RHETORICAL DEVICES

PREPARE TO BE SCHOOLED

…by Ms. Hanzlick!

What is rhetoric?

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

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

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

15 Rhetorical Devices• Here is a list of 16 rhetorical devices, some of which you’ve heard before and others you

may be learning now for the first time:

1. anaphora 2. alliteration 3. allusion4. asyndeton/polysyndeton5. chiasmus6. hyperbole 7. metaphor 8. parallelism9. personification 10. pun 11. rhetorical question12. sarcasm13. simile 14. simple sentence15. vernacular16. persuasive appeals (logos/pathos/ethos)

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

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

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

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

• 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.”

4. asyndeton and polysyndeton

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.”» JFK’s Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

6. hyperbole

• an exaggeration• Example:

– “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”

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”)

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

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

10. pun

• a play on words that exploits the multiple meanings of words or words with similar sounds

• Example:– In Shakespeare’s 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."

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

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

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

14. simple sentence

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

15. vernacular

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

16. persuasive appeals

• logical appeal (logos)

• emotional appeal (pathos)

• ethical appeal (ethos)