A reference to an event, place, or person. The author expects you to understand this

reference, and uses this to make a point without needing to elaborate in great detail.

Example: “Many in our country do not know the pain of poverty, but we can listen to

those who do. And I can pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded trav-

eler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side.” - George W. Bush, 2000

Inaugural Address

The reference here is to the biblical character in the parable about the good

Samaritan.

This rhetorical device explains one thing in terms of another to highlight the ways in

which they are alike. This could be a simile or a metaphor.

Example:

“...helping to train and equip host nation forces in the midst of an insurgency is akin to

[like] building an advanced aircraft while it is in flight, while it is being designed, and

while it is being shot at. There is nothing easy about it.”

General David Petraeus -- ISAF Confirmation Hearing Statement, 2010

This device repeats a word or phrase in successive (later) phrases.

Example: “...We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight

with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island,

whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing

grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall

never surrender...”

-Winston Churchill “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” (1940)

This device is used to state a criticism and a compliment together to lesson the impact

of the negative statement. “The car is not pretty, but it runs great.” The compliment

statement helps to lessen the impact of the negative statement that the car is UGLY!

In rhetoric this is often used as a counter-argument. Stating the negative argument

against the speaker, but then refuting this with a positive statement.

Example:

Person 1: “This initiative to reduce the carbon footprint will cost millions of dollars!”

Person 2: “If the result is saving lives, even billions isn’t a big figure. Human lives are

worth more than money.”

This device repeats words or phrases in reverse order.

Example:

“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

-John F. Kennedy

“I desire to see in this country the decent men strong and the strong men decent.”

–Theodore Roosevelt

Other common statements:

-When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

-Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail.

This device shares two opposite ideas that are put together in a sentence to achieve a con-

trasting effect.

Examples:

• “To err [make a mistake] is human; to forgive divine.” - Alexander Pope (Essay on

Criticism). Through these antithetical ideas, Pope reveals the basic nature of human

beings. He wants to say that God is forgiving because his creation is erring.

• "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong.

This devices is an extreme exaggeration.

Examples in speeches:

"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of human talent, of human knowledge,

that has ever been gathered at the White House-with the possible exception of when

Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

-President John F. Kennedy, White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners

"So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

Examples in advertisement:

• It doesn't get better than this. (Oscar Meyer)

• The best a man can get (Gillette)

This device suggest a comparison between two things by stating that one IS the other.

Example:

• "America has tossed its cap over the wall of space." --John F. Kennedy

• "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their

exits and their entrances." --William Shakespeare

This device refers to words that imitate the sound they describe, such as pop, eek, and splash.

Examples in advertisement:

• "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is." (Slogan of Alka Seltzer, US)

• “Snap, crackle, pop.” (Kellogg's Corn Pops)

• Pop Rocks (Candy)

This device creates a two-word paradox (opposites), such as 'near miss' or 'seriously

funny.' This creates a contradiction between the two words and is used for dramatic

effect.

Examples:

• “I always avoid prophesying beforehand because it is much better to prophesy after

the event has already taken place. ” – Winston Churchill

• “We must believe in free will. We have no choice.” – Isaac B. Singer

• “I am a deeply superficial person.” – Andy Warho

This device uses words or phrases with a similar structure. For example, 'Like father, like son' . This is used to persuade, motivate, and/or evoke emotional responses in an audience and is often used in speeches. The balance between clauses or phrases makes complex thoughts easier to process while holding the reader or listener's attention.

Examples:

• "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.

• "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can

do for your country." -John F. Kennedy

• "My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the

trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors." -Barack

Obama

This device compares one object to another using 'like' or 'as'.

Example:

"Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven. So even the heavens are celebrating

this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony."

-- USSC Justice John Roberts, Cardigan Commencement Address

Examples of similes in advertising:

• Doritos: Tastes Like Awesome Feels

• State Farm: Like A Good Neighbor

An understatement makes an idea less important than it really is. "The hurricane disrupted traffic a little" would be an example of this rhetorical device because hurricanes cause significant damage. A speaker/author will use this device to make a point. This is often used in sarcasm and is a form of irony.

Example:

• In J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield says, "I have to have this

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

• On describing the discovery of DNA: "This structure has novel features which are of

considerable biological interest." Watson and Crick