English Composition Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical Devices Rhetorical devices are techniques used to deliver a message or persuade an audience. We’ve already looked at appeals the writer may make to do this, but now let’s look into the specifics and look at the techniques the author may use to achieve this. Here are a few rhetorical devices that are quite common and important to know: ● Alliteration ○ Alliteration is the recurrence of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. It’s a technique that improves the way a phrase or sentence may flow and/or sound. ● Antiphrasis ○ Antiphrasis is the technique of writing the opposite of what was intended. It is usually done for humorous or ironic purposes. ● Antithesis ○ Antithesis is where two contrasting ideas are placed in conjunction. This is often done for a contrasting effect. ● Hyperbole ○ A hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to convey a point. Hyperboles are usually not meant to be taken literally. ● Metaphor ○ A metaphor is used to make a comparison directly. ● Simile ○ A simile makes a comparison that uses the words like or as ● Onomatopoeia ○ Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that imitates or resembles the sound that it is describing. It is used to enable readers to hear the sound the words are reflecting and thus be able to connect to and engage with the text better. Examples of Rhetorical Devices Now that we have considered the definition of some of the most important rhetorical devices, let’s look at examples of each. ● Alliteration ○ “The sluggish, slow snake slept soundly.” ■ The repeated use of the “s” consonant sound draws the attention of the readers to that section of the text, if we imagine that this sentence was part of a larger literary work. ■ In addition to this, this repeated consonant suggests an eerie, quiet, snakelike quality, suggesting slyness. ■ Overall, it makes readers want to read on and creates a musical effect in the text. ● Antiphrasis ○ “Cake, ketchup, and lasagna all in one dish? Yup, sounds appetizing!” ■ This represents antiphrasis because the combination of all three foods combined definitely sounds disgusting, but by saying that it actually sounds delicious, you are using irony. ■ This brings humor to the sentence. ● Antithesis ○ “‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,: ■ This is an example of antithesis because the two parts of the sentence are alike in grammatical structure although they have different meanings. ■ Both parts of the sentence are looking at the first step on the moon but in different lenses. ■ This makes the contrast of the parts of the sentence clear. Examples of Rhetorical Devices (continued) ● Hyperbole ○ “I’m so busy, I have billions of errands to run today.” ■ This is an example of a hyperbole because it is not meant to be taken literally. ■ It is an extreme exaggeration because the author does not actually have to do a billion things. ■ It emphasizes how busy the author is at that time, considering the amount of errands that the author of the sentence has to do. ● Metaphor ○ “Kelly’s eyes were blue pools of water.” ■ This is a metaphor because it is establishing a connection between “eyes” and “pools of water” by comparing the two. ■ Although it is not meant to be taken literally, it serves as a figurative relationship between two identical entities. ■ Because readers are familiar with what blue pools of water look like, it’s easy for them to understand what Kelly’s eyes looked like as well. ● Simile ○ “You are as fast as a cheetah.” ■ This is a simile because it uses one of the words (“like” and “as”) to establish a comparison between the two terms. ■ This comparison is not to be taken literally, considering the incredible ■ We do not know exactly how fast the subject of the sentence is, but because we know that cheetahs are fast, it is reasonable to conclude that the subject is very speedy. ● Onomatopoeia ○ “Zap! Beep! Bop! Boing!” said the machine. ■ The words “zap,” “beep,” “bop,” and “boing” are common machine noises. ■ These words serve as useful descriptions because they help readers visualize exactly what sounds the subject is making.