Rhetorical/Stylistic Devices

Pay Attention!

There are four

• Diction• Detail / Imagery• Tone• Syntax

Diction• This is simply word choice

• It can be

powerful

It can also be- well…

Diction in style analysis is usually-

• The unusual or odd word• “Myrtle was a thickish woman who

blocked the light” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)• What effect does Fitzgerald’s diction

have on your image of Myrtle?

Finding the author’s diction • Then as now, rare is the occasion when wit flourishes or

booming ideas resonate around the table. Locked in a delicate and passionless quadrille of misguided politesse, guests trace a blameless path of non-confrontation while the angel of silence hovers above, leaving the dining room mute.. Why is this?

• Then as now, rare is the occasion when wit flourishes or booming ideas resonate around the table. Locked in a delicate and passionless quadrille of misguided politesse, guests trace a blameless path of non-confrontation while the angel of silence hovers above, leaving the dining room mute… Why is this?

Detail / Imagery• Sensory detail /imagery is that

which excites one of the five cardinal senses

• Sight• Smell• Hearing• Taste• Touch

Sensory imagery

• What is your favorite food?– What do you remember about the texture

of the food? – What do you remember about the smell of

the food?– What do you remember about the look of

the food? – What do you remember about the taste of

the food?

An example of imagery• The train rocked under my feet. The floor

was black rubber; and had a wet sheen and choking odor of amonia. There was a hole in the corner of the floor, and as I mounted the raised metal foot pads on either side, I grabbed the leather loop protruding from the corner to steady myself. What assaulted my nose demanded efficiency, yet as the train swayed to and fro, my clothes pleaded for accuracy.

Tone

• Tone or attitude in literature is how the author appears to view the subject or character. It is also the mood of a piece.

• By the time he reached the first talus’ slides under the tall escarpments of the Pilares the dawn was not far to come. He reined the horse in a grassy swale and stood down and dropped the reins. His trousers were stiff with blood. He cradled the wolf in his arms and lowered her to the ground and unfolded the sheet. She was stiff and cold and her fur was bristly with the blood dried upon it.

So….• How does the author view the

cowboy?• How does the cowboy view the

wolf?• How does the passage make you

feel?• What is the tone of the passage?

Syntax

• The most challenging of the rhetorical devices.

• It is the rhythm of the piece the way it flows.

• It can speed you up or slow you down.– Short choppy sentences = fast– Long elaborate sentences = slow

• It can drive home a point with rhythm and repetition

From Madame Bovary

• Ah! How pretty she would be later on, at fifteen, when, resembling her mother, she would wear great big straw hats like hers in the summertime. From afar they would be taken for two sisters. He pictured her to himself working near them in the evening under the lamplight. She would embroider slippers for him, busy herself with household chores, fill the whole house with her engaging ways and her gaiety. Eventually they would think about getting her settled. They would find her some fine young man with a solid business who would make her happy. It would last forever.

An example of long, slow prose from Madame Bovary

• Ah! How pretty she would be later on, at fifteen, when, resembling her mother, she would wear great big straw hats like hers in the summertime. From afar they would be taken for two sisters. He pictured her to himself working near them in the evening under the lamplight. She would embroider slippers for him, busy herself with household chores, fill the whole house with her engaging ways and her gaiety. Eventually they would think about getting her settled. They would find her some fine young man with a solid business who would make her happy. It would last forever.

And now nothing but drums, a battery of drums, the conga drums jamming out, in a descarga, and the drummers lifting their heads and shaking under some kind of spell. There's rain drums, like pitter-patter pitter-patter but a hundred times faster, and then slamming-the door drums and dropping-the-bucket drums, kicking-the-car-fender drums. Then circus drums, then coconuts-falling-out-of-the-trees-and-thumping-against-the-ground drums, then lion-skin drums, then the-wacking-of-a-hand-against-a-wall drums, the-beating-of-a-pillow drums, heavy-stones-against-a-wall drums, then the-thickest-forest-tree-trunks-pounding drums, and then the-mountain-rumble drums, then the-little-birds-learning-to-fly drums and the-big-birds-alighting-on-a-rooftop-and-fanning-their-immense-wings drums

And now nothing but drums, a battery of drums, the conga drums jamming out, in a descarga, and the drummers lifting their heads and shaking under some kind of spell. There's rain drums, like pitter-patter pitter-patter but a hundred times faster, and then slamming-the door drums and dropping-the-bucket drums, kicking-the-car-fender drums. Then circus drums, then coconuts-falling-out-of-the-trees-and-thumping-against-the-ground drums, then lion-skin drums, then the-wacking-of-a-hand-against-a-wall drums, the-beating-of-a-pillow drums, heavy-stones-against-a-wall drums, then the-thickest-forest-tree-trunks-pounding drums, and then the-mountain-rumble drums, then the-little-birds-learning-to-fly drums and the-big-birds-alighting-on-a-rooftop-and-fanning-their-immense-wings drums

Repetition• The foundation of collectivism is simple: There

should be no important economic differences among people. No one should be too rich. No one should be too poor. We should "close the wealth gap."

• This is a very powerful idea.• This is a very common idea.• This is a very bad idea.• "Gaps"--differences--are innate to mankind. Do

we want to close the "beauty gap" and make every woman look like Margaret Thatcher? Do we want to close the "talent gap" and field a World Cup football team starring, for example, the people on this panel?

Recap• Diction• Detail / Imagery• Tone• Syntax• They all work together to

reveal the author’s theme