What are Rhetorical Devices?

We all know the literary devices of metaphor and simile. Rhetorical devices are a little different. Instead of comparisons, rhetorical devices are used to add emphasis to one’s words. Most often used in oral speeches, some phrases and sentences are so powerful they go down in history as sayings everyone knows. For example, you have probably heard Julius Caesar’s famous quote: “Veni. Vidi. Vici.” [I came. I saw. I conquered.]

Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient Greece, and every one of the terms we still use today comes from classical Greek or from Latin, the language of the culture that inherited the Greek oratory legacy.

Despite their antiquity, these devices are still great favorites of politicians today. Be listening for them during current electioneering.

Why Use Rhetorical Devices?

We can use rhetorical devices to add emphasis, rhythm, and pacing to our sentences. While a perfect phrase or sentence may pop into your head while drafting, they are best added during your revision process. This is well-worth the effort. Highly regarded novels usually contain many. In fact, bestselling novels almost always have at least one or more in the first chapter.

Here are some devices to look for:

Amplification – Order the words or clauses in a sequence of increasing force by adding more detail with each repetition. Use to add emphasis and make the idea important.

Pride—boundless pride—is the bane of civilization

Anadiplosis –Repeat the last words/word of a sentence, clause, or phrase at the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase. Use to drive a point home or put the reader’s focus on a key word, idea or emotion. Use at the climax of a scene or chapter or at a plot point.

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. (Star Wars)

Anaphora – oldest, probably most familiar, repeated word or phrase at the beginning of 3 clauses or sentences. Used to emphasis an idea. Adds emotion, tension. Builds to a climax – frequently found in best seller chapter 1, at end of a chapter or novel. Use 1 to 3 times in Ch 1.

I know you are disappointed I left. I know you are disappointed I never wrote. I know you are disappointed I came back.

Epistrophe – Repeat a word or phrase at the end of three or four sentences. Three is ideal. Use to heighten emotion, add rhythm and cadence.

The oak tree was gone. The fence was gone. But worst of all, the house was gone.

I ain’t got a permit. I don’t need a permit. And get this through your thick head, I don’t have to show you no stinkin’ permit.

Asyndeton – Leave out conjunctions between clauses to speed up pacing or add emphasis.

Run, fly, flee. He’s coming to get you.

Homoioptoton – Repeat the same endings in adjacent words. Use to add rhythm, smoothing, and emphasis.

She lay shaken, broken, and beaten.

Metonymy – Call something or someone by one of its characteristics. Use to add voice and emphasis and local color. Found in many best sellers.

Tricky-Eye moved closer, his fingers twitching as much as his left eyelid.

Parallelism – Use the same structure within multiple parts of a sentence/clause/phrase. Important: The parts must match grammatically. 

like father, like son

not guns and money, but wheat and oil

Polysyndeton –Use a string of conjunctions between clauses to slow down pacing and to add rhythm and effect. Effective in descriptions.

He was thin in the ribs and long in the legs and stinking worse than a garbage truck.

Symploce – Begin a series of clauses with the same word and end each sentence with the a different, but repeated word. Use a repeat of 3 or 4. Very effective for hammering an idea or showing heavy emotion in dialogue.

You may know something I don’t. You may believe something I don’t. You may hate something I don’t. 

Antimetabole – Repeat the exact phrase in reverse order. Use to make point, deepen description, add rhythm.

The wise eat to live, not live to eat.

He was the kind of man who preferred to be looked over, rather than overlooked

Synesthesia –Use one sense to convey the experience of another. Use to deepen description and add emphasis to a particular image.

A silky voice

The smell of victory

A taste of glory

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Using Rhetorical Device Cards

Learning the different devices takes time and practice. I have found that having a set of cards with the description of each device, and some examples, helps me remember them better.

During my prose revision, I do a read through of my manuscript, shuffling through the cards and looking for places where I can insert a device. When I find a spot or page that seems dull and uninspired, the cards provide a way for me to spark the prose, quickly and easily.

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Free Set of Rhetorical Device Cards for You

I have attached the card set I use. Give them a try and let me know how it works for you. Post your comments below.

ZARA’S RHETORICAL DEVICE CARDS

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Resources

Here are links to more about rhetorical devices

https://dailytrope.com

http://literary-devices.com

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-rhetorical-devices.html

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60234/21-rhetorical-devices-explained

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