Rhetorical Devices

1. Rhetorical Devices AP Language

2. Schemes involving Balance MOST COMMON! • Parallelism • The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns. • Parallelism of words • Parallelism of phrases • Parallelism of clauses

3. Examples • Parallelism of words • “Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions benefit a person’ s heart and lungs, muscles and nerves, and joints and cartilage. • Parallelism of phrases • “Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics sessions help a person breathe more effectively, move with less discomfort, and avoid injury. Active verb

4. Example • Parallelism of clauses • “Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump aerobics is the most efficient exercise class, thatbody-pump participants show greater gains in stamina then participants in comparable exercise programs, and that body-pump aerobics is less expensive in terms of equipment and training needed to lead or take classes.”

6. Zeugma (zoog-mah) • A figure in which more than one item in a sentence is governed by a single word, usually a verb.

7. Examples of zeugma Examples of zeugma • “You held your breath and the door for me.” ~Alanis Morissette Head Over Feet • “You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit.” ~Star Trek: Next Generation

8. Antithesis • Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas • Antithesis of: • Words, • Phrases • Clauses (placement of two things side by side for emphasis)

9. Examples of Antithesis • Of WORDS “When distance runners reach the state they call the zone, they find themselves mentally engagedyet detached. • Of PHRASES “When distance runners reach the state they call the zone, they find themselves mentally engaged with their physical surroundingsyet detached from moment-to-moment concerns about their conditioning.”

10. Examples of Antithesis • Of CLAUSES “When distance runners reach the state they call the zone, they find that they are empiricallyengaged with their physical surroundingsyet they are also completelydetached from moment-to-moment concerns about their conditioning.”

12. Another to add… (antithesis) • Antimetabole (anti-met-ab-olee) • Words are repeated in different grammatical forms. • “When the going get tough, the tough get going” • “Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.” • “You take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can’t take the honky tonk out of the girl.”

13. Schemes Involving INTERUPTION Necessary for on the spot information or ideas • Parenthesis (paren-the-ses) • an amplifying or explanatory word, phrase, or sentence inserted in a passage from which it is usually set off by punctuation “Sports night at the school always brings out the would-be jocks—whowould expect anydifferent?—ready to show that they’re potentially as good as the varsity players.

14. Interruption • Appositive • A word or phrase that renames the nearby noun or pronoun. “Joe Weider, a pioneer in personal weight training, would marvel at the facilities open to today’s student athletes.”

16. Schemes Involving Omission • Ellipsis the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete (sometimes replaced with three consecutive periods) In a hockey power play, if you pass the puck to the wing, and he to you, then you can close in on the goal.

17. Omission • Asyndeton (a-sin-da-ton) The omission of conjunctions “He has provided the poor with jobs, with opportunity, with self-respect.”

19. Schemes Involving Repetition “Don’t be repetitive, but use repetition.”  Alliteration- Repetition of same sound or letter at the beginning of consecutive words or syllables. “Intramural hockey is a strenuous, stimulating, satisfying sport.

20. Repetition Assonance (ass-o-nance) The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds “A workout partner is finally a kind, reliable, right-minded helper.”

21. Repetition Anaphora (ana-for-a) The repetition of same group of words at the beginning of clauses “Exercise builds stamina in young children, exercise builds stamina in teenagers and young adults, exercise builds stamina in older adults and senior citizens.

23. Schemes involving Repetition • Epistrophe (E-pis-tro-fee) • Repetition of same group of words at end of successive clauses To become a top-notch player, I thought like an athlete, I trained like an athlete, I ate like an athlete.

24. Repetition • Anadiplosis (ana-dip-lo-sis) • Repetition of last word of one clause at the beginning of following clause Mental preparation leads to training, training builds muscle tone and coordination; muscle tone and coordination, combined with focused thinking, produce athletic excellence.

25. Repetition • Climax • Repetition of words, phrases, or clauses in order of increasing number or importance Excellent athletes need to be respectful of themselves, their teammates, their schools, and their communities.

27. Comparison • Synecdoche a part of something used to refer to the whole We decided we could rearrange the gym equipment if everyone would lend a hand.

28. Comparison • Metonymy • an entity referred to by one of its attributes The central office announced today new regulations for sports nights.

29. Comparison • Personification: Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects After almost three periods of searching, the puck finally found the goal.

30. Comparison • Periphrasis (puh-RI-frah-suhs) a descriptive word or phrase used to refer to proper name The New York Yankees and the New York Islanders vie to be the best hockey team in the Big Apple.

31. Schemes Involving Comparison • Metaphor: • Figure of speech used when one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, thus making an implicit comparison Many an athletic contest is lost when the player’s mind is an idling engine.

32. Comparison • Simile: A figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to compare two things An athlete’s mind must be like a well-tuned engine, in gear and responding to the twists and curves of the contest. (This sentence begins w/ simile and ends with implied metaphor.)

34. Tropes Involving Word Play • Pun • suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect “The tipped-but-caught third strike, ending a bases-loaded rally, was a foul most foul.

35. Word Play • Antimeria (anti-mer-ia) • One part of speech, usually a verb, that substitutes for a noun When the Little Leaguers lost the championship, they need just to have a good cry before they could feel okay about their season.

36. Word Play • Onomatopoeia (ono-mato-pia) • A word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. The puck whizzed and zipped over the ice, then clattered into the goal.

38. Overstatement and Understatement • Hyperbole (Hy-per-bowl-ee) • The use of exaggeration as rhetorical device. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally He couldn’t make that shot again if he tried a million times.

39. Overstatement and Understatement • Litotes (LYE-tuh-tees) • The use of an understatement as rhetorical device. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally. Shutting out the opponents for three straight games is no big deal (NBD) .

40. "Not bad." "[…] no ordinary city "She is not as young as she was." “Good” “[ ] a very impressive city. “She’s old.” Litotes Examples

42. Management of Meaning • Irony • Words meant to convey the opposite of literal meaning Their center is over seven feet tall- where do they come up with these little pipsqueaks?

43. Management of Meaning • Sarcasm • Bitter Irony “Thanks for everything you did for us tonight” (when he really did nothing…).

44. Management of Meaning • Oxymoron • Words with contradictory meanings placed side by side When you have to face your best friend in competition, whoever wins feels an aching pleasure. Jumbo shrimp, deafening silence, alone together Same difference, constant variable, unbiased opinion

45. Management of Meaning • Rhetorical Question • A question designed not to secure an answer, but to move the idea forward and suggest a point. Hasn’t the state of intercollegiate athletics reached the point where the line between professionalism and amateurism is blurred?