Rhetorical Devices

Amplification (amplify)

Amplification (amplify)

Repeating a word or phrase with additional detail to provide emphasis

Example: The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,/ A refuge in times of trouble. -Psalm 9:9 (KJV)

Anacoluthon (again/sequence)

When a sentence ends with a different grammatical structure than it started

Example: You really should have—well, what do you expect? (MW)

Anadiplosis (again/double)

Repeating a word or phrase from the end of a sentence at the beginning of the next (or close to it)

Example: Pleasure might cause her to read, reading might make her know,/ Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain . . . . -Philip Sidney

Anaphora (again/carry)

Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of sentences, lines, or clauses

Example: To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss. -Peacham

Antanagoge (against/leader)

Reducing the impact of a negative phrase or idea by juxtaposing it with a positive quality

Example: True, he always forgets my birthday, but he buys me presents all year round. (Virtual Salt)

Antimetabole (opposite/change/turning)

Repeating a phrase, but putting the words in reverse order (uses at least some of the same words)

Example: Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you (JFK)

Antithesis (opposite/position)

Uses parallel structure to present two contrasting ideas often juxtaposed although not always directly next to one another.

Example: To err is human; to forgive, divine. -Pope

Apophasis (denial)

Bringing attention to something by saying you're not going to mention it

Example: Therefore, let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees . . . of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming of learning to love our country . . . .-Jonathan Swift

Aposiopesis (away/silence)

Leaving a thought (sentence) unfinished

Example: I don't want to argue, but...

Apostrophe (away/turning)

Addressing someone who isn't there or a personified object

Example: O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! — Richard de Bury

Appositive (to/place)

Placing a noun/noun phrase either before or after a noun that it describes

Example: Henry Jameson, the boss of the operation, always wore a red baseball cap.

Asyndeton (not/together/bind)

A list with no conjunctions

Example: On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.

Chiasmus (crossing)

A parallel structure where the second half is related to but in reverse order of the first - similar to antimetabole, but there are not repeated words

Example: Despised, if ugly; if she's fair, betrayed. Mary Leapor, "Essay on Woman" (1751)

Climax (ladder)

Arranging words/ideas in increasing significance

Example: The concerto was applauded at the house of Baron von Schnooty, it was praised highly at court, it was voted best concerto of the year by the Academy, it was considered by Mozart the highlight of his career, and it has become known today as the best concerto ever written and ever played.

Conduplicatio (with/double)

Repetition of a keyword from a previous phrase at the beginning of a succeeding phrase (unlike anadiplosis which repeats the last thing)

Example: If this is the first time duty has moved him to act against his desires, he is a very weak man indeed. Duty should be cultivated and obeyed in spite of its frequent conflict with selfish wishes.

Diacope (through/cut)

Repeating a word or phrase, but with something else in the sentence between the repetitions

Example: We give thanks to Thee, 0 God, we give thanks . . . . -Psalm 75:1 (NASB)

Dirimens Copulatio (separating/binding)

Including an opposing or balancing fact in order to prevent a statement from appearing biased or one-sided

Example: This car is extremely sturdy and durable. It's low maintenance; things never go wrong with it. Of course, if you abuse it, it will break.

Distinctio (separated)

Further explaining or clarifying the particular definition or a word or phrase that is used in order to further the point or eliminate possible ambiguity

Example: To make methanol for twenty-five cents a gallon is impossible; by "impossible" I mean currently beyond our technological capabilities.

Enumeratio (count)

Listing things (parts, causes/effects, or other type of specific examples or items) to add emphasis or weight to the idea presented

Example: I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips [etc.].

Epanalepsis (upon/recurrence)

Repeating the same word/phrase at the beginning and end of a sentence

Example: In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33 (NASB)

Epistrophe (upon/turning)

Repetition at the end of phrases or sentences

Example: Where affections bear rule, there reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, forever are subdued. -Wilson

Epizeuxis (doubling)

Repeating one word (often in threes, though there's no specific number of repetitions needed to count)

Example: Polonius: "What are you reading?" Hamlet: "Words, words, words."

Exemplum (example)

Giving an example, generally with some sort of introductory phrase that introduces it as an example

Example: Let me give you an example. In the early 1920's in Germany, the government let the printing presses turn out endless quantities of paper money, and soon, instead of 50-pfennig postage stamps, denominations up to 50 billion marks were being issued.

