Rhetorical Strategies

Rhetorical Strategies

If Rhetoric =

and Strategy =

Then Rhetorical Strategy =

Effective or skillful use of language

A careful plan or method

The careful planning of language to achieve a desired effect on the audience (e.g. convince, persuade, create emotion)

The Big Three

Three strategies are found in all rhetoric: DictionSyntaxTone

These strategies are found in ALL speech and writing; the trick is to figure out how and why they are used.

An Important Note

Diction, syntax, and tone work together to form rhetoric. They do not act separately, but rather as interlocking pieces of the whole.

Diction

Syntax Tone

Rhetoric

Diction

Definition: word choice

Formal Diction: Informal Diction:

“These are people with whom I’ve “She’s like, my best friend

formed a strong genial bond.” ever.”

Syntax

Definition: the arrangement of words in a sentence

The clock struck eight. She As the clock struck eight she waited. Nobody came. gazed longingly at the door,

but nobody came.

Tone

Definition: the speaker’s attitude toward the subject or audience

Humorous tone: Passionate tone: Disinterested Tone:

“But they’ll never take our freedom!”

“This is boring.”

So, where do we go from there?

There are many other rhetorical strategies, but it’s good to think of diction, syntax, and tone as umbrella terms.

The other rhetorical terms will mostly fall under one of those three umbrellas

WARNING!!!!

The following list of rhetorical strategies is not all inclusive!!!

What does that mean? It means that you already know a lot of terms not included here...repetition (syntax), imagery (diction), passionate (tone), etc…

This list is focused on expanding and refining your knowledge not repeating what you already know

Juxtaposition

Definition: placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

We live in a world of love and of hate.

Umbrella Term: Syntax

Allusion

Definition: a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art (hint: allusions must refer to common knowledge; different from a reference)

She’s as crazy as Britney Spears. I am no Judas.

Umbrella Term: Diction

Paradox

Definition: a statement that seems contradictory but is nevertheless true.

We will continue to fight for peace.


Oxymoron

Definition: a paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another

Jumbo shrimp honest lawyer (note: this is a joke)


Parallelism

Definition: similarity in structure of a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.“

- John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address


Understatement

Definition: deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact

“It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain.”

- J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye


Effusive

Definition: excessive demonstration of emotions; bubbly or gushy emotions

“OMG! The sky is so blue and I am so happy. Today is such a great day! It just makes me want to jump up and down and throw my hands in the air! Weeeeeee!!!” - Random Effusive

Teenage Girl

Umbrella Term: Tone

Hypophora

Definition: raising one or more questions and then proceeding to answer them, usually at length

"Since we have come so far, whom shall be rash enough to set limits on

our future progress? Who shall say that since we have gone so far, we can

go no farther? Who shall say that the American dream is ended? For

myself, I believe that all we have done upon this continent is but a prelude to a future in which we shall become not only a bigger people but also a wiser people, a better people, an even greater people."

- Adlai Stevenson (Politician) 1953 Stump Speech


Rhetorical Question

Definition: a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer

Why are you so stupid? Are you trying to fail this class?


Metaphor/Simile

Definition: compares one thing to another in order to explain by comparison. Similes use “like” or “as”; metaphors do not.

Simile: “You’re as cold as ice…” Metaphor: “No man is an island.” - Foreigner (song) - John Donne


Epigraph

Definition: phrase, quote, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or text

Epigraph to Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer: “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction ice

Is also great And would suffice.


Alliteration

Definition: repetition of the same sound beginning several words in a sequence

“Step forward, Tin Man. You dare to Come to me for a heart do you? You clinking, clanking, clattering collectionof caliginous junk… And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain! You billowing bale of bovine fodder!"

- delivered by the "Wizard of Oz" from the movie The Wizard of Oz


Hyperbole

Definition: use of overstatement for rhetorical effect


Insolent

Definition: boldly rude or disrespectful

“You act like a teenager, so why don’t you get a curfew?!?”

- Insolent teenager to her mother

Umbrella Term: Tone

Sarcastic

Definition: using mocking, contemptuous, or ironic language to mark scorn or insult

I really love homework. There’s nothing I would rather do than stay up until 2 in the morning finishing Calculus work. - Sarcastic statement attributable

to many Calculus students

Umbrella Term: Tone

Asyndeton

Definition: omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” “We shall pay any price, bear any - Julius Caesar burden, meet any hardship, support

any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address


Antithesis

Definition: opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction (hint: juxtaposition + parallelism = antithesis)


"The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.“ - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (delivered by Jeff Daniels)

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Moon Landing Speech

Laudatory

Definition: expressing praise

“Inception was the best movie of the summer due to its dazzling special effects, intellectual screenplay, and its tour de force performances.”

- Any intelligent movie critic giving Inception its much deserved praise

Umbrella Term: Tone

Apostrophe

Definition: an address or invocation to something inanimate (i.e. talking directly to it)

“Oh you cruel streets of Manhattan! How I detest you!”


