RHETORICAL DEVICES HANDOUT
Allegory: a narrative in which ______________and sometimes the
Example: fables in which personified animals are used allegorically to
_____________ represent general concepts and ideas
teach lessons of human conduct (e.g. “the Hare and the Tortoise”)
Denotation: the definition which appears in the ___________________ Example: Home denotes the place where a person lives
Connotation: associated meanings it implies or suggests
Example: Home connotes intimacy, privacy, coziness
The ________________________________we attach to the word
Exaggeration (Hyperbole): emphasizes a fact
Example: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
Image/Imagery: appeals to one or more of the five ______________
Example: The glistening dew on the tips of the velvety blood red rose
by creating a vivid impression through the use of concrete details,
reflected Sarah’s bright green eyes as she leaned over to inhale its honey
adjectives and figures of speech
sweet scent
Repetition: is used for ____________________ and rhythm
Example: “It was a strange night, a hushed night, a moonless night, and
all you could do was go to a movie.”
Analogy: helps the reader understand something unfamiliar by
Example: Comparing an anthill to an urban centre helps to convey the
comparing it to something ____________________________.
fact that anthills are heavily populated, busy, and have regular patterns of
movement.
Bias: an opinion or influence that strongly___________________ one
Example: George Bush is only attacking Iraq because of his interest in
side in an argument or one ________________in a group or series.
the oil supply.
Anecdote: short amusing or interesting story, especially one that is
Example: As a child, I broke a glass over my sister’s head-sending her to
true, used to _________________ a current situation
the hospital for multiple stitches; today, I am a well rounded, yoga
attending individual, so people can really change
Abnormal Word Order: gives variety and emphasis to your writing by
Example: Normal word order (subject-verb): “The actor’s worst
modifying the usual _________________________ sentence pattern
nightmares stood laughing at him from the shadows.” Abnormal word
order (verb-subject): “Laughing at him from the shadows stood the actor’s
worst nightmare.”
Balanced Sentence- symmetry and equilibrium: expresses two or
Example #1: “Many TV actors work hard all through the season and they
more equal and parallel ideas in statements that are
play in films all through the hiatus.”
_____________________________________ similar
Example #2: “Silence is as deep as eternity; speech is as shallow as
time.”
Balanced Sentence – Antithetical/Contrasting
Example #1: “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”
expresses two or more opposite ideas in statements that are
Example #2: “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.”
_____________________________________ similar
Climatic Word Order: presents several facts in order from
Example: “The young politician’s career rise was meteoric; after
___________to _______________ important
beginning as a municipal councillor, she became mayor, and three short
years later a Member of Parliament.”
Parallel Structure (Parallelism): repeats specific
Example #1: Abraham Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the
__________,_____________________, clauses in a series, or sentence people, for the people” (preposition, definite article, and noun are repeated
structure, giving emphasis to key words and making them memorable.
in a series)
Example #2: “Let us consider the origin and the development of
medicine.”
Example #3: Her voice was low, soft, and pleasant.”
Periodic Sentence: withholds an important part of the sentence until
Example #1: “Whether playing a young wild adventurer, a fugitive from
the end so that it doesn’t make complete sense until the last word is
the law, or a U.S. president, there is one actor whose films always make
read-reader is kept in ____________________
money – Harrison Ford.”
Example #2: “If music be the food of love, play on.”
Reversals: make a balanced sentence even more memorable by
Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can
repeating the words in ___________________ order
do for your country.” (John F. Kennedy)
Rhetorical Question: is one whose answer is already known or
Example: “Can anyone deny that the microchip has revolutionized
implied: exclamations, or commands add variety and life to a passage.
communication?”
These questions can invite the reader to become engaged with the text
Example The “Three Days to See” (Helen Keller) essay involves rhetorical
rather than provoke an actual answer. Rhetorical questions can also
questions.
involve the reader personally, thereby adding intimacy and a personal
connection from the page to the reader.
Sentence Fragment: a short, incomplete sentence which places
Example: “A cold room. A lonely room. A bare room. No place to spend
emphasis on key words to create an overall effect, such as humour or
twenty years of a life.”
suspense.
Understatement (Litotes): creates the reverse effect (and adds a
touch of irony) by making the fact seem less ___________________
Satire: ridicule, irony, or ___________________ in speech or writing
(or media)
-a novel, play, etc. that ridicules people’s hypocrisy or foolishness in this
way
Short Sentences effectively present strong feelings, create dramatic
effects, or emphasize a point. They are often placed for emphasis at the
___________________, or after a few long sentences.
Juxtaposition is the side-by-side placement of two
___________________ ideas or items, in order that they can be seen in
a new light.
Example: “Bruce Willis’ onscreen characters frequently find themselves
in a bit of a jam.”
