RHETORICAL DEVICE DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES

Accomodation

adjusting language, tone, argument style, or delivery to align with the beliefs, background, and emotional state of an audience

• Steve Jobs, the billionaire, talks to college students about sleeping on friends’ couches during college

Alliteration

repetition of the same initial consonant sounds - We love lions, we hate hyenas

Anacoluthon

an abrupt change in the way a sentence is grammatically structured

• if you think i’m going to sit here and take that— well, nobody talks to me that way!

Analogy

a comparison between two very different things to highlight similarity or to help explain something deep/complex

• the brain is like a computer, it is very intricate

Antithesis

two ideas that directly contrast one another

• Give me liberty, give me death

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

Aporia

real/pretended doubt or confusion of a speaker

• Ain’t I a woman

• How do I begin

Apostrophe

referring to an inanimate object, or an absent person

• O Death

• Ye Gods

Apothegm

a short, brief, instructive saying or aphorism

• Knowledge is power

• an apple a day keeps the doctor away

Argumentum ad populum

a false argument that appeals to popular beliefs or passions

• Everyone is buying this, so it must be the best

Ascending tricolon

the sett of three same phrases that increase in impact, length, or intensity

• I came, I saw, I conquered

Auxesis

a set of clauses progressively increase in intensity

• it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman

• and… and… and…

Bathos/Bathetic

a transition from something serious to something insincere and unserious

• he lost his family, his job, and his favorite pair of socks

Chiasmus

a switch in word order for the next phrase switching the meaning

• if you fail to plan, you plan to fail

Commonplace

a premise that is shared wisdom/assumption that is culturally specific

• American Dream

Comprobatio

complimenting the audience to gain their favor

Concessio

conceding(admitting) a minor point to show fairness to strengthen an overall argument

• admitting issues

Decorum

how you dress up your argument delivery to fit the audience, subject, and occasion

• high, grand style rhetoric for a formal interveiw

Division

setting out what you and your opponent disagree about

• Today we will:

Ellipsis

the omission of words that are already understood

• John forgives Mary and Mary, John

Enargia

a vivid description designed to create pictures in the audiences minds

Enthymeme (rhetorical syllogism)

where a premise or conclusion is unstated

• Socrates is mortal because he is human

• Where there is smoke there is fire

Ethos

an appeal to ethics, authority, or moral character to establish credibility

• As a doctor with 20 years of experience, I recommend this

Exordium

the beginning of a speech to establish credibility with the audience

Figurative Language

metaphors, similes, personification

Gnomic

a concise phrase that alludes to a general truth

• fortune favors the bold

Hyperbole

exaggeration that emphasizes and makes dramatic

• I’ve told you a million times

Invention

doing your homework and finding for and against information about an argument

Isocolon

a series of phrases that are the exact same in length and structure

• Easy come, easy go

• of the people, by the people, for the people

Kairos

delivering a speech at the right moment

• speech about how to fix failing government while the govt just failed

Litotes

something good that is explained by the negative

• That is not bad

• it’s not rocket science

Logos

an appeal to logic, reason, and evidence for persuasion

• buy my old car because yours is broken and mine is the only one on sale

Meter

the rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

• stressed

• stressed then unstressed,

• stressed, unstressed unstressed

Metonumy

a FOG in which someone or something is referred to by something closely related to it

• America won Gold

Molossus

three stressed syllables

• the GREAT, DARK, NIGHT

Narration

setting out the general facts of a speech via a narration

Paralipsis

bringing something up by saying you won’t mention it

• I won’t mention…

Pathos

the appeal to emotions for persuasion

• if you don’t do this, this child will die

Peroration

final part of a speech, summing up major points and sending a final memorable message

Ploce

deliberate repetition of a word/phrase

Polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions for emphasis

• he.. and… and.. and…

Proof

the part of a speech where facts support the main argument

Prosody

the rhythm, stress, intonation of speech

Refuation

a part of the speech where you weaken, disprove, or neutralize your opponents arguments

Syllogism

making a statement using deductive reasoning, going from generalizations to specific facts

• All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Synecdoche

referring to something as part to whole

• grey beard

• nice wheels

• all hands on deck

Zeguma

when a verb governs/modifies two nouns

• he lost his keys and his temper