Rhetoric Terms
These are the three methods of persuasion used to appeal to a consumer, namely in terms of credibility, logic, and emotion.
Ethos, Logos, Pathos
This principle reminds us that just because two events occur together doesn’t mean one caused the other—ice cream sales don’t make crime rates rise.
correlation is not causation
In Shakespeare’s play, this Roman leader is warned to “beware the Ides of March.”
Julius Caesar
The soothsayer’s famous warning to Caesar about this date foreshadows danger he ultimately ignores.
Beware the Ides of March
Someone with sharp judgment and quick insight—especially in business or decision-making—is said to possess this quality.
Acumen
This rhetorical device piles on conjunctions—like “and” or “or”—to create emphasis or a feeling of being overwhelmed.
Polysyndeton
This fallacy claims that one small step will inevitably lead to a chain of disastrous consequences—often without evidence for the chain.
slippery slope
Though he loves Rome more than any friend, this nobleman joins the conspiracy, becoming one of the key assassins of Caesar.
Brutus
This pivotal event occurs in the Capitol, where Caesar is stabbed by a group of conspirators—including his friend Brutus.
Caesar's assassination
This word refers to a person of profound learning or exceptional skill, sometimes used to describe someone with extraordinary intellectual abilities in a narrow field.
Savant
Martin Luther King Jr.’s repeated use of “I have a dream” is a famous example of this device, which repeats words at the beginning of successive clauses.
Anaphora
This fallacy limits you to only two choices—“good or evil,” “with us or against us”—even when more options clearly exist.
false dichotomies
This manipulative conspirator plants forged letters to convince Brutus that the people support Caesar’s overthrow.
Cassius
Beginning with “Friends, Romans, countrymen,” this speech skillfully turns the Roman crowd against the conspirators.
Antony’s funeral oration
Often used in legal or social-service contexts, this adjective describes someone who is extremely poor or lacking basic necessities.
Indigent
The opposite of anaphora, this device repeats a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses, as in Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Epistrophe
A circular argument that assumes the very point it’s trying to prove—like saying “He’s trustworthy because he never lies.”
begging the question
With a masterful funeral speech, this loyal friend of Caesar turns the Roman crowd against the conspirators.
Mark Antony
After Caesar’s death, Antony joins forces with Octavius and Lepidus to form this political alliance opposing Brutus and Cassius.
Second Triumvirate
Referring to the original inhabitants of a region, this term is commonly applied to Indigenous peoples of Australia.
Aboriginal
This structural technique creates balance by placing similar grammatical forms side by side—something you’ll notice in sentences like “She came, she saw, she conquered.”
Parallelism
Named after a misleading fishy scent, this fallacy distracts from the real issue by introducing an irrelevant topic.
red herring
The wife of Brutus, she proves her strength and loyalty by wounding herself and demanding to know his secret plans.
Portia
This final confrontation seals the fate of Brutus and Cassius, ending the civil war sparked by Caesar’s murder.
Battle of Philippi
Sailors might use this adjective to describe water that’s saltier than freshwater but not quite seawater—often found where rivers meet the ocean.
Brackish