RHETORICAL DEVICES

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RHETORICAL DEVICES

• PREPARE TO BE SCHOOLED
• by Ms. Hanzlick!

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What is rhetoric?

• the use of language to make your writing
  creative, smarter and more persuasive

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How does rhetoric relate to persuasive nonfiction?

• because persuade writers use rhetoric to make
  their writing more persuasive
• because using rhetoric is more persuasive than
  not using rhetoric

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Rhetorical Devices

• a rhetorical device is the name for one of the
  tricks that writers use to make their writing
  sound cool and more persuasive

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15 Rhetorical Devices

• Here is a list of 16 rhetorical devices, some of
  which youve heard before and others you may be
  learning now for the first time
• anaphora
• alliteration
• allusion
• asyndeton/polysyndeton
• chiasmus
• hyperbole
• metaphor
• parallelism
• personification
• pun
• rhetorical question
• sarcasm
• simile
• simple sentence
• vernacular
• persuasive appeals (logos/pathos/ethos)

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1. anaphora

• the repetition of the same word or group of words
  at the beginning of successive phrases,
  sentences, or lines
• Example
• I have a dream.
• MLK, Jr. in I Have a Dream speech

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2. alliteration

• the repetition of consonant sounds at the
  beginning of nearby words
• Examples
• She sold sea shells down by the sea shore.
• Anonymous
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
• Anonymous
• The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed
  the Negro community must not lead us to a
  distrust of all white people.
• MLK, Jr. in I Have a Dream speech

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3. allusion

• a reference to something famous
• Example
• "And I can pledge our nation to a goal When we
  see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho,
  we will not pass to the other side.
• George Bush in Inaugural Address, 2000

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4. asyndeton and polysyndeton

• asyndeton the omission of and between items in
  a list
• Example
• "There's no nation in the history of the world
  and no city that has seen more immigrants in less
  time than America. And people continue to come
  here in large, large numbers to seek freedom,
  opportunity, decency, civility.
• Rudy Giuliani, 9/11 speech to the United Nations
  General Assembly

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4. asyndeton and polysyndeton

• polysyndeton the use of and between every item
  in a list
• Example
• I want my pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni
  and mushrooms and banana peppers and a side of
  dipping sauce.

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5. chiasmus

• a sentence in which two words in the first half
  are criss-crossed in the second half
• Examples
• All for one, and one for all!
• from The Three Musketeers
• Ask not what your country can do for you, but
  what you can do for your country.
• JFKs Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

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6. hyperbole

• an exaggeration
• Example
• Im so hungry I could eat a horse!

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7. metaphor

• a comparison between two unlike things without
  using the words like or as
• Example
• "With this faith we will be able to transform the
  jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
  symphony of brotherhood.
• MLK in I Have A Dream speech (comparing the
  current state of our nation to jangling
  discords and the future state of our nation to
  a symphony)

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8. parallelism

• a word, group of words or syntactical structure
  that repeats at the beginning or end of
  successive phrases
• Example
• "...and that government of the people, by the
  people, for the people, shall not perish from the
  earth.
• Abraham Lincoln in The Gettysburg Address
• asyndeton is a type of parallelism

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9. personification

• when a nonhuman thing is given human
  characteristics
• Example
• The spirit of America weeps for a tragedy that
  denies the very meaning of our land.
• President Lyndon B. Johnson

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10. pun

• a play on words that exploits the multiple
  meanings of words or words with similar sounds
• Example
• In Shakespeares play Julius Caesar, a cobbler is
  asked what he does for a living and replies, "A
  trade sir, that, I hope, may use with a safe
  conscience, which is indeed, sir, a mender of bad
  soles."

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11. rhetorical question

• a question a writer asks but not because he wants
  an answer
• Example
• To be or not to be?
• from Hamlet by Shakespeare

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12. sarcasm

• a.k.a verbal irony
• when the actual meaning of what someone says is
  the opposite of what is said, as indicated
  through the use of tone
• Example
• If you said, The government made the genius move
  to nationalize the school curriculum, if you
  actually thought it was extremely stupid

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13. simile

• a comparison b/t two things using like or as
• Example
• Here you are walking around in America, getting
  ready to be drafted and sent abroad, like a tin
  soldier, and when you get over there, people ask
  you what are you fighting for, and you have to
  stick your tongue in your cheek.
• from The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X

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14. simple sentence

• a very short sentence amongst many long sentences
  that makes a clear, strong point

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15. vernacular

• when the speaker uses a form of a language unique
  to a particular region or group, like slang

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16. persuasive appeals

• logical appeal (logos)
• emotional appeal (pathos)
• ethical appeal (ethos)