Rhetorical Devices Definitions
using words or phrases more than once to make a point or for emphasis
What is repetition?
Example: "One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."
What is charged language?
a word or phrase that connects one idea to another
What is a transition?
a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.
What is a stanza?
words or phrases that evoke a strong emotion from the reader
Example: "Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado."
What is repetition?
one specific sentence located at the end of the first paragraph that addresses only what will be discussed in the essay
What is a thesis?
a repeated pattern of stressed syllables
the repetition of a grammatical structure in order to create rhythm
What is parallelism?
Rhetorical appeal example: "You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations."
What is the use of logos?
to express the meaning of the author’s words/ideas using different words
the repetition of vowel sounds
What is assonance?
drawing a comparison that shows a similarity between 2 unlike things
What is an analogy?
Example: "Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'"
What is an analogy?
the arrangement of ideas in sequence
What is organization?
the repetition of consonant sounds
What is consonance?
a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer
What is a rhetorical question?
Example: "But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society"
What is parallelism?
uses higher level words (such as “one might think” or “a person might assume”) and avoids pronouns such as I and you, creating a formal tone
What is objective tone?
the voice behind the poem—the person we imagine to be saying the thing out loud
Who is the speaker?