Rhetorical

 Devices   Hyperbaton  -­‐-­‐  A  figure  of  speech  using  devia4on  

from  normal  or  logical  word  order  to  produce  an  
Isocolon  is  a  scheme  of  parallel  structure  that   effect  
occurs  when  the  parallel  elements  are  similar   “Ask  not  what  your  country  can  do  for  you,  ask  what  you  
not  only  in  gramma4cal  structure  but  also  in   can  do  for  your  country.”
—J.  F.  Kennedy,  Inaugural  Speech
length  (the  number  of  words  or  even  the  num-­‐
ber  of  syllables.) "Sorry  I  be  but  go  you  must."
-­‐-­‐  Yoda  in  Star  Wars
"It  takes  a  licking,  but  it  keeps  on  3cking!"
-­‐-­‐  adver4sing  slogan  of  Timex  watches “My  country,  '3s  of  thee,  sweet  land  of  liberty,  of  thee  I  
sing.”  
“The  louder  he  talked  of  his  honor,  the  faster  we  counted       -­‐-­‐  patrio4c  song
our  spoons.  
–  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson "With  this  ring,  I  thee  wed…"
    -­‐-­‐    wedding  vows
How  dull  it  is  to  pause,  to  make  an  end,
To  rust  unburnish’d,  not  to  shine  in  use!
    -­‐-­‐  from  “Ulysses”  by  Lord  Alfred  Tennyson
Asyndeton-­‐-­‐deliberate  omission  of  conjunc4ons  
between  a  series  of  related  clauses.  The  effect  
“…I  can  no  more  disown  him  than  I  can  disown  the  black   of  this  device  is  to  produce  a  hurried  rhythm  or  
community.  I  can  no  more  disown  him  than  I  can  my   asser4ve  tone  in  the  sentence.
white  grandmother  –  …”
-­‐-­‐  Barack  Obama,  on  Rev.  Jeremiah  Wright “I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered.”  
 —Julius  Caesar
An2thesis—the  juxtaposi4on  of  contras4ng  
ideas,  oNen  in  parallel  structure.  The  contrast   “.  .  .that  we  shall  pay  any  price,  bear  any  burden  meet  
any  hardship,  support  any  friend,  oppose  any  foe  to  as-­‐
may  be  in  words  or  in  ideas  or  both.  
sure  the  survival  and  the  success  of  liberty.”  
—   J.F.K.
“Not  that  I  loved  Cæsar  less,  but  that  I  loved  Rome  more.”
     -­‐-­‐  from  Julius  Caesar,  William  Shakespeare
Apposi2on-­‐-­‐placing  side  by  side  two  coordinate  
 ‘What  if  I  am  rich,  and  another  is  poor—strong,  and  he  is   elements,  the  second  of  which  serves  as  an  ex-­‐
weak—intelligent,  and  he  is  benighted—elevated,  and  he   plana4on  or  modifica4on  of  the  first.  In  gram-­‐
is  depraved?  Have  we  not  one  Father?  Hath  not  one  God   mar,  this  is  the  apposi4ve  or  noun  cluster.
created  us?
—“No  Compromise  with  Slavery,”  William  Lloyd   "This  is  a  valley  of  ashes-­‐-­‐a  fantas3c  farm  where  ashes  
Garrison grow  like  wheat  into  ridges  and  hills  and  grotesque  gar-­‐
dens;  where  ashes  take  the  forms  of  houses  and  chim-­‐
"I  have  a  dream  that  my  four  liPle  children  will  one  day   neys  and  rising  smoke  and  finally,  with  a  transcendent  
live  in  a  na3on  where  they  will  not  be  judged  by  the  color   effort,  of  ash-­‐grey  men,  who  move  dimly  and  already  
of  their  skin  but  by  the  content  of  their  character." crumbling  through  the  powdery  air."
-­‐-­‐  Mar4n  Luther  King,  Jr.,  “I  Have  a  Dream” -­‐-­‐  F.  Sco]  Fitzgerald,  The  Great  Gatsby

"One  small  step  for  a  man,  one  giant  leap  for  all  man-­‐ “A  notorious  annual  debacle,  the  speedball  tournament  
kind."     was  cancelled  due  to  finances.”
-­‐-­‐  Neil  Armstrong     -­‐-­‐  CNB

"To  err  is  human,  to  forgive,  divine."  -­‐-­‐  Alexander  Pope “Rudolph,  the  red-­‐nosed  reindeer,  had  a  very  shiny  nose.”
    -­‐-­‐  Christmas  carol
Polysyndeton-­‐-­‐deliberate  use  of  many  conjunc-­‐
4ons.  The  effect  of  polysyndeton  is  to  slow   “It  was  the  best  of  3mes,  it  was  the  worst  of  3mes,  it  was  
the  age  of  wisdom,  it  was  the  age  of  foolishness,  it  was  
down  the  rhythm  of  the  sentence.
the  epoch  of  belief,  it  was  the  epoch  of  incredulity,  it  was  
the  season  of  Light,  it  was  the  season  of  Darkness,  it  was  
"And  the  German  will  not  be  able  to  help  themselves  
the  spring  of  hope,  it  was  the  winter  of  despair…”
from  imagining  the  cruelty  their  brothers  endured  at  our  
-­‐-­‐  A  Tale  of  Two  Ci3es,  Charles  Dickens
hands,  and  our  boot  heels,  and  the  edge  of  our  knives.  
And  the  Germans,  will  be  sickened  by  us.  And  the  Ger-­‐
mans,  will  talk  about  us.  And  the  Germans,  will  fear  us.   Epanalepsis-­‐-­‐repe44on  at  the  end  of  a  clause  of  
And  when  the  Germans  close  their  eyes  at  night,  and   the  word  that  occurred  at  the  beginning  of  the  
their  subconscious  tortures  them  for  the  evil  they’ve   clause.  Like  other  schemes  of  repe44on,  epana-­‐
done,  it  will  be  with  thoughts  of  us,  that  it  tortures  them   lepsis  oNen  produces  or  expresses  strong  emo-­‐
with."    -­‐-­‐  Lieutenant  Aldo  Raine  (Brad  Pi]),  Inglourious   4on.
Basterds
"In  3mes  like  these,  it  is  helpful  to  remember  that  there  
"And  God  said,  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  living  crea-­‐ have  always  been  3mes  like  these.  "  
ture  a_er  his  kind,  caPle,  and  creeping  thing,  and  beast   —Paul  Harvey
of  the  earth  a_er  his  kind:  and  it  was  so.  And  God  made  
the  beast  of  the  earth  a_er  his  kind,  and  caPle  a_er  their   “Math  doesn’t  like  me,  and  I  don’t  like  Math.”
kind,  and  every  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth  a_er  
his  kind:  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good."-­‐-­‐  Genesis   "Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always:  and  again  I  say,  Rejoice."
1:24-­‐25  (KJV) -­‐-­‐  The  Bible,  Phil.  4.4

