Rhetorical devices 2024

a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable

To ask a question of an audience to engage them without having a response from the audience

two things placed closely together with contrasting effect

The repetition of successive clauses or phrases at the beginning of sentences.

an implied or suggested meaning of a word or phrase; it is suggested or felt rather than being explicit

the manner in which the author expresses and controls his or her attitude

a reference to another event, person, place or work of literature

“For hours she sat with him as he shivered and slept…The colder he became, the more he melted” is

13 for good luck and 7 for bad luck is

a comparison of one thing to another to make the description more vivid; states that one thing is another.

hints or clues that suggest events yet to occur

language that is symbolic or metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally

an emotional appeal

a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases,

the audience knows something the characters don’t.

based on a presentation of image-of-self or image-of-others; reputation is sometimes a factor

word choice; creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning; different types of words have significant effect

an extravagant exaggeration of facts

a logical appeal: when a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and/or reasons

the comparison of one thing to another in order to make the description more vivid, using like, as, or than

The repetition of successive clauses or phrases at the endof sentences.

a statement that seems to be self-contradictory but, in fact, has a rational meaning

the effective use of language (speaking or writing) usually to persuade

the use of words to create a picture in the mind of the reader; can relate to any of the senses, not just sight

a conclusion one can draw from the presented details

inversion of the usual syntactical order of words for rhetorical effect

the use of words whose sounds copies the thing or process they describe

The deliberate omission of conjunctions

the opposite of what you expect to happen actually happens

the presentation of two contrasting images where ideas are balanced by word, phrase, clause, or paragraphs