Example: e.g. The Simpsons
Bowling for Columbine
Example ““The Grown Up Problem” essay on p 2-3 (Literary Essays; &
Short Stories) of the textbook used this style.
Example For example, Romeo and Juliet I.v. has a wide range of strong
contrasts:
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Long Sentences effectively develop suspense, show contrast,
___________________, provide detailed descriptions, create mood, or
express a complicated concept fully and with suitable qualifications and
examples.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the first ___________________of 2 or
more words in a sentence.
Allusion
An allusion is a brief, indirect reference to a historical, mythological,
biblical person, place, object or event, or anything else assumed to be
known to the reader. The writer does not explain the background
information, but assumes the ___________________ on the part of the
reader.
Concession
Concession occurs when in argumentative discourse the author
concedes that the opposition is ___________________ on a specific
point or in one aspect.
Contrast and Comparison
Contrast and comparison are used to help___________________points.
youth and old age;
servants and nobles;
love-sick Romeo and fiery Tybalt;
the noisy public feast and the private whispers of the lovers;
Romeo's infatuation and Juliet's wit;
the old nurse and young Juliet; and so on.
Example I SEE IT NOW — THE WIDE SWEEP OF THE BAY, THE GLITTERING
SANDS, the wealth of green infinite and varied, the sea blue like the sea of
a dream, the crowd of attentive faces, the blaze of vivid colour — the
water reflecting it all, the curve of the shore, the jetty, the high-sterned
outlandish craft floating still, and the three boats with the tired men from
the West sleeping, unconscious of the land and the people and of the
violence of sunshine.
Examples that are clichés: “sweet smell of success,” “bigger and better,”
“jump for joy;”
In Beowulf, alliteration is often employed as a support to rhyme. For
example:
Now Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings Leader beloved, and long
he ruled In fame
with all folk since his father had gone . . .
Example: “The guy is a real Shakespeare” is an allusion because it is
indirect, presumes the reader knows
who Shakespeare is, and implies an abstract thought, namely, that ‘the
guy is a real poet.’ But just referring to an author by name, e.g., “Thomas
Aquinas wrote an average of forty pages a day for thirty years,” while it
presumes we know who Aquinas was, is a direct reference; as such, it is
not an allusion.
For example,
"Yes, Joshua, your essay is nicely written, that I’ll concede. The problem
is that it is off topic and
That it is derivative of one written by Professor Joe Khoury.
Contrast may be structural ifthe writer begins presenting one argument
and ends with the opposite view. Contrast may be a simple pairing of
opposites, e.g., “He is interesting, not dull.” There may be a running
contrast throughout the essay of, say, characters who are evil and those
who aren’t.
Comparisons highlight both differences and similarities. For example, to
describe a camel tosomeone who had never seen one, one might begin
by comparing the similarities to and
differences from a horse.`
Diction
Diction refers to the specific ___________________chosen for their
connotation, their ___________________, and their power to reveal
attitude or ___________________.
Euphemism
Euphemism is a word or phrase that has an acceptable connotation and
that in an indirect way expresses what may be ___________________.
Generalization
Generalizations are assumptions based on a small sample of evidence.
To generalize means to state an opinion based on inference from
___________________observation. Often this results in categorizing
individuals in broad, general groupings based on particular evidence
Reference to Authority
Reference to authority is the quoting of a text or person who is an
authority or “expert” on the topic. The authority is an expert by education
or by experience. The quotation tends to make the writer's position more
believable.
Cause and Effect
A method of paragraph or essay development in which a writer analyzes
the reasons for (and/or the consequences of) an action, event, or
decision, thereby making their point more ___________________.
Example: The difference of diction is most apparent in two differing views
on a similar subject that will likely contain widely different tones- In the
case of Canada’s residential schools, employees at the school might have
used confident language that portrayed a sense of authority and selfrighteousness, as many of them believed that they were helping the native
people to lose their ‘savage ways’ and become ‘civilized’; while the
aboriginal people who grew up in those schools would likely use language
to portray their hurt, anger and betrayal in describing the brutal treatment
they suffered in these schools.
Example: Instead of, ‘‘she died’, ‘she passed away’; instead of ‘they got a
divorce’, ‘they went their separate ways’
Example: Since Maple Leaf foods had to recall their hotdogs 2 years ago,
all of their foods must be tainted.
Example: Since Ms. A (who is clearly an authority because of her vast
knowledge in Trivial Pursuit and multiple degrees) says all of these items
are rhetorical devices and she is also a teacher, (and my favourite
teacher) these must be rhetorical devices.
Example "I worry about the private automobile. It is a dirty, noisy,
wasteful, and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air, ruins the safety
and sociability of the street, and exercises upon the individual a discipline
which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an
enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and
from plant life and to become devoid of any natural function. It explodes
cities, grievously impairs the whole institution of neighborliness,
fragmentizes and destroys communities.”