Stylistics is a field that explores how readers interact with the language of mainly literary texts to

understand and be affected by them. Its development is closely tied to the study of Linguistics and
Psychology, both of which gained prominence in the twentieth century. Here’s a brief overview of its
origins:

Anglo-American Beginnings:

Stylistics emerged as a sub-discipline in the second half of the twentieth century.

Its roots are often traced back to key publications:

Fowler, Roger (ed.) (1966): The book “Essays on Style in Language” contributed to the early development
of stylistic analysis.

Freeman, Donald C. (ed.) (1971): “Linguistics and Literary Style” further explored the intersection of
linguistics and literature.

Leech, Geoffrey N. (1969): “A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry” provided insights into analyzing poetic
language.

Sebeok, Thomas A. (1960): His work “Style in Language” included an influential article by Roman
Jakobson titled “Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics.”

Jakobson’s article connected various strands in the development of Stylistics.

Practical Criticism and New Criticism:

Earlier literary criticism focused on authors, but a shift occurred in the twentieth century.

Practical Criticism (associated with I. A. Richards and William Empson) emphasized studying texts rather
than authors.

New Criticism (linked to Cleanth Brooks, René Wellek, and Austin Warren) also centered on textual
analysis.

Both movements shared two features:

Language focus: They examined the language of texts.

Psychological aspects: Consideration of how readers interacted with literary works

A brief history of Stylistics

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then we'll tell you the story of how Stylistics began...

Stylistics explores how readers interact with the language of (mainly literary) texts in order to
explain how we understand, and are affected by texts when we read them.

The development of Stylistics, given that it combines the use of linguistic analysis with what we
know about the psychological processes involved in reading, depended (at least in part) on the
study of Linguistics and Psychology (both largely twentieth-century phenomena) becoming
reasonably established. Stylistics, then, is a sub-discipline which grew up in the second half of
the twentieth century: Its beginnings in Anglo-American criticism are usually traced back to the
publication of the books listed below. Three of them are collections of articles, some of which
had been presented as conference papers or published in journals a little earlier:

 Fowler, Roger (ed.) (1966) Essays on Style in Language. London: Routledge and Kegan
Paul.
 Freeman, Donald C. (ed.) (1971) Linguistics and Literary Style.New York: Holt, Rinehart
& Winston.
 Leech, Geoffrey N, (1969) A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. London: Longman.
 Sebeok, Thomas A. (1960) Style in Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Perhaps the most influential article is that by Roman Jakobson in Sebeok (1960: 350-77). It is
called 'Closing Statement: Linguistics and Poetics' because it was a contribution to a conference
which Sebeok (1960) published as a collection of papers. It is pretty difficult, so we wouldn't
recommend nipping off to read it until you've done a bit more stylistics, but, as we shall see
below, Jakobson is an important figure who connects together various strands in the
development of Stylistics.

Stylistics can be seen as a logical extension of moves within literary criticism early in the
twentieth century to concentrate on studying texts rather than authors. Nineteenth-century
literary criticism concentrated on the author, and in Britain the text-based criticism of the two
critics I. A. Richards and William Empson, his pupil, rejected that approach in order to
concentrate on the literary texts themselves, and how readers were affected by those texts. This
approach is often called Practical Criticism, and it is matched by a similar critical movement in
the USA, associated with Cleanth Brooks, René Wellek, Austin Warren and others, called New
Criticism. New Criticism was based almost exclusively on the description of literary works as
independent aesthetic objects, but Practical Criticism tended to pay more attention to the
psychological aspects involved in a reader interacting with a work. However, these two critical
movements shared two important features: (i) an emphasis on the language of the text rather
than its author and (ii) an assumption that what criticism needed was accounts of important
works of literature based on the intuitional reading outcomes of trained and aesthetically
sensitive critics. These critics did not analyse the language of texts very much, but, rather, paid
very close attention to the language of the texts when they read them and then described how
they understood them and were affected by them. Nearly a hundred years later, this approach is
still very influential in schools and universities in the western world, and gives rise to the kind of
critical essay where writers make a claim about what a text means, or how it affects them, and
then quote (and perhaps discuss) a textual sample to illustrate the view argued for. This could
perhaps be called the 'Claim and Quote' approach to literary criticism.

In general terms, stylisticians believe that the 'Claim and Quote' strategy is inadequate in
arguing for a particular view of a text, because, like the slip 'twixt cup and lip, there are often
logical gaps between the claim and the quotation intended to support it. In other words,
stylisticians think that intuition is not enough and that we should analyse the text in detail and
take careful account of what we know about how people read when arguing for particular views
of texts. But the Stylistics approach in Western Europe and North America clearly grows out of
the earlier critical approaches associated with Practical Criticism and New Criticism. Stylisticians
also use the same kind of approach on non-literary texts.

There is another important strand of influence in the development of Stylistics (the one which
Roman Jakobson was involved in) which comes from Eastern Europe. In the early years of the
twentieth century, the members of the Formalist Linguistic Circle in Moscow (usually called
the Russian Formalists), like I. A. Richards, also rejected undue concentration on the author in
literary criticism in favour of an approach which favoured the analysis of the language of the text
in relation to psychological effects of that linguistic structure. The group contained linguists,
literary critics and psychologists, and they (and the Prague Structuralists: see the paragraph
below) began to develop what became a very influential aspect of textual study in later
Stylistics, called foregrounding theory. This view suggested that some parts of texts had more
effect on readers than others in terms of interpretation, because the textual parts were
linguistically deviant or specially patterned in some way, thus making them psychologically
salient (or 'foregrounded') for readers. The Russian Formalists were, in effect, the first
stylisticians. But their work was not understood in the west because of the effects of the Russian
Revolution in 1917. After the revolution, formalism fell out of favour and, in any case, academic
communication between what became the Soviet Union and Western Europe and North
America virtually ceased.
Roman Jakobson became one of the most influential linguists of the twentieth century, and the
reason for his considerable influence on Stylistics, in addition to his own academic brilliance,
was because he linked various schools of Linguistics together. He left Moscow at the time of the
Russian Revolution and moved to Prague, where he became a member of the Prague
Structuralist circle, who were also very interested in the linguistic structure of texts and how
they affected readers. Then, when Czechoslovakia also became communist, he moved to the
USA. Rather like a beneficial virus, he carried the approach which later became called Stylistics
with him, and helped those who wanted to develop Practical and New Criticism in more precise
analytical directions.

The introduction and chapter 2 of J. Douthwaite (2000) Towards a Linguistic Theory of

Foregrounding (Edizioni dell'Orso: Turin) has a more detailed history of stylistics and the
concept of foregrounding, a concept which is a cornerstone of stylistic analysis.

We've included two additional links for you.

Certainly! Let’s delve into the fascinating journey of stylistics through time. 🌟
1. Ancient Times:
o During ancient times, scholars began exploring the use, functions, and styles of
language. These early investigations laid the groundwork for what would later
become stylistics.
2. Middle Ages:
o The study of stylistics continued to evolve during the Middle Ages. Scholars
delved into the intricacies of language, examining how it was employed in various
contexts.
3. New Age:
o As societies progressed, so did the understanding of stylistics. The New Age
brought fresh perspectives on language, leading to further exploration of its
nuances.
4. 20th Century:
 The 20th century witnessed significant developments in stylistics. Notably,
o
the Russian Formalist tradition emerged, with scholars like Roman
Jakobson and the Moscow Linguistic Circle playing pivotal roles. They focused
on defining the qualities of “poetic language”, emphasizing the message itself
rather than the speaker’s emotions.
o Prague Structuralism, born in the Prague Linguistic Circle, furthered these
ideas. Scholars like Jan Mukařovský explored the formal and functional
distinctions between literary and non-literary writing. Concepts
like defamiliarization, parallelism, and foregrounding became foundational in
contemporary stylistics.
5. European Developments:
o Jakobson’s emigration to Czechoslovakia led to collaboration with Czech
scholars. His subsequent move to the US facilitated the spread of ideas across
Europe and America.
o These developments paved the way for movements like the New
Criticism and Practical Criticism.

