30 Rhetorical Strategies

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."

Hyperbole

Extravagant exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Analogy

A comparison between two otherwise unlike things based on resemblance of a particular aspect.

Understatement

A statement that represents something as smaller or less important than it actually is.

Litotes

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

Antithesis

The rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words or clauses.

Hypophora

A figure of speech in which the speaker raises a question and immediately answers it.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked to make a point rather than to obtain an answer.

Examples:

Distinctio

A rhetorical device in which a speaker defines or clarifies the specific meaning of a word to avoid misunderstanding.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, event, literary work, or historical event that the audience is expected to recognize.

Eponym

A person whose name has become associated with something, or a word derived from a person's name.

Exemplum

An example used to illustrate or support a general point, especially in an argument or explanation.

Parallelism

The use of successive verbal constructions that are grammatically similar in structure.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical construction in which the order of words or ideas in one phrase is reversed in the following phrase.

Anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause.

Metabasis

A rhetorical device that briefly summarizes what has been discussed before moving on to a new point or section.

Conduplicatio

The repetition of a key word from one part of a sentence or passage in a subsequent part to emphasize an important idea.

Parenthesis

An insertion of words, phrases, or sentences into a passage that interrupts the normal flow of the sentence.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which someone directly addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or something that cannot actually respond.

Antanagoge

A rhetorical device in which a negative point or criticism is followed by a positive point to lessen or balance its effect.

Epithet

A characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a word applies to two or more others in different senses.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole is used to represent a part.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which the name of one thing is used for something closely associated with it.

Hyperbaton

A figure of speech in which the normal order of words is changed, especially to create emphasis or a particular effect.

Aporia

An expression of doubt or uncertainty, often used rhetorically to question how to proceed or what to believe.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

Amplification

The expansion of a statement by adding more information, details, or examples to emphasize or clarify an idea.

Personification

The attribution of human qualities or actions to something nonhuman.