Rhetorical Devices and Greek Appeals

Twenty-five commonly used rhetorical devices, including the Greek appeals

Greek Appeals

1. Ethos – An appeal to credibility or ethics; persuading the audience by establishing the speaker’s trustworthiness and authority.

2. Pathos – An appeal to emotion; persuading by evoking feelings such as pity, anger, or joy.

3. Logos – An appeal to logic and reason; persuading by using facts, evidence, and logical arguments.

Common Rhetorical Devices

4. Alliteration – The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of closely placed words (e.g., Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers).

5. Allusion – A brief reference to a well-known person, event, literary work, or place to deepen meaning (e.g., "He was a real Romeo with the ladies.").

6. Anaphora – The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses for emphasis (e.g., "I have a dream… I have a dream…" – Martin Luther King Jr.).

7. Antithesis – The contrast of two opposing ideas within the same sentence or passage (e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." – Charles Dickens).

8. Anecdote – A short personal story used to illustrate a point or make an argument more relatable.

9. Asyndeton – The omission of conjunctions between phrases or clauses to create a fast-paced, dramatic effect (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered." – Julius Caesar).

10. Chiasmus – A rhetorical structure in which words or phrases are reversed in order (e.g., "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." – John F. Kennedy).

11. Connotation – The emotional or cultural associations a word carries beyond its literal definition (e.g., “home” suggests warmth and family, whereas “house” is more neutral).

12. Diction – The choice of words used by a speaker or writer to convey tone, style, and meaning.

13. Hyperbole – An intentional exaggeration for emphasis or effect (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.").

14. Imagery – Descriptive language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) to create vivid mental pictures.

15. Irony – A contrast between expectation and reality, often for humorous or dramatic effect (e.g., A fire station burns down).

16. Juxtaposition – Placing two contrasting ideas, characters, or images close together for emphasis (e.g., light and darkness, wealth and poverty).

17. Metaphor – A direct comparison between two unrelated things without using “like” or “as” (e.g., "Time is a thief.").

18. Parallelism – The repetition of a grammatical structure for balance and rhythm (e.g., "Like father, like son." or "Easy come, easy go.").

19. Personification – Giving human traits to non-human objects or ideas (e.g., "The wind whispered through the trees.").

20. Polysyndeton – The excessive use of conjunctions to slow down rhythm and add emphasis (e.g., "We lived and laughed and loved and left.").

21. Repetition – The deliberate reuse of a word or phrase to reinforce meaning and create emphasis.

22. Rhetorical Question – A question asked for effect rather than to elicit an actual answer (e.g., "Do you want to be a failure for the rest of your life?").

23. Simile – A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as” (e.g., "Her smile was as bright as the sun.").

24. Synecdoche – A figure of speech where a part represents the whole (e.g., "All hands on deck." – “hands” represent sailors).

25. Understatement – Making something seem less significant than it actually is for ironic or humorous effect (e.g., Saying "It’s just a scratch" when referring to a deep wound).