Rhetorical devices

antithesis

using a contrast in language to bring out a contrast in ideas

• (that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind)

irony

contrast between what is stated and what is really meant

• verbal: when what is said is opposite of literal meaning

• situational: when outcome is opposite from what was expected (a fire station burning down)

• dramatic: when the reader knows something the character doesn’t (knowing that juliet wasn’t actually dead)

diction

choice of words

could be:

• monosyllabic (one syllable)

• colloquial/informal

• formal/old-fashioned

• denotative (containing exact meaning: dress)

• connotative (containing emotional meaning: gown)

• euphonious (pleasant sounding)

Impacts tone a lot!!

Tone

author’s attitude:

• formal

• humorous

• informal

• assertive

• depressing

• inspirational

Syntax

syntactic strategies and elements, describes sentence structure:

• sentence length

  • telegraphic: short

• sentence types

  • declarative- statement

  • imperative- command

  • interrogative- question

  • exclamatory- exclamation

• Sentence structure

  • complex : independent + one or more subordinate

  • compound: two independent

  • compound- complex: two or more independent and one or more subordinate

anadiplosis

repetition of the LAST word of a preceding clause

epistrophe

repetition of the same word at the END of a sentence or phrase

anaphora

repetition of the same word at the beginning of a sentence or line

parallel structure

structural similarity between sentences (arrangement of words/phrases/ sentences so elements are equally developed)

Juxtaposition

normally unassociated ideas/words/phrases are placed next to one another (night and day)

repetition

repeating of phrase/ word/ line

rhetorical question

question with no answer- makes reader think

hypophora

question is asked then answered

simile/ metaphor

comparing using like or as or w/o like or as

personification

gives objects human charactersitics

hyperbole

outrageous exaggeration

meiosis

understatement- opposite of hyperbole

paradox

statement which contradicts itself, but has a coherent meaning (youth is wasted on the young)

oxymoron

form of paradox combining pair of contrary terms into a single expression (sweet sorrow)

allusion

reference to mythology/ literature/ history

imagery

giving vivid detail using 5 senses

rhetorical Appeals/ modes of persuasion

pathos,ethos,logos

pathos

emotional appeal

logos

add credibility by backing with support and logic (evidence/ stats)

ethos

credibility of speaker (goodwill/ intelligence)