Rhetoric Devices

Rhetorical Devices- techniques an author uses to evoke an emotional

response to manipulate an audience’s thoughts, reactions,

and impressions

used for emphasis, association, clarification, focus, organization, transition, arrangement, decoration, and variety

Alliteration- Repetition of the initial consonant sounds beginning several

words in sequence

Allusion- A reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, art, religion, politics, sports, science, mythology, folk tales, or some other branch of culture

Euphemism- Positive Ex. “Used cars” become “pre-owned vehicles”.

Dysphemism: Negative Ex. “Music” becomes “noise”.

Hyperbole- Obvious exaggeration for emphasis or effect

Juxtaposition- The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases or words side by side to compare/contrast the two

Parallelism- Repetition of the same or similar grammatical structures

One of the most useful and flexible rhetorical devices
Ex. “We shall not falter, we shall not fail.”

Repetition- When an author or speaker repeats a word, phrase, or idea

more than once

The rhetorical reasons for using repetition are:
- Emphasizes the importance of words, a phrase, or ideas
- Ensures the audience is paying attention (something important is coming)

Rhetorical Question- A question asked for effect that does not actually require an answer because the answer should be obvious

Sarcasm (Verbal Irony)- Usually a harsh, personally directed comment; saying one

thing, yet meaning something else

Understatement- A statement that says less than what is meant