View source for Rhetorical device

{{Short description|Literary technique used to persuade}}{{Excessive examples|date=June 2023}}
{{Rhetoric}}

In [[rhetoric]], a rhetorical device—also known as a '''persuasive''' or '''stylistic device'''—is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey meaning to a listener or reader, with the goal of persuading them to consider a topic from a particular point of view. These devices aim to make a position or argument more compelling by using language designed to evoke an emotional response or prompt action. They seek to make a position or argument more compelling than it would otherwise be.<ref name="Crews-Anderson 2007 no page">{{Cite book|last=Crews-Anderson |first=Timothy A.|title=Critical thinking and informal logic|year=2007|publisher=Humanities-Ebooks|isbn=978-1-84760-046-2|location=Penrith|oclc=697474252}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2023}}

==Sonic devices==
Sonic devices depend on sound. Sonic rhetoric is used to communicate content more clearly or quickly. It delivers messages to the audience by prompting specific reactions through auditory perception.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhetorical Strategies for Sound Design and Auditory Display: A Case Study |url=http://www.ijdesign.org/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/1201/577 |access-date=2020-10-29 |website=International Journal of Design}}</ref><ref name="Crews-Anderson 2007 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}}

=== Alliteration ===

[[Alliteration]] is the repetition of the sound of an initial consonant or consonant cluster in subsequent syllables.<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" />{{blockquote|Small showers last long but sudden storms are short. |Shakespeare |[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] 2.1}}

=== Assonance ===
[[Assonance]] is the repetition of similar vowel sounds across neighbouring words.<ref name="Harris 2003 no page">{{Cite book|last=Harris, Robert A.|title=Writing with clarity and style : a guide to rhetorical devices for contemporary writers|year=2003|publisher=Pyrczak Pub|isbn=1-884585-48-5|location=Los Angeles |oclc=50825579}}</ref>{{page missing|date=January 2023}}

{{quote|Blow wind, swell billow and swim bark! |Shakespeare |[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]] 5.1}}

=== Consonance ===
[[Consonance]] is the repetition of consonant sounds across words which have been deliberately chosen. It is different from alliteration as it can happen at any place in the word, not just the beginning.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://literarydevices.net/consonance/|title=Consonance - Examples and Definition of Consonance|date=2013-11-03|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref>

In the following example, the ''k'' sound is repeated five times.

{{blockquote|...with streaks of light,
<br/>And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels... |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.3}}

=== Cacophony ===
[[Cacophony]] refers to the use of unpleasant sounds, such as the [[Plosive consonants]] ''[[Voiceless velar stop|k]]'', ''[[Voiced velar stop|g]]'', ''[[Voiceless alveolar stop|t]]'', ''[[Voiced alveolar stop|d]]'', ''[[Voiceless bilabial stop|p]]'' and ''[[Voiced bilabial stop|b]]'', the [[Sibilant|hissing sounds]] ''[[Voiceless postalveolar fricative#Voiceless palato-alveolar fricative|sh]]'' and ''[[Voiceless alveolar fricative#Voiceless alveolar sibilant|s]]'', and also the [[Affricate consonant|affricates]] ''[[Voiceless postalveolar affricate|ch]]'' and ''[[Voiced postalveolar affricate|j]]'', in rapid succession in a line or passage, creating a harsh and discordant effect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.literarydevices.com/cacophony/|title=Cacophony Examples and Definition|date=2015-08-14|website=Literary Devices|language=en|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref>
{{blockquote|text=
Hear the loud alarum bells– <br/>Brazen bells! What tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells!<br/>In the startled ear of night<br/>How they scream out their affright!<br/>Too much horrified to speak,<br/>They can only shriek, shriek...
|author=[[Edgar Allan Poe]]
|title=[[The Bells (poem)|The Bells]]
}}

=== Onomatopoeia ===
[[Onomatopoeia]] is the use of words that attempt to emulate a sound. When used colloquially, it is often accompanied by multiple [[exclamation mark]]s and in [[all caps]]. It is common in comic strips and some cartoons.<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" />

Some examples: ''smek'', ''thwap'', ''kaboom'', ''ding-dong'', ''plop'', ''bang'' and ''pew''.

