Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion

Rhetorical DevicesEnglish II PreAP

Categories of Rhetorical Devices

Terms involving emphasis, association, clarification, and focus

Terms involving physical organization, transition, and disposition of arrangement

Terms involving decoration and variety

Expletive

A single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the expletive.

Asyndeton

Consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses

In a list of items, asyndeton gives the effect of multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account

Polysyndeton

Use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause

Structurally the opposite of asyndeton Intended rhetorical effect is one of

multiplicity, energetic enumeration, and building up

Understatement

Deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact

Parallelism Please learn to spell this word

correctly! Recurrent syntactical similarity Several part of a sentence or several

sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance

Adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence

Zeugma

Grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech

Examples: one subject with two verbs; a verb with two direct objects

Main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and actions more clearly

Antithesis

Establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together in parallel structure

Creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or words at the beginning or successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism

Often used in conjunction with rhetorical questions

Epistrophe

Counterpart to anaphora Repetition o f the same word or words

at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

Please note…

These terms are intended for use on the multiple choice section of the exam and in your own writing.

They are DEVICES—not techniques—which means you should not focus on them in your analysis of timed writings