Rhetorical Strategies Definition:

OA rhetorical device uses words in a certain way to

convey meaning or to persuade. It can also be a

technique to evoke an emotion on the part of the

reader or audience.

Analogy (Logos)O Again, look in your notes. What is the

definition and what do you need to know about analogy before you use it?

Cause and Effect (Logos)

O Look in your notes. What is the definition of this term?

O Type of analogy

Stylistic DevicesHyperbole

O I’m as hungry as a starving lion.

O Hyperbole is a synonym for exaggeration. Clearly, the speaker is not really as hungry as a starving lion. A hyperbole is just a figure of speech we use to emphasize a point.

O The opposite device is understatement: I’m a little tired is a purposeful understatement if the speaker has been up for 48 hours.

RepetitionO “Duty does not trump honesty. Duty

does not trump common sense. And duty, my friends, does not trump morality.”

O Repetition is the conscious and purposeful replication of words or phrases in order to make a point. In this example, it’s clear that the limits of duty are being sketched out. The speaker is trying to show that duty is not the only or even the most important virtue.

Imagery/Figurative Language

OSimile

O Her eyes were like stars.O Her eyes are literally human eyes.

Figuratively, they are being compared to stars, meaning, most likely, that they are bright and shiny and cause wonderment. This is an example of a simile. Similes use like and as to make explicit comparisons between unlike things, such as eyes and stars.

Imagery/Figurative Language

OMetaphor

O Her eyes were pools of liquid light.O Again, her eyes are literally human eyes.

Figuratively, they are being compared to pools of liquid light. However, the comparison is implied, not stated. This is an example of a metaphor. Unlike similes, metaphors compare unlike things without explicitly stating the comparison with “like” or “as.”

Imagery/Figurative Language

OPersonification

O Her eyes followed me up the stairs.

O Can eyes follow someone up the stairs? Not literally, but in this case an eye—which is not a person—is given a person’s abilities, namely, following someone else up the stairs. This is an example of personification.

OSymbolism

O Her eyes looked but did not see. All was dark.

O Literally speaking, eyes either see (healthy eyes) or they don’t see (blind eyes). An eye that looks but does not see is blind in a figurative sense. Very often, vision and light are symbols for understanding and enlightenment. In this example, the woman is most likely unaware of—or “in the dark”—about something. This is an example of symbolism.

Sound PatternsO Her eyes were rippling pools of liquid

light in which I splashed playfully.O This metaphor also uses sound patterns to

underscore its meaning. Note that the letters l and p repeat: rippling pools of liquid light…splashed playfully. The author may have repeated “l” and “p” sounds to evoke the sound of water (like in the word splash itself) or simply to link together the words that make up the metaphor—or both. There are many types of sound-pattern devices, each with its own difficult Greek name that you certainly won’t need to know.

Rhetorical QuestionsO Can poverty ever be eradicated?O Rhetorical questions are not meant to be

answered. A rhetorical question is used to present what’s taken to be an unanswerable question, such as these questions:

O Can a repeat offender ever be trusted not to commit another crime?

O Can a person ever have too much love?O A rhetorical question can also be one in which the

author’s answer is clearly intended to be “no” or “yes.” In these two examples, the author’s answer is clearly intended to be “no” (whether you agree with those answers or not).

Idioms and Clichés

O “That’ll cost you an arm and a leg”O Idioms are inherited quirks of language that

native speakers understand without question but which cause nonnative speakers endless trouble. Only a native speaker knows that if something costs an arm and a leg that means it’s expensive, not that you actually need to lose your limbs to purchase it. Many overused idioms and symbols are clichés, and clichés themselves can be used ironically (see irony below).

IronyO [Said to a mean boss]: “You’ve been so kind to me.”O A statement is ironic if it expresses something

different from or opposite to the literal meaning of the words. This example is called verbal irony or sarcasm, which can be thought of as “heavy-handed irony”:

O The overuse of antibiotics has led to the rise of resistant strains of many diseases.

O A statement or situation can be ironic or paradoxical when the words accurately report events that seem to be contradictory but which have actually occurred, as in this example:

Irony continuedO A soldier has returned from a war.

He crashes his motorcycle and dies. His war experiences are told in flashback. Whenever he thinks about death, a motorcycle drives by.

O A specific literary use of irony is called dramatic irony. In the example above, the audience knows that the soldier will die in a motorcycle crash. The soldier himself, of course, doesn’t know how he will die.

Sarcasm/Verbal IronyO the literal meaning is different than

what the speaker intends to say through sarcasm. Sarcasm is a literary and rhetorical device that is meant to mock with often satirical or ironic remarks with a purpose to amuse and hurt someone or some section of society simultaneously. For instance:

O “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” (Mark Twain)

AnecdoteO a short and interesting story or

an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh. Anecdotes can include an extensive range of tales and stories. In fact, it is a short description or an account of any event that makes the readers laugh or brood over the topic presented for the purpose.