Rhetorical Devices Explained in 40 Characters

Rhetorical Devices
Composition II
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Hypophora
Hypophora is a figure of speech in which
a writer raises a question, and then
immediately provides an answer to that
question. Commonly, a question is asked
in the first paragraph, and then the
paragraph is used to answer the
question.
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https://literarydevices.net

Hypophora (Antipophora)
It is also known as “antipophora,” or
“anthypophora.” At first look, examples of
hypophora may seem similar to rhetorical
question examples, but there is a slight
difference as explained next.
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Hypophora (The Difference)
The basic difference between hypophora
and a rhetorical question is that, in a
rhetorical question, the answer is not
provided by the writer, since it does not
require an answer.
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Hypophora (Clarification)
However, in hypophora, the writer first
poses a question, and then answers that
question immediately; such as in the
example:
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Hypophora (Example)
“What should young people do with their lives
today? Many things, obviously. But the most
daring thing is to create stable communities in
which the terrible disease of loneliness can be
cured.”
Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Repetition
Repetition is a literary device that repeats
the same words or phrases a few times to
make an idea clearer and more
memorable. There are several types of
repetition commonly used in
both prose and poetry.
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Types of Repetition
•Anadiplosis
•Anaphora
•Antistasis
•Diacope
•Epanalepsis
•Epimone
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•Epiphora
•Gradatio
•Negative-Positive Restatement
•Polyptoton
•Symploce

Repetition (Example)
“It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know …
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love —
I and my Annabel Lee …”
Annabel Lee
By Edgar Allan Poe
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Antithesis
Antithesis, which literally means “opposite,” is a
rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas
are put together in a sentence to achieve a
contrasting effect.
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Antithesis (Continued)
Antithesis emphasizes the idea of contrast by
parallel structures of the contrasted phrases or
clauses. The structures of phrases and clauses
are similar, in order to draw the attention of the
listeners or readers.
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Antithesis (Example)
“Setting foot on the moon may be a small step
for man but a giant step for mankind.”
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Figurative Speech
A figure of speech is a phrase or word having
different meanings than its literal meanings. It
conveys meaning by identifying or comparing
one thing to another, which has connotation or
meaning familiar to the audience. That is why
it is helpful in creating vivid rhetorical effect.
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Figurative Speech (Types)
•Personification
•Understatement
or Hyperbole
•Simile
•Metaphor
•Pun
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Tricolon
Tricolon is a rhetorical term that consists of
three parallel clauses, phrases, or words, which
happen to come in quick succession without
any interruption. These three parallel words,
phrases, or clauses have almost the same
length, though this condition is not strictly
followed.
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Tricolon (Example)
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every
rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those
who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not
clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It
is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its
scientists, the hopes of its children.”
“The Chance for Peace”
by President Dwight Eisenhower
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Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton is a stylistic device in which
several coordinating conjunctions are used in
succession in order to achieve an artistic effect.
Polysyndeton examples are found in literature
and in day-to-day conversations.
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Polysyndeton (Example)
“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.”
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
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Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is a literary technique
in which two or more ideas, places,
characters, and their actions are
placed side by side in
a narrative or a poem, for the
purpose of developing
comparisons and contrasts.
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Juxtaposition (Example)
“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, we had everything before us, we had nothing
before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going
direct the other way …”
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
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Allusion
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a
person, place, thing or idea of historical,
cultural, literary or political significance. It does
not describe in detail the person or thing to
which it refers.
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Allusion (Continued)
It is just a passing comment and the writer
expects the reader to possess enough
knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its
importance in a text.
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Allusion (Examples in Everyday Speech)
• “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a reference to
Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in The Tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet.
• The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. – This
is an allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myth - Pandora’s
Box.
• “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical allusion to
the “Garden of God” in the Book of Genesis.
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Allusion (Examples in Literature)
“Learnèd Faustus, to find the secrets of astronomy
Graven in the book of Jove’s high firmament,
Did mount him up to scale Olympus’ top,
Where, sitting in a chariot burning bright,
Drawn by the strength of yokèd dragons’ necks,
He views the clouds, the planets, and the stars.”
The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
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Persuasive Appeals (Ethos)
In rhetoric, Ethos represents credibility, or an
ethical appeal, which involves persuasion by
the character involved.
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Ethos (Example)
“My three decades of experience in public
service, my tireless commitment to the people
of this community, and my willingness to reach
across the aisle and cooperate with the
opposition, make me the ideal candidate for
your mayor.”
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Persuasive Appeals (Logos)
Derived from a Greek word, Logos means
“logic.” Logos is a literary device that can be
described as a statement, sentence,
or argument used to convince or persuade the
targeted audience by employing reason or
logic.
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Logos (Example)
“All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.”
The Art of Rhetoric
by Aristotle
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Persuasive Appeals (Pathos)
Pathos is a quality of an experience in life, or a
work of art, that stirs up emotions of pity,
sympathy, and sorrow. Pathos can be expressed
through words, pictures, or even with gestures of
the body.
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Pathos (Example)
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its
vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with
the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day
right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be
able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as
sisters and brothers.
I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Rhetorical Devices Explained in 40 Characters

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