1. Advanced Rhetorical Devices
Identification vs. Purpose vs. Effect

2. Review Vocabulary
Alliteration – Same consonant sound at the start of words
Anaphora – Repetition of a word or words at the start of a sentence or phrase
Chiasmus – Reversal in syntax to make the second half have different meaning

3. Review Vocabulary
Hyperbole – extreme statements not meant to be taken literally
Allusion – Brief reference to a person, place, or thing of cultural significance
Synecdoche – a figure of speech where a part is made to represent the whole

4. New Vocabulary

5. New Vocabulary
Epic Simile
Parallel Structure
Polysyndeton

6. Epic Simile
“It never takes longer than a few minutes, when they get together, for everyone to revert to the state of nature, like a party marooned by a shipwreck. That’s what a family is. Also the storm at sea, the ship, and the unknown shore. And the hats and the whiskey stills that you make out of bamboo and coconuts. And the fire that you light to keep away the beasts.” (Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union)

7. Parallel Structure

8. Polysyndeton

9. New Vocabulary
Epic Simile
Parallel Structure
Polysyndeton

10. Epic Simile A detailed comparison spanning several lines
Also referred to as an extended metaphor or a Homeric metaphor

11. Epic Simile
Example:
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” (Shakespeare’s As You Like It)

12. Epic Simile
Example:
“Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cart wheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down.” (Dean Koontz, Seize the Night)

13. Purpose vs. Effect
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader

14. Purpose vs. Effect
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
To draw a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things
To show the idea in a new light

15. Purpose vs. Effect
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
To draw a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things
To show the idea in a new light
Attention is drawn to the section
Information is understood with a different perspective

16. Parallel Structure
Using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance
Also called parallelism

17. Parallel Structure Examples: Like father, like son.
The escaped prisoner was wanted dead or alive.
Easy come, easy go.
Whether in class, at work or at home, Shasta was always busy.
Flying is fast, comfortable, and safe.

18. Parallel Structure Parallel Structure Chiasmus Anaphora Antithesis
Epistrophe
Antimetabole
and many more…

19. Purpose vs. Effect
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader

20. Purpose vs. Effect To be grammatically correct
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
To be grammatically correct
Creates a balanced flow of ideas
Creates repetition and therefore rhythm

21. Purpose vs. Effect To be grammatically correct
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
To be grammatically correct
Creates a balanced flow of ideas
Creates repetition and therefore rhythm
Makes it memorable
Manipulates mood, usually in a way that is positive to the overall effect the piece is trying to have
Strong persuasive qualities

22. Polysyndeton
The use of several coordinating conjunctions in rapid succession

23. Polysyndeton Examples:
In addition to the three standard weapons—the M-60, M-16, and M-79—they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive. They carried catch-as-catch-can. At various times, in various situations, they carried M-14s and CAR-15s and Swedish Ks and grease guns and captured AK-47s and Chi-Coms and RPGs and Simonov carbines and black market Uzis and .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handguns and 66 mm LAWs and shotguns and silencers and blackjacks and bayonets and C-4 plastic explosives.
--from The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

24. Polysyndeton Examples:
“Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly–mostly–let them have their whiteness.”
--Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

25. Purpose vs. Effect
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader

26. Purpose vs. Effect Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
Speeds up or slows down rhythm
Adds emphasis
Adds weight or insignificance to a list

27. Purpose vs. Effect Speeds up or slows down rhythm Adds emphasis
Author’s
Purpose
Effect on the
Reader
Speeds up or slows down rhythm
Adds emphasis
Adds weight or insignificance to a list
Rhythm and emphasis draw attention to a section
Manipulates mood