15 Commonly Used Rhetorical Devices Figures of Speech and Syntactic Structures

Figures of Speech Commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Distinctio – the technique of elaboration on a definition to make sure there is no misunderstanding Example “[I]t’s a Spartan type of game. I mean by that it takes Spartan qualities in order to be a part of it [and] to play it. … I speak of the Spartan qualities of sacrifice and self-denial rather than that other Spartan quality of leaving the weak to die.” – Vince Lombardi

Figures of Speech Commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Eponym – the technique of referring to a specific famous person or fictional character to link his or her attributes with someone else (this is a type of allusion) Example: The cat and mouse cartoon characters, Tom and Jerry, are named after two squabbling characters in Pierce Egan’s 1821 book, “Life in London.” This was done to emphasize their adversarial nature. Calling someone a Yahoo (in a derogatory sense) is a reference to the backward, uncouth race of people in Jonathan Swift’s, Gulliver’s Travels.

Figures of Speech Commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Hypophora – the technique of asking a question and then proceeding to answer it (not to be confused with a rhetorical question, or erotema, for which the answer is not given because it is deemed to be obvious) Example: “If you withhold that necessary legislation for the support of the Constitution and constitutional rights, do you not commit perjury? … That is undoubtedly just so, say what you please.” – Abraham Lincoln “Who would not have jumped for joy, in 1940, at the thought of seeing S.S. officers kicked and humiliated? But when the thing becomes possible, it is merely pathetic and disgusting.” George Orwell

Figures of Speech Commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Litotes – the technique of emphasizing a point by using a word opposite to the condition; a statement expressed by negating its opposite Examples: The burger was not bad (meaning the burger was good). They do not seem to be the happiest couple around (meaning they seem unhappy).

Figures of Speech Commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Sententia – the use of a famous line, maxim, popular quote, proverb, or wise saying (also refers to the quote or saying itself). Example: The lesson we have to learn is that our dislike for certain persons does not give us any right to injure our fellow creatures. The social rule must be: Live and let live.” – George Bernard Shaw.

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Anadiplosis – a form of repetition in which the last word of a sentence or phrase is repeated at or near the beginning of the next sentence or phrase Example: “Man is born a predestined idealist, for he is born to act. To act is to affirm the worth of an end, and to persist in affirming the worth of an end is to make an ideal.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Anaphora – a form of repetition in which the same word or words appears at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses Example: “But be the ordeal sharp or long, or both, we shall seek no terms; we shall tolerate no parley; we may show mercy – we shall ask for none.” – Winston Churchill

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Antithesis – a parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas Examples: “That’s one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’. I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’.” – Edward Kennedy about his brother, Robert F. Kennedy

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Chiasmus – a parallel structure in which the second part is structurally reversed from the first part Example: “England finds that she cannot conquer America, and America has no wish to conquer England.” – Thomas Paine

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Conduplicatio – a form of repetition in which an important word from anywhere in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated at or near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase Example: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” – Winston Churchill

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Epistrophe – a form of repetition in which the same word or words appears at the end of successive sentences or clauses Example: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy; I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” – Lloyd Bentsen referring to Dan Quayle

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Polyptoton – a form of repetition in which the root word is repeated with different prefixes or suffixes Example: “Let the people think they govern, and they will be governed.” – William Penn

Structural Devices commonly used for Rhetorical Effect Polysyndeton – the repeated use of conjunctions within a sentence (asyndeton is its opposite – leaving out conjunctions) Example: “Of a life of luxury the fruit is luxury, whether in agriculture, or commerce, or literature, or art.” – Henry David Thoreau Example: “Repeal the Missouri Compromise, repeal all compromises, repeal the Declaration of Independence, repeal all past history, you still cannot repeal human nature.” – Abraham Lincoln