Identifying Rhetorical Devices

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What is Hyperbole?

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Hyperbole is a rhetorical device that involves exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Example: 'I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.'

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What is Antithesis?

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Antithesis is a rhetorical device that contrasts opposing ideas in a balanced structure. Example: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'

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What is Juxtaposition?

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Juxtaposition is a rhetorical device that places two or more ideas, characters, or places side by side to develop comparisons and contrasts. Example: 'All’s fair in love and war.'

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What is Irony?

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Irony is a rhetorical device where the intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. Example: 'A plumber’s house has leaky pipes.'

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What is Paradox?

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Paradox is a statement that appears contradictory but reveals a truth. Example: 'Sometimes paddling upstream is smoother than flowing with the current.'

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What is Anaphora?

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Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Example: 'Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better.'

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What is Oxymoron?

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Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Example: 'Deafening silence.'

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What is Epistrophe?

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Epistrophe is the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences. Example: 'Where now? Who now? When now?'

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What is Metaphor?

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Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by stating one is the other. Example: 'Time is a thief.'

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What is Pun?

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Pun is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term or similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect. Example: 'I used to be a baker, but I couldn't make enough dough.'