Didactic

Definition: morally instructive (i.e. teaching in a preachy way)

“So the AP student that never did his homework learned in the end that procrastination is the route to failure.”

- AP teacher didactically instructing his students in the pitfalls of procrastination

Umbrella Term: Tone

Chiasmus/Antimetabole

Definition: repetition of words in reverse order

One should eat to live not live to eat.

You can weather change, butyou can’t change the weather.

“Ask not what your country can do for you –

ask what you can do for your country.”- JFK, Inaugural Address


Sad Pluto Stupid

weather!

I’ll get through

this.

Anaphora

Definition: repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans,we shall fight with growing confidence andgrowing strength in the air, we shall defend ourIsland, whatever the cost may be, we shall fighton the beaches, we shall fight on the landinggrounds, we shall fight in the fields and in thestreets, we shall fight on the hills; we shall neversurrender.”

- Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister) Speech to the House of Commons June 4, 1940


Epistrophe

Definition: the repetition of a phrase at the end of successive sentences

“If women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free

from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work…their

families will flourish.” - Hillary Clinton “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”

September 5, 1995


Melancholy

Definition: sober thoughtfulness and sadness

Dear Diary,My life is such a trial. I feel as ifthere are dark clouds obscuringmy heart.

- Emo teenager’s melancholic journal entry

Umbrella Term: Tone

Polysyndeton

Definition: the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause in a series (structural opposite of asyndeton, but the effect is often the same – enumeration or building up)

"Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war -- not history's forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government -- nor any other thing. We are the killers."

- delivered by Katherine Hepburn (from the movie The Lion in Winter)


Periodic/Loose Sentence

Definition: In a periodic sentence, the main clause is at the end. In a loose sentence, the main clause is at the beginning.

Loose sentence: Periodic Sentence:The child ran, frenzied and Looking as if she were beingignoring all hazards, as if being chased by demons, ignoring allchased by demons. hazards, the child ran.


Patronizing

Definition: offensively condescending

“Of course you don’t know what love is, you’re just a teenager.”- Patronizing parent

Umbrella Term: Tone

Connotation/Denotation

Definition: Connotation is the implied meaning of a word or phrase. Denotation is the dictionary definition.

Skinny vs. Slender Thrifty vs. Cheap


Litotes

Definition: ironic understatement (achieved by saying the opposite of the opposite of what is meant) They’re not bad dancers. They’re no ordinary family.


Ellipses

Definition: a mark or series of marks that usually indicate the intentional omission of a word or phrase from the original text…can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence…


Pedantic

Definition: ostentatious or showy in one’s learning

You really should read War and Peace; it’s vital to your edification.

Umbrella Term: Tone

Extended Metaphor

Definition: a metaphor that extends throughout a piece of literature (note: a particularly inventive extended metaphor is sometimes called a conceit)


Irony

Definition: the contrast between what it stated explicitly and what is meant. The intended meaning is frequently the opposite of what is stated. Often suggests light sarcasm

Most Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” isn’t ironic… That’s ironic.

Escalatorsat the gym?Really?


Zeugma

Definition: where a word, usually a verb or adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated. Usually has a comic effect.

The thief took my wallet “He carried a strobe light and theand the 5th avenue bus. responsibility for the lives of his men.“

- Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried


Obsequious

Definition: blindly obedient and dutiful

I so need to have an iPhone. It’s noteven worth it to have any other phone.Anybody who’s worth texting has aniPhone.

Umbrella Term: Tone

Euphemism

Definition: mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term


Nostalgic

Definition: characterized by bittersweet longing for things in the past

Umbrella Term: Tone

I remember the golden days of my youth, enjoying cotton candy at the state fair with my family…

Anecdote

Definition: a short often amusing account of an incident, especially a personal or biographical one

During the 1957 World Series, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra noticed that Hank

Aaron grasped the bat the wrong way. “Turn it around,” he said, “so you can see the trademark.” But Hank kept his eye on thepitcher’s mound: “Didn’t come up here to read. Came here to hit.”

- Little Brown Book of Anecdotes


Disdainful

Definition: scornful; showing contempt

I can’t believe you liked Scott

Pilgrim vs. the World. Only immature 10 year old gamerswould like that movie.

- Disdainful critic

Umbrella Term: Tone

Colloquial

Definition: informal and conversational. Often marked by the use of slang.

OMG! U nd me r so prfct 2gethr…

letz b bf nd gf…LOL jk ;p

Umbrella Term: Tone

I don't care idc

I don't know idk

I hate you ihy -or- i</3u -or- -143

I love you ily -or- i<3u -or- 143

In my humble/honest opinion imho

In my opinion imo

Just kidding -or- Joking jk

Laughing out loud lol

Documents

Rhetorical Strategies