COMMON RHETORICAL DEVICES Ms. Krupa English IV – M.A.S.H. Helena High School Source: Mr. Pogreba - AP Language

The AP Exam You, empowered with the knowledge of rhetoric.

WHY STUDY RHETORIC? “Rhetoric is language at play—language plus. It is what persuades and cajoles, inspires and bamboozles, thrills and misdirects. It causes criminals to be convicted, and then frees those criminals on appeal. It causes governments to rise and fall, best men to be ever after shunned by their friends’ brides, and perfectly sensible adults to march with steady purpose toward machine guns.”—Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith

PARALLELISM

Parallelism Parallelism is the deliberate similarity of structure in a pair or series of words, phrases, or sentences. It is one of the most basic and fundamental forms used in rhetoric.

BALANCE IN WORDS, PHRASES, OR CLAUSES “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

BALANCE IN WORDS, PHRASES, OR CLAUSES "We have seen the state of our Union in the endurance of rescuers, working past exhaustion. We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers -- in English, Hebrew, and Arabic." —George W. Bush, Address to the Nation on Terrorism

ANAPHORA

ANAPHORA Anaphora occurs when the speaker repeats the same words at the start of successive sentences or clauses. It generally serves two purposes: --a hammering effect that is certain to be noticed --the creation of an involuntary rhythm

Repetition of the same words at the start of successive clauses/sentences “Why should white people be running all the stores in our community? Why should white people be running the banks of our community? Why should the economy of our community be in the hands of the white man? Why?” —Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet

Repetition of the same words at the start of successive clauses/sentences “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.” --Martin Luther King, Jr.

EPISTROPHE

Epistrophe Epistrophe occurs when the speaker repeats the same words at the end of successive sentences or clauses. While it serves many of the same purposes of anaphora, the effect is often more subtle. It creates a cumulative effect.

Repetition of the same words at the end of successive clauses/sentences "A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!" --Aragorn, The Return of the King (film)

Repetition of the same words at the end of successive clauses/sentences “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

POLYSYNDETON

Polysyndeton Polysyndeton is the repeated use of conjunctions. Polysyndeton is used to create rhythm, regulate the pace of an utterance, give the impression the speaker is making up the list as she goes on, or emphasize the large number of items in a list.

Repeated use of Conjunctions “A German daily is the slowest and saddest and dreariest of the inventions of man.” -Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad

Repeated use of Conjunctions “...I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up.” --Captain Ahab, in Melville’s Moby Dick

ASYNDETON

Asyndeton Asyndeton means leaving out a conjunction where it might have been expected to appear. Asyndeton can create emphasis, give independent force to each item, show close relationship, improve the “music” of a sentence, or create a sense of acceleration. In his Rhetoric, Aristotle said it was especially appropriate for the end of a persuasive appeal. He even ended the piece with an example of it.

Omission of an expected conjunction “I came, I saw, I conquered.” --Julius Caesar

Omission of an Expected Conjunction "That was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

HYPOPHORA

Hypophora Hypophora occurs when the speaker asks a question and then answers it. Hypophora heightens interest by creating suspense, supplies a motive for offering the answer, creates involvement with the listener, creates empathy and a sense of dealing with the audience openly, and preempts a more forceful objection.

Asking and answering a Question "You ask, what is our policy? I will say it is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. That is our policy. --Winston Churchill

Asking and Answering a Question “The gentleman asks, When were the colonies emancipated? I desire to know when were they made slaves?” --William Pitt, speech to Parliament (1766)

JUXTAPOSITION

Juxtaposition Juxtaposition is defined as combining together two or more communicative elements so as to suppress the connections between them and emphasize the differences, thereby provoking some surprise or puzzlement at their close placement. It is often combined with other devices. Juxtaposition is often used for ironic commentary, as the placement of the two elements helps criticize/mock one of them. Juxtaposition is the single most useful, all-purpose observation for making one seem more intelligent than she really is (Pogreba).

Placing Two Elements Near Each Other for Contrast “We fight our way in, and try to buy our way out. We are alert, curious, hopeful, and we take more drugs designed to make us unaware than any other people. We are self- reliant and at the same time completely dependent. We are aggressive, and defenseless. Americans overindulge their children; the children in turn are overly dependent on their parents.” --John Steinbeck, Paradox and Dream

Placing Two Elements Near Each Other for Contrast "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." --Brutus, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar