Rhetorical Devices

and
Emotional Impact
What is Rhetoric ?

 The tools writers use to affect the reader

indirectly.
 Rhetorical devices work by creating reader
expectations and then breaking or highlighting
those expectations in different ways for emphasis.
 Keep in mind that content is direct and rhetoric is
indirect.
Other Techniques :
Asyndeton
 meaning “without connectors”
 is a device where a writer deliberately chooses to
leave out the expected conjunctions.
 It creates a sense of urgency
Ex.
“They were beautiful—so lumpy, Macadamian, salty,
golden!” Not “salty and golden!”
-Once a Tramp, Always
Polysyndeton
 opposite of asyndeton.
 adding more conjunctions.
 The purpose is to create intensity
and importance and drama.
Two categories of rhetorical devices:

 Structural Rhetorical
Devices
 Sound-Based Rhetorical
Devices
7 Types of Structural Rhetorical Devices
1. Antimetabole
2. Anaphora
3. Polyptoton
4. Isocolon
5. Epanalepsis
6. Epistrophe
7. Anadiplosis
Structural Rhetorical Devices
Parallelism
 means that we communicate similar ideas with similar structures.
 Parallelism can be used in very dramatic ways.
Ex.
The life of a pastry chef involves getting up early in the morning,
working in a hot kitchen, and using delicate procedures to make a
great croissant.
Antithesis
 is parallelism taken to the opposite extreme,
presenting contrasting ideas in similar
structures to accentuate the contrast between
them.
Ex.
“We were elected to change Washington, and
we let Washington change us.”
-John McCain, 2008 Republican National Convention
1. Antimetabole
 when the word at the end of one clause is repeated at
the beginning of the next clause.
 It creates a rousing emphasis and a call to action.
Ex.
“not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need,”
– the repetition of the word “arms” is a good example
2. Anaphora
 is another type of repetition where the same word
or phrase is repeated at the start of successive
clauses.
 often used to create a sense of urgency and
climax.
Ex.
“not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need
—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are”
3. Polyptoton
 repetition of words with the same root.
 This is also an example of that poetic, elevated
inversion.
Ex.
“not as a call to battle, though embattled we
are,”
4. Isocolon
 each of the four repetitious clauses are of the same relative
length.
 it lulls a reader into a pattern of expectation, so that when you break
it, it delivers a powerful rhetorical punch.
Ex.
“not as a call to bear arms, - 7 syllables
though arms we need— - 4 syllables
not as a call to battle, - 7 syllables
though embattled we are.” – 6 syllables
5. Epanalepsis
 writer repeats at the end of a clause the word or
words used at the beginning.
 The effect is to contain a thought neatly, like a
sound bite.
Ex.
“Mankind must put an end to war—or war will
put an end to mankind.”
-Kennedy, 1961
6. Epistrophe
 is the opposite of anaphora.
 a word is repeated at the end of two or more clauses in
a row.
 It conveys closure and control.
Ex.
“For no government is better than the men who compose
it, and I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve
the best.”
-Kennedy, Wittenberg College in 1960
7. Anadiplosis
 repeating the word at the end of a clause at the
beginning of the next clause.
 is a rhetorical construction that lets the writer
intensify and redefine an idea.
Ex.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.”
Sound-Based Rhetorical Devices
Alliteration is the repetition of any sound at the
beginning of successive words.
Consonance is a pattern of consonant sounds
being repeated, whether at the beginning of words
—a type of alliteration—or anywhere else in a
word.
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds
anywhere in a word.
Different Figure of Speech
 Inversion - Reversing the normal subject-verb-object order of expression in English.
Ex. Blessed are the pure in heart.
 Metaphor - An implied comparison that allows readers to see things in a new light.
Ex. Life is a voyage into the unknown.
 Metonymy - A kind of metaphor in which one object is described by reference to
another object somehow associated with it.
Ex. “Suits” to mean “executives”: “There go the suits.”
 Simile - An explicit comparison using the words “like” or “as” that allows readers to
see things in a new light.
Ex. My love is like a red, red rose.
 Synecdoche - A kind of metaphor in which the part of an object represents the whole.
Ex. All hands on deck!