In summary, stylistics has a rich history that intertwines linguistic analysis, literary exploration,

and the quest to understand language’s expressive power. 📜🔍

rhet·o·ric
[ˈredərik]
NOUN
1. the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and
other compositional techniques:
"he is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole"

SIMILAR:

oratory

eloquence

expression

delivery

diction
  language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often
regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content:
"all we have from the Opposition is empty rhetoric"

Rhetoric is the art of persuasive communication. It involves using language effectively to

influence or convince an audience. Rhetorical devices are linguistic tools that enhance
communication by evoking specific reactions from listeners or readers. Let’s explore some key
rhetorical devices:

1. Alliteration: This sonic device repeats the initial sound of words for emphasis (e.g.,
“Alan the antelope ate asparagus”)1.
2. Cacophony: By combining consonant sounds, cacophony creates a displeasing effect.
3. Onomatopoeia: Words like “bang” imitate real-life sounds (e.g., an explosion).
4. Humor: It fosters connection with the audience, making them more receptive to the
speaker’s message. Humor can deflate counter-arguments and make opposing views
seem ridiculous.
5. Anaphora: Repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of sentences (e.g., Martin
Luther King Jr.'s “I have a dream”) strengthens sentiments.

Rhetorical devices fall into four main categories:

 Logos: Appeals to logic and reason, often using statistics, facts, and authoritative
statements.
 Pathos: Appeals to emotion, invoking sympathy, anger, or other feelings to inspire action
or change.
 Ethos: Establishes the speaker’s credibility and seriousness.
 Kairos: Dependent on the timeliness of an idea or action, emphasizing the moment’s
relevance in the argument1.

By
Jeffrey Somers
Updated on July 08, 2019

A rhetorical device is a linguistic tool that employs a particular type of sentence

structure, sound, or pattern of meaning in order to evoke a particular reaction
from an audience. Each rhetorical device is a distinct tool that can be used to
construct an argument or make an existing argument more compelling.
Any time you try to inform, persuade, or argue with someone, you’re engaging in
rhetoric. If you’ve ever had an emotional reaction to a speech or changed your
mind about an issue after hearing a skilled debater's rebuttal, you've experienced
the power of rhetoric. By developing a basic knowledge of rhetorical devices, you
can improve your ability to process and convey information while also
strengthening your persuasive skills.

Types of Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are loosely organized into the following four categories:

1. Logos. Devices in this category seek to convince and persuade via logic
and reason, and will usually make use of statistics, cited facts, and
statements by authorities to make their point and persuade the listener.
2. Pathos. These rhetorical devices base their appeal in emotion. This could
mean invoking sympathy or pity in the listener, or making the audience
angry in the service of inspiring action or changing their mind about
something.
3. Ethos. Ethical appeals try to convince the audience that the speaker is a
credible source, that their words have weight and must be taken seriously
because they are serious and have the experience and judgment necessary
to decide what’s right.
4. Kairos. This is one of the most difficult concepts in rhetoric; devices in
this category are dependent on the idea that the time has come for a
particular idea or action. The very timeliness of the idea is part of the
argument.

Top Rhetorical Devices

Since rhetoric dates back to ancient times, much of the terminology used to
discuss it comes from the original Greek. Despite its ancient origins, however,
rhetoric is as vital as ever. The following list contains some of the most important
rhetorical devices to understand:

