Rhetoric Review Rhetoric – the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively

Rhetorical Devices Repetition Parallelism Figurative Language: Hyperbole Simile Metaphor Personification Alliteration Humor/satire Rhetorical questions Understatement

Repetition: Can be in the form of Repeated words at the beginning of each successive phrase “We believe in the compassion of humanity. We believe in the justice of an Almighty God. We believe we are at the mercy of both.” Repeated words or expressions throughout the piece “I have a dream….” Repeated sentences or statements “I have a roof over my head. For that I am thankful. I have food in my stomach. For that I am thankful. I have the love of a good wife and children. For that I am extremely thankful.”

Parallelism similarity of structure in a phrase, sentence, or group of words

Examples of Parallelism "It is by logic we prove, but by intuition we discover." (Leonardo da Vinci) "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative." (Martin Luther King, Jr.) "Our transportation crisis will be solved by a bigger plane or a wider road, mental illness with a pill, poverty with a law, slums with a bulldozer, urban conflict with a gas, racism with a goodwill gesture." (Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness)

Figurative language: Simile—comparing two things using like or as “Justice is like a new day dawning” Metaphor—comparing two things without using like or as “Justice is a breath of fresh air” Alliteration—beginning two or more words with the same consonant sound “We will win the wondrous victory.” Personification—giving human qualities to non- human items “The wind whispered his loneliness in my ear.” Hyperbole—a great exaggeration “When he hits the ball, he knocks it into outer space.”

Satire the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Ex: mockery, Saturday Night Live skits, ridicule, The Simpsons

Rhetorical Question A question that does not demand an answer from the listener as it is given to provoke thought or make a point; the answer is already implied in the question Ex: What would the world be like if everyone dressed alike? Who died and made you God? Since when did good grades make a person smart?

Understatement Especially in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite EX: “This is no small problem.” EX: “Not bad at all.”