Style & Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical Devices: How to make speeches
sound great (even when you don’t know
what you’re talking about)!
Socrates: The fact is… the aspiring speaker needs no knowledge of
the truth about what is right or good… all that matters is
plausibility… Nevermind the truth – pursue probability through thick
and thin in every kind of speech; the whole secret of the art of
speaking lies in consistent adherence to this principle.
Phaedrus: That is what those who claim to be professional teachers
of rhetoric actually say, Socrates.
--Plato, Phaedrus 272
Review: Rhetoric
The Art of Persuasion
Ethos
An appeal to a person’s character or morals. Trying to make the
speaker trustable and easier to relate to.
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Logos
An appeal to logic and intellect. An argument based on facts,
evidence, and reason.
Pathos
An argument based on feelings/emotions.
Style
Style
The distinctive way in which a writer uses language.
- HOW it is written.
Are they long and
elaborate? Or short
and to the point?
Determined by
sentence length,
diction, and use of
figurative language
and imagery.
Formal/informal? Do
they use slang/jargon?
How many syllables
does each word have?
Does their language
appeal to your senses?
How often do they use
figurative language?
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
Some types of diction
are almost never
advisable in writing.
Avoid clichés,
vagueness, wordiness,
and unnecessarily
complex language.
Formal Diction
Casual Diction
Slang (very informal)
They are not angry.
They aren’t mad.
They ain’t mad, bro.
Exercise
Label each sentence as formal, casual, or slang based on
its diction.
Let’s go get dinner.
It is vital to understand the text one reads.
Computers are a pain in the neck.
The Mona Lisa looks weird from up close.
Pickett’s charge at the Battle of Gettysburg was surely an
awe-inspiring sight.
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word; the direct and specific meaning.
Connotation
What is implied by a word.
Positive
Negative
Bob will not be here today
because he has an upset
stomach.
Bob will not be here today
because he is at home puking.
Poor Bob. I
hope he
feels better.
Ew. Thanks for
the mental
image.
Exercise: Connotation
In the following sentences, choose between the words in
parentheses to make the sentence have as negative a
connotation as possible.
Immigrants (thronged, flocked, swarmed) to the large cities.
A (trim, skinny, slender) woman entered the room.
The man was (inebriated, drunk, intoxicated).
Where did you find that (outfit, get-up, attire)?
Mood
◦ How an author feels towards a
character, subject, or setting
◦ How a text makes the
audience feel
◦ Tone Words: amused,
Tone hopeful,
proud, sympathetic, irritated,
hateful, furious
◦ Mood Words:Mood
awed, excited,
surprised, scared, numb,
intimidated, refreshed
This is
entertaining.
Honestly, I’m a
little scared.
Well, that
surprised me.
I am quite
amused.
Rhetorical Devices
Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds within a formal
grouping, such as poetic line or stanza, or in close proximity in prose.
Assonance
The repetition of identical or similar vowel
sounds, usually in successive or proximate
words.
Consonance
The repetition of two or more consonants
with a change in the intervening vowels.
Our song is the
slamming screen
door/ sneakin’ out
late, tapping at
your window /
when we’re on the
phone and you talk
real slow / ‘cause
it’s late and your
mama don’t know.
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, event in history, or pop
culture.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow
we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This
momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to
millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of
withering injustice.
Analogy
A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their
structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Metaphors
and similes are both types of analogies.
“In a sense, we’ve come to our
nation’s capital to cash a
check…it has come back
marked insufficient funds.”
“I have but one lamp by which my
feet are guided, and that is the lamp
of experience.” –Patrick Henry
Anaphora
The regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of
successive phrases or clauses.
Let freedom ring
from Stone
Mountain of
Georgia.
Let freedom ring
from Lookout
Mountain of
Tennessee.
Let freedom ring
from every hill
and molehill of
Mississippi.
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is
the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police
brutality.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies…
cannot gain lodging in the motels of the
highways...
We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s
basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger
one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our children
are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their
dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.”.
We can never be satisfied as long as our children
are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their
dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.”.
Anecdote
A short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or
amusing nature.
“Hey, do you guys
want to hear a
story semi-related
to the concept I’m
teaching today?
Well, this one time
in high school…”
Antimetabole
The repetition of words in successive clauses, but in
transposed order.
Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what
you can do for your
country.
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract idea is
addressed as if present and capable of understanding.
“O, happy dagger! This is
thy sheath; there rust, and
let me die.”
Contrast/Juxtaposition
Placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an
attitude, or accomplish some other purpose.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time,
through fear of giving offense, I should consider
myself as guilty of treason toward my country,
and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of
Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
--Patrick Henry
Contrast/Juxtaposition
Placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an
attitude, or accomplish some other purpose.
Hyperbole
A deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, or
event to emphasize a point.
“Let every nation know, whether
it wishes us well or ill, that we shall
pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any
friend, oppose any foe, in order
to assure the survival and success
of liberty.” --JFK
So first of all, let me assert
my firm belief that the only
thing we have to fear is
fear itself.
Imagery
Language that appeals to the five senses.
“Now is the time to rise from the dark and
desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path
of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation
from the quicksands of injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood.”
“This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate
discontent will not pass until there is an
invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.”
Parallelism
Repeating a grammatical structure or an arrangement of
words to create a sense of rhythm and momentum.
“…and that government
of the people, by the
people, for the people
should not perish from the
earth.” -- President Lincoln
It is the way to recovery. It is
the immediate way. It is the
strongest assurance…”
--President Roosevelt
Repetition
Expressing different ideas using the same words or images
in order to reinforce concepts and unify the speech.
Let freedom ring
from Stone
Mountain of
Georgia.
Let freedom ring
from Lookout
Mountain of
Tennessee.
Let freedom ring
from every hill
and molehill of
Mississippi.
From every
mountainside, let
freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we
allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring
from every village and every hamlet, from
every state and every city, we will be able
to speed up that day when all of God’s
children, black men and white men, Jews
and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,
will be able to join hands and sing in the
words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Rhetorical Question
A question used for effect, emphasis, or provocation. It is not meant to
be answered.
Understatement
Deliberately expressing an idea as less important than it
actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and
tact.
“’Tis but a scratch...
merely a flesh wound.”
“I am not unmindful that
some of you have come
here out of great trials
and tribulations” (King).