Rhetorical Devices: Schemes of Balance and Repetition

Rhetorical Devices:

Schemes of Balance and Repetition

What does the term scheme mean?​

Deviations from the normal pattern or arrangement of words or syntax.​

​Schemes of Balance

The schemes below bring balance to the arrangement of the sentence.  Balance in the sentence brings balance to the ideas. The reader naturally compares and associates the balanced items

• ​Parallelism

• ​Chiasmus

Multiple Choice

Which scheme is represented in this example?

"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us." -John McCain

• Parallelism

• Chiasmus

• Alliteration

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

Which scheme is represented in this example?

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Parallelism

• Chiasmus

• Alliteration

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

Which scheme is represented in this example?

• Parallelism

• Chiasmus

• Alliteration

• Anaphora

Multiple Choice

Which scheme is represented in this example?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."

• Anthesis

• Chiasmus

• Alliteration

• Diction

Open Ended

Parallelism: The structure of the sentence causes the reader to compare/contrast the parts of the sentence that are parallel. Explain how this feature works in Martin Luther King Junior's “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."

Open Ended

Chiasmus lets you turn your opponent’s argument upside down.

Kennedy took a commonplace, “What’s this country done for me lately?” and reversed it for his chiasmus.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

What is the impact of this chiasmus, specifically?

​Schemes of Repetition

Repetition draws the reader’s attention to the items or subject repeated over and over again. Repetition says, “this matters”.  Repetition can also draw comparisons.  Lastly, repetition can impact pacing, spreading the text up or slowing it down depending on the use. 

​Sound

• ​Alliteration

• ​Assonance

• ​Consonance

​Repetition

• ​Anaphora

• ​Epiphora

​Lists

• ​Asyndeton

• ​Polysyndeton

​Schemes and Sound

• ​These schemes are most important when they will be heard: speeches, poetry, drama, or music.

• ​These draw the reader's attention to the words with repetitive sounds and say this is important and these are similar.

​Schemes of Repetition

• ​ These are just different types of repetition.

• ​By the beginning of a phrase, the author draws the reader to compare the ideas in the successive clauses or phrases.

• ​By repeating ideas at the end of the phrase, the writer emphasizes the importance of the final idea.

​Schemes of Repetition: Lists

• ​As an 11th grade student, you know the correct way to compose a list.

• ​You write one idea, another, and another.

• ​But what is the impact of including a conjunction every time or leaving out the conjunctions all together?

Multiple Choice

What rhetorical device do you see here?

"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania..."

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Anaphora

• Epiphora

Multiple Choice

What rhetorical device is present here?

"If there be cords, or knives, or poison, or fire, or suffocating streams, I'll not endure it."

• Polysyndeton

• Asyndeton

• Aliteration

• Consance

Multiple Select

What rhetorical devices are present here?

"A government of the people, by the people, for the people -- shall not perish. "

(Pick 2)

• Polysyndeton

• Asyndeton

• Aliteration

• Epiphora

Multiple Select

What rhetorical devices do you see here?

"Fair is foul, foul is fair"

(Pick two!)

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Chiasmus

• Epiphora

Multiple Choice

What rhetorical device do you see here?

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Consonance

• Epiphora

Multiple Choice

What rhetorical device do you see here?

• Parallelism

• Assonance

• Consonance

• Epiphora

Open Ended

Find two examples of rhetorical schemes in the Declaration. Identify, name and describe them below.