Hyperbaton (beyond/go)

Putting words in inverse or different order from what we typically expect. Examples include putting modifiers after the nouns they describe or putting verbs at the end of a sentence.

Example: It was a long operation but successful.

Hypophora (under/carrying)

Asking a question in order to then answer it, usually with a long answer

Example: What behavior, then, is uniquely human? My theory is this . . . . -H. J. Campbell

Hypotaxis (under/arrangement)

Showing the relationship between parts of a sentence through connecting words or phrases and sentence structure (the structure and connecting words make one phrase/clause superior to another)

Example: They asked the question because they were curious.

Litotes (plain)

Understatement that is created by denying the opposite of something rather than stating it positively

Example: Heat waves are not rare in the summer.

Metabasis (after/go)

A kind of summary that briefly explains what has been said and what will be discussed next

Example: I have hitherto made mention of his noble enterprises in France, and now I will rehearse his worthy acts done near to Rome. -Peacham

Metanoia (beyond/mind)

Recalling all or part or a statement in order to provide additional information/clarification (often starting with a negative like "nay")

Example: And if I am still far from the goal, the fault is my own for not paying heed to the reminders-nay, the virtual directions-which I have had from above. -Marcus Aurelius

Metonymy (change/name)

Calling something by an associated object that is not a part of the whole

Example: The message from the White House...

Parallelism (parallel)

A general term for when the syntax of a part of a sentence or several sentences are structured the same way

Example: I shall never envy the honors which wit and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the writers who have given ardor to virtue, and confidence to truth. -Samuel Johnson

Parataxis (beside/arrangement)

Connecting a series of (2 or more) independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) or without any conjunctions

Example: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. -Genesis 1:1-2 (KJV)

Parenthesis (alongside/in)

NOT the punctuation mark. This is the sentence, clause, or even word that is inserted into an idea. It provides an explanation, but could be removed without affecting the grammatical structure of the rest of the sentence.

Example: But the new calculations-and here we see the value of relying upon up-to-date information-showed that man-powered flight was possible with this design.

Pleonasm (more/expressed)

Using more words than necessary to explain an idea (which is bad unless you're doing it for a very specific reason)

Example: We heard it with our own ears.

Polysyndeton (many/bind)

A list with a conjunction between every item

Example: [He] pursues his way, / And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. -John Milton

Procatalepsis (before/seizing)

Anticipating an objection to an idea or argument and addressing it

Example: I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom. This I freely own, and it was indeed the principal design in offering it to the world. -Jonathan Swift

Rhetorical Question (eloquent/question)

A question that is presented but not answered, used for effect rather than as a point of organization or clarification. The answer is usually obvious, often yes or no

Example: Is justice then to be considered merely a word? Or is it whatever results from the bartering between attorneys?

Scesis Onomaton (hold/words)

Restating an idea several times with slightly different words for emphasis

Example: May God arise, may his enemies be scattered, may his foes flee before him. -Psalm 68:1 (NIV)

Sententia (opinion)

Including a maxim or wise saying (often as a conclusion to a section/idea) as a sort of general truth or summary to what has been presented

Example: For as Pascal reminds us, "It is not good to have all your wants satisfied."

Sentential Adverb (feeling)

A word or short phrase that interrupts a sentence and, as a result, emphasizes the parts of the sentence on either side of it *Note: it can "interrupt" from the beginning of the sentence as well.

Example: All truth is not, indeed, of equal importance; but if little violations are allowed, every violation will in time be thought little. -Samuel Johnson

Symploce (together/interweaving)

Double repetition - a word/phrase at both the beginning and end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences

Example: To think clearly and rationally should be a major goal for man; but to think clearly and rationally is always the greatest difficulty faced by man.

Synecdoche (together/understanding)

Calling something by one part of it

Example: I got new wheels

Understatement (under/state)

Purposely presenting an idea as less important than it is, usually because the reader already has knowledge or understanding of this

Example: Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse. -Jonathan Swift

Zeugma (together)

Linking together two or more grammatically correct parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.) by using a single different part of speech.

Example: Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion. -Peacham (prozeugma) It operated through the medium of unconscious self-deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. -Thomas Love Peacock (diazeugma)