Rhetorical Terms & Examples

Alliteration

repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence.

Alliteration Examples

• Busy as a Bee

• Home Sweet Home

• Living Life

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without  it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Allusion Example

• "Achilles' heel"

• "Pandora's box”

• "He's a real Einstein"

Analogy

a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Analogy Example

• "Gunpowder revolutionized war and brought down old hierarchies and strategies"

• "Being the successful boss or CEO of a company is like being an orchestra conductor"

• "Dentist : drill :: doctor : scalpel"

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines.

Anaphora Examples

• John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" 

• William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or not to be, that is the question" 

• A nursery rhyme: "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you"

Antistrophe

repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Antistrophe Example

• "They are not afraid to fight for their country, they are not afraid to die for their country, they are not afraid to live for their country."

• "The rain falls on the field, the rain falls on the tree, the rain falls on the sea."

• "I came, I saw, I conquered." - Julius Caesar (This is a famous example of a related device, "epistrophe" where the repeated word appears at the beginning of clauses, but it illustrates the concept of repetition at the end of phrases)

Antithesis

opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction.

Antithesis Examples

• Speeches: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" — John F. Kennedy 

• Literature: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities 

• Poetry: "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice" — Robert Frost, “Fire and Ice

Apostrophe

a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present.

Apostrophe Examples

• O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? 

• O Captain! My Captain!

• Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me

Assonance

repetition of the same sound in words close to each other.

Assonance Examples

• "Go with the flow"

• "A rolling stone gathers no moss"

• "You snooze, you lose"

• "No pain, no gain"

• "Keep your eyes on the prize"

• "The cat is out of the bag"

Asyndeton

lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

Asyndeton Examples

• "Reduce, reuse, recycle": A series of words joined without conjunctions 

• "Live, laugh, love": A series of words joined without conjunctions 

• "I came, I saw, I conquered": An example of asyndeton in Latin, veni, vidi, vic

Cacophony

harsh joining of sounds

Cacophony Examples

• Dishes crashing on the floor

• Horns blaring and people yelling in a traffic accident

• The sound of construction equipment

• A cacophony of voices at a party

Chiasmus

two corresponding pairs arranged not in parallels (a-b-a-b) but in inverted order (a-b-b-a); from shape of the Greek letter chi (X).

Chiasmus Examples

• John Milton

  "Love without end, and without measure Grace" 
  Alfred North Whitehead

  "The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order" 

• John McCain

  "We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us"

Diction

style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words

Diction Examples

Diction is a writer's choice of words, and there are many different types of diction. Here are some examples of diction: 

• Formal diction

  Used in serious writing and scholarly works, such as "I am traveling to the mall this weekend" 

• Informal diction

  Used in everyday speech and narrative writing, such as "I can't wait to go to the mall this weekend" 

• Abstract diction

  Used to express vague ideas, such as emotional states, such as "There's something ominous about this rain" 

• Concrete diction

  Used to describe things that appeal to the senses, using specific and detailed phrasing 

• Pedantic diction

  Used to convey an excessive amount of academic words, such as to appear more intelligent 

• Colloquial diction

  Used to capture the language of a specific time period or culture, such as using slang or local expressions 

• Poetic diction

  Used to distinguish poetry from other writing, such as using words to evoke emotion or create a lyrical quality

Euphemism

substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.

Euphemism Examples

• “Let go” instead of “fired”

• “Bit the dust” instead of “died”

• “Big boned” instead of “fat”

• “Darn” instead of “damn”

• “Spin the truth” instead of “lie”

• “Unique looking” instead of “ugly”

• “Vertically challenged” instead of “short”

• “Stepping out” instead of “cheating”

Hyperbole

exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect.

Hyperbole Examples

• "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse"

• "This bag weighs a ton"

• "I've told you a million times"

• "He's as skinny as a toothpick"

• "His smile is a mile wide"

• "The concert was so loud it could wake the dead"

Irony

expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.

Irony Example

• My grave is like to be my wedding bed.

• The butter is as soft as a marble piece.

• Oh great! Now you have broken my new spectacles

Metaphor

a harsh metaphor involving the use of a word beyond its strict sphere.

Metaphor Example

• Heart of Gold

• Time is money

• Life is a journy

Metonymy

substitution of one word for another which it suggests.

Metonymy Examples

• The White House: Refers to the president or the president's administration

• The Crown: Refers to the British royal family

• Hollywood: Refers to the film industry or celebritiesThe White House: Refers to the president or the president's administration

• The Crown: Refers to the British royal family

• Hollywood: Refers to the film industry or celebrities

Paradox

an assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.an assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.

Paradox Examples

• Youth is wasted on the young.

• Less is more.

• The only constant is change.

• You have to spend money to make money.

• The only rule is there are no rules.

Parallelism

agreement in direction, tendency, or character; the state or condition of being .

Parallelism

• Repeating words: "Easy come, easy go" 

• Repeating phrases: "She likes cooking, jogging, and reading" 

• Repeating sentence structure: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" 

• Repeating tense: "Balanced nightly till, managed inventory, ensured customer satisfaction" 

• Repeating meaning: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn"

Personification

attribution of personality to an impersonal thing.

Personification Examples

• "The leaves danced in the wind."

• "The rain wept softly on the window."

• "The mountains stood tall and proud."

• "The ocean roared angrily."

Polysyndeton

the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses

Polysyndeton is a literary device that uses conjunctions like "and," "or," and "but" repeatedly, even when they aren't necessary. It's used to create rhythm, emphasis, or a sense of urgency.

Polysyndeton Examples

• In A Farewell to Arms: "In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels" 

• In a recommendation letter: "John West has excellent organizational skills and superb interpersonal skills and outstanding written communication skills" 

• In Pride and Prejudice: "Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so—but still they admired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet girl, and one whom they would not object to know more of"

Simile

an explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'.

Simile Examples

• As light as a feather: Compares something to a feather, which is known for being light 

• Busy as a bee: Compares something to a bee, which is known for being busy 

• Like watching paint dry: Compares something to watching paint dry 

• Like cats and dogs: Compares two things fighting to the way cats and dogs fight

Tone

any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.:

Tone Examples

excited, depressed, sarcastic, frightened, or hopeful.

Synecdoche

understanding one thing with another; the use of a part for the whole, or the whole for the part. (A form of metonymy.)

Synecdoche Examples

• "Fifty keels plowed the deep": This line uses the keels of ships to represent the ships themselves. 

• "The hands": In Of Mice and Men, Slim uses "the hands" to refer to the farm workers. 

• "Kleenex": Using the brand name "Kleenex" to refer to all disposable tissues