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Rhetorical Device: De nition & Examples

Lesson Transcript

Rhetorical devices are used in language to communicate e ectively and persuade. Here you'll discover more
about rhetorical devices and learn how to put some of them to use in some persuasion of your own.

Tools of the Trade: Rhetorical Device De ned

Have you ever run for class president or had to convince your parents to let you go somewhere? If
so, there's a pretty good chance you've used a rhetorical device or two, since the term describes a
technique of language used to direct an audience toward a certain perspective.

The often ethereal notion of rhetoric can really be de ned as simply the art of communicating
e ectively, and it has existed for about as long as humans have been able to talk. Why did we
develop this set of communication techniques so early on? Because we humans - whether we're
trying to rally a hunting party or support for legislation - have learned it's much easier and more
e cient to persuade people to do things than to force them.

This cultivation of persuasion as an art form began in the streets of ancient Greece and Rome.
Here, citizens of these earliest democracies and republics found it necessary to be able to voice
their viewpoints e ectively so as to bring about the political circumstances they desired. For this
reason, rhetoric was formalized as an educational discipline, with lessons in e ectual discourse
forming the very foundation of Greco-Roman learning.

Over time, 'rhetoricians,' or students and practitioners speci cally of the art of rhetoric, coined and
codi ed a wide assortment of special techniques. These rhetorical devices, as they've come to be
called, were identi ed as particularly useful in grabbing an audience's attention and directing it
towards the speakers' perspectives. Many of these ancient techniques are still in use today, as we'll
discuss!

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Metaphor

A metaphor is a type of ' gurative' rhetorical device, meaning it uses comparison or symbolism to
express certain shared characteristics. It is a highly prevalent rhetorical device, mostly because of
its versatility: anything can be compared to practically anything else. Metaphors work by asserting
that two usually non-related subjects have something in common: for instance, the vastness
shared by the ocean and a pile of paper in this example:

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'Rebecca sighed as she looked over the 'sea' of paperwork on her desk.'

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Alliteration

The rhetorical device alliteration is a sonic one, which means it depends on the sounds of the
words a speaker uses. With alliteration, we nd a repetition of consonant sounds that can
typically be quite emphatic and imitative (literally or guratively) of the subject being discussed.
However, alliteration can also be rather humorous, as we can see in a variety of tongue twisters,
like:

Shelley sells seashells by the seashore. (Notice the repeated 's,' 'sh,' and 'l' sounds?)

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Anaphora

Speaking of repetitions, anaphora is a rhetorical device that depends on the repetition of words or
phrases. The Greek word by this name originally meant 'rising,' and the device creates a sense of
rising emphasis each time the word or phrase is repeated. Take, for example, Abraham Lincoln's
closing to the Gettysburg Address, where he desires to preserve '…government of the people, by
the people, for the people…'

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Polysyndeton

So as not to become too repetitive, this is the last of our examples to involve repetition.
Polysyndeton (from the Greek for 'many conjunctions') represents the repetition of - you guessed
it - conjunctions. Stringing conjunctions (i.e., and, or) this way can often express the variety of
choices connected to a speaker's point, such as in the ending of the Lord's Prayer:

'For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory…'

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Procatalepsis

The Greek term procatalepsis, traditionally used to describe a preemptive military strike, was
adopted to represent the same sort of anticipatory rhetorical device. With procatalepsis, a speaker
anticipates an opposing argument and refutes or otherwise discredits it before it's made. This is an
extremely e ective strategy in protecting your own arguments from criticism and in catching your
opponent o -guard.

'I know what you're going to say, but skydiving is really not all that dangerous.'

Examples of Rhetorical Devices: Rhetorical Question

Like all rhetorical devices, a rhetorical question is meant to direct an audience's attention, only in
this case toward a speci c answer to another question. Quite often, rhetorical questions are used
to guide the listener toward the answer to a question that has already been posed. This can be
particularly e ective in communicating sarcasm as well.

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For instance, if Mark asks, 'Did ALL of that water dump on you, Amy?!' to his friend as she wrings
her obviously wet hair, Amy could sarcastically reply with the rhetorical question, 'Is the Pope
Catholic?'

Lesson Summary
A rhetorical device is a technique of language used to direct an audience to a speaker's point of view.

The formalized study of rhetoric, or the art of e ective communication, began in ancient Greece and
Rome, where it was a foundational element of their education. Many of the rhetorical devices we use today
were codi ed by Greco-Roman rhetoricians.

A metaphor is a type of gurative device that asserts commonalities between two generally non-related
subjects.

Many rhetorical devices depend on the repetition of sounds, words, or phrases, including anaphora (words
or phrases), polysyndeton (conjunctions), and the sonic device, alliteration (consonant sounds).

Procatalepsis once described a Greek military operation but is now used to describe the rebuttal of an
opposing argument before it's made.

A rhetorical question is often one used in response to a previous question by guiding the listener to the
answer.

Rhetorical Device Terms & De nitions

Terms De nitions

Rhetorical
describes a technique of language used to direct an audience toward a certain perspective
device

Rhetoric de ned as simply the art of communicating e ectively

a type of ' gurative' rhetorical device, meaning it uses comparison or symbolism to express
Metaphor
certain shared characteristics

a repetition of consonant sounds that can typically be quite emphatic and imitative (literally or
Alliteration
guratively) of the subject being discussed

Anaphora rhetorical device that depends on the repetition of words or phrases

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Polysyndeton represents the repetition of conjunctions

a speaker anticipates an opposing argument and refutes or otherwise discredits it before it's
Procatalepsis
made

Rhetorical used to guide the listener toward the answer to a question that has already been posed, often
questions with sarcasm

Learning Outcomes
After completing this lesson, you should be ready to:

De ne rhetorical device

Recognize the important rhetorical devices

Describe the purpose for literary devices

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