“The  bar  is  in  full  swing  and  floa3ng  rounds  of  cocktails   "He  is  no3ceable  for  nothing  in  the  world  except  for  the  
permeate  the  garden  outside  un3l  the  air  is  alive  with   markedness  by  which  he  is  no3ceable  for  nothing.”
chaPer  and  laughter  and  casual  innuendo  and  introduc-­‐ -­‐-­‐  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  "The  Litera4  of  New  
3ons  forgoPen  on  the  spot  and  enthusias3c  mee3ngs   York  City."  Godey's  Lady's  Book,  1846
between  women  who  never  knew  each  other's  names.”    -­‐-­‐  
F.  Sco]  Fitzgerald,  The  Great  Gatsby
Chiasmus-­‐-­‐reversal  of  gramma4cal  structures  in  
successive  phrases  or  clause.  This  scheme  is  also  
Anaphora-­‐-­‐repe44on  of  the  same  word  or  
called  the  “criss-­‐cross.”  Chiasmus  involves  a  re-­‐
groups  of  words  at  the  beginnings  of  successive  
versal  of  gramma4cal  structures  in  successive  
clauses.  This  device  produces  a  strong  emo-­‐
phrases  or  clause,  but  it  does  not  involve  a  
4onal  effect,  especially  in  speech.  It  also  estab-­‐
repe44on  of  words.  
lishes  a  marked  change  in  rhythm.
"I  am  stuck  on  Band-­‐Aid,  and  Band-­‐Aid's  stuck  on  me."
Just  as  you  feel  when  you  look  on  the  river  and  sky,  so  I  
-­‐-­‐  adver4sing  jingle  for  Band-­‐Aid  bandages
       felt;      
Just  as  any  of  you  is  one  of  a  living  crowd,  I  was  one  of  
"The  value  of  marriage  is  not  that  adults  produce  chil-­‐
       a  crowd;      
dren,  but  that  children  produce  adults."
Just  as  you  are  refresh'd  by  the  gladness  of  the  river  
-­‐-­‐  Peter  De  Vries
     and  the  bright  flow,  I  was  refresh'd;
Just  as  you  stand  and  lean  on  the  rail,  yet  hurry  with  
"Your  manuscript  is  both  good  and  original;  but  the  part  
       the  swi_  current,  I  stood,  yet  was  hurried;      
that  is  good  is  not  original,  and  the  part  that  is  original  is  
Just  as  you  look  on  the  numberless  masts  of  ships,  and      
not  good."
       the  thick-­‐stem'd  pipes  of  steamboats,  I  look'd.      
-­‐-­‐  Samuel  Johnson
-­‐-­‐  “Crossing  Brooklyn  Ferry,”  
Walt  Whitman

“We  shall  fight  on  the  beaches,  we  shall  fight  on  the  land-­‐
ing  grounds,  we  shall  fight  in  the  fields  and  in  the  street,  
we  shall  fight  in  the  hills.”
—Winston  Churchill,  1940
 
Synecdoche-­‐-­‐figure  of  speech  in  which  a  part   object originally denoted by the word
stands  for  the  whole  ("hands"  to  refer  to  work-­‐
ers,  "head"  for  ca]le,  "threads"  for  clothing,   He is a “man of the cloth.” (member of a relig-
"wheels"  for  car,  "mouths  to  feed"  for  hungry   ious
order)
people,  etc).
A  redneck  refers  a  member  of  the  low-­‐class  who  pos-­‐
"Take  thy  face  hence." sesses  certain  unfla]ering  characteris4cs
-­‐-­‐  William  Shakespeare,  Macbeth  

“Friends,  Romans,  countrymen,  lend  me  your  ears;…” "The B.L.T. left without paying."

-- waitress referring to a customer
“Get  your  buP  out  of  here.”
 –  lots  of  people "The suits on Wall Street walked off with most
"I  should  have  been  a  pair  of  ragged  claws
of our savings."
ScuPling  across  the  floors  of  silent  seas."
-­‐-­‐  T.S.  Eliot,  "The  Love  Song  of  J.  Alfred  
       Prufrock"  
Defini2ons  excerpted  from  Edward  P.  J.  CorbeD  and  
Metonymy - is the use of a word for a concept Robert  J.  Connors’  Classical  Rhetoric  for  the  Modern  
or object which is associated with the concept/ Student.      Examples  culled  from  all  over.