1. Alliteration, a sonic device, is the repetition of the initial sound of each

word (e.g. Alan the antelope ate asparagus).
2. Cacophony, a sonic device, is the combination of consonant sounds to
create a displeasing effect.
3. Onomatopoeia, a sonic device, refers to a word that emulates the real-life
sound it signifies (e.g. using the word "bang" to signify an explosion).
4. Humor creates connection and identification with audience members,
thus increasing the likelihood that they will agree with the speaker. Humor
 can also be used to deflate counter-arguments and make opposing points of
view appear ridiculous.
5. Anaphora is the repetition of certain words or phrases at the beginning of
sentences to increase the power of a sentiment. Perhaps the best-known
example of anaphora is Martin Luther King Jr.'s repetition of the phrase "I
have a dream."
6. Meiosis is a type of euphemism that intentionally understates the size or
importance of its subject. It can be used to dismiss or diminish a debate
opponent's argument.
7. Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that conveys emotion and raises
the bar for other speakers. Once you make a hyperbolic statement like “My
idea is going to change the world," other speakers will have to respond in
kind or their more measured words may seem dull and uninspiring in
comparison.
8. Apophasis is the verbal strategy of bringing up a subject by denying that
that very subject should be brought up at all.
9. Anacoluthon is a sudden swerve into a seemingly unrelated idea in the
middle of a sentence. It can seem like a grammatical mistake if handled
poorly, but it can also put powerful stress onto the idea being expressed.
10.Chiasmus is a technique wherein the speaker inverts the order of a phrase
in order to create a pretty and powerful sentence. The best example comes
from President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your
country can do for you— ask what you can do for your country."
11. Anadiplosis is the use of the same word at the end of one sentence and at
the beginning of the subsequent sentence, forming a chain of thought that
carries your audience to the point you’ve chosen.
12. Dialogismus refers to moments when the speaker imagines what
someone else is thinking, or speaks in the voice of someone else, in order to
explain and then subvert or undermine counterpoints to the original
argument.
13. Eutrepismus, one of the most common rhetorical devices, is simply the
act of stating points in the form of a numbered list. Why is it useful? First
off, this devices makes information seem official and authoritative. Second,
it gives speech a sense of order and clarity. And third, it helps the listener
keep track of the speaker's points.
14. Hypophora is the trick of posing a question and then immediately
supplying the answer. Do you know why hypophora is useful? It's useful
because it stimulates listener interest and creates a clear transition point in
the speech.
15. Expeditio is the trick of listing a series of possibilities and then explaining
why all but one of those possibilities are non-starters. This device makes it
seem as though all choices have been considered, when in fact you've been
steering your audience towards the one choice you desired all along.
 16. Antiphrasis is another word for irony. Antiphrasis refers to a statement
whose actual meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning of the words
within it.
17. Asterismos. Look, this is the technique of inserting a useless but
attention-grabbing word in front of your sentence in order to grab the
audience’s attention. It's useful if you think your listeners are getting a bit
bored and restless.

Examples of Rhetorical Devices

Rhetoric isn’t just for debates and arguments. These devices are used in everyday
speech, fiction and screenwriting, legal arguments, and more. Consider these
famous examples and their impact on their audience.

1. “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to

suffering.” –Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Rhetorical Device: Anadiplosis. The pairs of words at the beginning and
ending of each sentence give the impression that the logic invoked is
unassailable and perfectly assembled.
2. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do
for your country.” —President John F. Kennedy.
Rhetorical Device: Chiasmus. The inversion of the phrase can do and
the word country creates a sense of balance in the sentence that reinforces
the sense of correctness.
3. "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to
exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and
inexperience." –President Ronald Reagan
Rhetorical Device: Apophasis. In this quip from a presidential debate,
Reagan expresses mock reluctance to comment on his opponent's age,
which ultimately does the job of raising the point of his opponent's age.
4. “But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.” —Abraham
Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.
Rhetorical Device: Anaphora. Lincoln’s use of repetition gives his words
a sense of rhythm that emphasizes his message. This is also an example
of kairos: Lincoln senses that the public has a need to justify the slaughter
of the Civil War, and thus decides to make this statement appealing to the
higher purpose of abolishing slavery.
5. “Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and
Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a
million times worse than all of them put together.” –The
Simpsons.
 Rhetorical Device: Hyperbole. Here, hyperbole is used to humorous
effect in order to undermine the superficial point of the sentence.

Key Terms
 Rhetoric. The discipline of discourse and persuasion via verbal argument.
 Rhetorical Device. A tool used in the course of rhetoric, employing
specific sentence structure, sounds, and imagery to attain a desired
response.
 Logos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeal to logic and reason.
 Pathos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeal to emotions.
 Ethos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeals to a sense of
credibility.
 Kairos. The concept of “right place, right time” in rhetoric, wherein a
specific rhetorical device becomes effective because of circumstances
surrounding its use.