose of
explaining through showing
something familiar.
Tropes Involving Word Play
• Pun- play on words
• Anthimeria- substituting one
part of speech for another.
• Onomatopoeia- when a sound
of a word suggests its meaning.
• Zeugma- one verb governs
several words, or clauses, each
in a different sense. Example:
“He stiffened his drink and his
spine.”
Tropes Involving Overstatement or
Understatement
• Litotes- affirmation of the
positive through denial of the
negative
• Hyperbole-overstatement
• Understatement- Deliberately
expressing an idea as less
important than it is
• Euphemism: substitution of an
agreeable or at least nonoffensive expression for one
whose plainer meaning might
be harsh or unpleasant.
Tropes Involving Meaning
• Irony- (verbal) meaning the
opposite of what you say
• Sarcasm- Saying something
with the intent of hurting
someone else
• Paradox- an apparent
contradiction that is
nevertheless true
• Oxymoron: A trope that
connects two contradictory
terms.
More tropes
• Rhetorical Question- Asking a
question and not expecting an
answer/not answered by author
• Hypophora- Raising one or more
questions and then proceeding to
answer them, usually at length
• Allusion- Short, informal reference
to a famous person, work, or event
Schemes
• Epistrophe- opposite of
anaphora; repetition
comes at the end of
successive phrases,
clauses, or sentences.
• Anaphora-repetition of
same words or word at the
beginning of successive
phrases, clauses, or
sentences, commonly with
climax and/or parallelism.
Schemes cont’d
• Antithesis: makes use of contrasting
words, phrases, sentences, or ideas for
emphasis (generally used in parallel
grammatical structures).
• Anadiplosis: Repeats the last word of
one phrase, clause, or sentence at (or
very near) the beginning of the next.
• Apostrophe: a person or an abstract
quality is directly addressed, whether
present or not.
• Antimetabole: Reversing the order of
repeated words or phrases to intensify
the final formulation, to present
alternatives, or show contrast
Cont’d
• Chiasmus-might be called
reverse parallelism since the
second part of a grammatical
structure is balanced or paired
by the first part, only in reverse
order.
• Parallelism- Recurrent syntactical
similarity/balanced structure
• Asyndeton- Omitting
conjunctions between words
• Polysyndeton- Adding
conjunctions between each
clause, phrase, word
One more thing before you go…
• Terms/Concepts you
should have learned
before today:
– Tone
– Syntax
– Diction (connotation,
denotation)