Rhetorical Device

What is a repeated word or phrase used for emphasis? There are two common types: anaphora and epistrophe.

• hyperbole

• personification

• simile

• repetition

A statement that says less than it means; often used for comedic effect. Example: "I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain."

• verbal irony

• understatement

• juxtaposition

• personification

Several parts of a sentence or several sentences expressed in similar grammatical form to show that the ideas are equal in importance. It can add balance, rhythm, and emphasis of ideas. Example: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the succes of liberty."

A statement that expresses the opposite of the literal meaning of the words. Often used for humorous or sarcastic effect. Example: "Lucky me, I've lost my wallet."

Putting two contrasting elements together that are so unlike that the effect is surprising, witty, or even startling. Example: "My only love sprung from my only hate."

Comparison without using "like" or "as." Example: "he felt lost in a sea of nameless faces" or "the teacher planted seeds of wisdom."

• oxymoron

• metaphor

• hyperbole

• anaphora

Repetition at the beginning of a line. Example: "We demand truth. We demand justice. We demand equality."

• metaphor

• oxymoron

• epistrophe

• anaphora

What is the repetition at the end of a line? Example "See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil."

• metaphor

• oxymoron

• epistrophe

• anaphora

What is a brief reference to a famous person or event - often from literature, history, Greek mythology, or the Bible? Can help to simplify complex ideas. Example: "He was a real Romeo with the ladies."

• oxymoron

• allusion

• simile

• parallelism

What is a question posed for effect, not requiring an answer? Example: "How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer?"