Rhetorical Devices

Do you know them?

Familiar

• Rhetorical questions• Ethos• Pathos• Logos• Juxtaposition• Repetition• Connotative language

Also Familiar

• Metaphor• Simile• Symbolism• Anecdote

The Art of Persuasion

• Bandwagon• Plain Folks• Glittering Generalities• Transfer• Testimonial• Logical Fallacy• Name-calling – ad hominem• Fear

… more ..

• Assertion• False dilemma• Simplification• Card stacking

PARALLELISM

Parallelism

• Stylistic device that exploits syntax– Creation of grammatically parallel sentences helps

reader/listener understand points better because they are “smooth” and repetitious in form

– What dangers could arise from parallelism?

HYPOPHORA

Hypophora

• Speaker/author begins by asking a question and then answers the question– How does this differ from a rhetorical question?

ANTITHESIS

Antithesis

• Stating what one does not believe in to clarify beliefs.

• “There are no red states or blue states, there are only the United States of America.” (Obama)

TRICOLON AND POLYSYNDETON

Tricolon and Polysyndeton

• Tricolon – a list of three or a sentence with three parts/clauses “cats, dogs and chickens”– Can be used to build an image– Can be used to unite three pieces of evidence– Dangers?

• Polysyndeton – the interjection of “and” between items/parts of a list “cats and dogs and chickens”– Stresses importance of every word individually

(rather than as a grouping)

ALLUSION

Allusion

• Using phrases that “echo” another speech or famous passage

• Creates an association between speaker/author/platform and …– Something historically valued– An ideology shared with the intended audience

Parody

• Take a well-known advertisement, text, or genre and mock someone or something by imitating them or the original.

• Draws attention to a cultural value• Easy comparison between the original and the

parody

Pastiche

• Take a well-known advertisement, text, or genre and mock someone or something by imitating them or the original.

• Less obvious imitation than parody, could be passed off as a genuine example

• Draws attention to a cultural value

NARRATIVE AND COUNTER-NARRATIVE

Media – The Fourth Estate

• Traditional division of power:– Religious groups (first estate)– Nobility (second estate)– The rest of the population (third estate)

– Media/The Press – is it the fourth estate?• The media is supposed to reflect the state of a nation…

but what happens when the media becomes a separate entity, ceasing to reflect and starting to determine public opinion?