== Word repetition ==
Word repetition rhetorical devices operate via [[Repetition (rhetorical device)|repeating]] words or phrases in various ways, usually for emphasis.

=== Anadiplosis/Conduplicatio ===
[[Anadiplosis]] involves repeating the last word(s) of one sentence, phrase or clause at or near the beginning of the next.<ref name="Harris Handbook" />
{{blockquote|
To die, to sleep;<br/> To sleep, perchance to dream... |Shakespeare |[[Hamlet]] 3.1}}

[[Conduplicatio]] is similar, involving repeating a key word in subsequent clauses.

{{blockquote|Thou quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep! |Shakespeare |[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]] 5.3}}

=== Anaphora/Epistrophe/Symploce/Epanalepsis ===
[[Anaphora (rhetoric)|Anaphora]] is repeating the same word(s) at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases or clauses.<ref name="Reedsy" />

{{blockquote|With mine own tears I wash away my balm, <br/>With mine own hands I give away my crown,<br/> With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,<br/> With mine own breath release all duty's rites. |Shakespeare |[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] 4.1}}

[[Epistrophe]] is repeating the same word(s) at the end.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://examples.yourdictionary.com/epistrophe-examples.html|title=Epistrophe Examples|website=YourDictionary|language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
If you had known the virtue of the ring,<br/> Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,<br/> Or your own honour to contain the ring,<br/> You would not then have parted with the ring. |Shakespeare |[[The Merchant of Venice]] 5.1}}

[[Symploce]] is a simultaneous combination of both anaphora and epistrophe, but repeating different words at the start and end.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thoughtco.com/symploce-rhetoric-1692013|title=Rhetorical Repetition: Symploce|last=Nordquist|first=Richard|date=2018-12-25|website=ThoughtCo|language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref>

{{blockquote|
[[Alfred Doolittle]]: I'll tell you, Governor, if you'll only let me get a word in. I'm willing to tell you. I'm wanting to tell you. I'm waiting to tell you.<br/> [[Pygmalion (play)|Henry Higgins]]: Pickering, this chap has a certain natural gift of rhetoric. Observe the rhythm of his native woodnotes wild. 'I'm willing to tell you. I'm wanting to tell you. I'm waiting to tell you.' Sentimental rhetoric! That's the Welsh strain in him. It also accounts for his mendacity and dishonesty.  |[[George Bernard Shaw]] |''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]''}}

[[Epanalepsis]] repeats the same word(s) at the beginning and end.<ref name="Harris 2003 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}}

{{blockquote|Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! |Shakespeare |[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]] 3.1}}

=== Epizeuxis/Antanaclasis ===
[[Epizeuxis]] is repetition of the same word without interruption.<ref name="Harris Handbook" />

{{blockquote|O horror! Horror! Horror! |Shakespeare |[[Macbeth]] 2.3}}

[[Antanaclasis]] is repetition of the same word but in a different sense. The repeated word has two different meanings in the context of the sentence. Antanaclasis is often used when the repeated word has multiple definitions or ways it may be interpreted. Authors typically use this rhetorical strategy in order to emphasize a certain word that contributes to the overarching theme or idea, to create a rhythm in their writing, or to give off a witty or humorous tone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://literarydevices.net/antanaclasis/|title=Antanaclasis - Definition and Examples of Antanaclasis|date=2014-05-05|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref> This can take advantage of [[polysemy]]. 
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin De Campo |first1=Michel |title=Antanaclasis Definition, Functions & Examples |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/antanaclasis-definition-examples.html |website=Study.com |access-date=November 29, 2023}}</ref>  

{{blockquote|We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately. |[[Benjamin Franklin]]}}

=== Diacope ===
[[Diacope]] is the repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or clause.<ref name="Harris 2003 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}}

{{blockquote|A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse! |Shakespeare |[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]] 5.4}}

== Word relation ==
Word relation rhetorical devices operate via deliberate connections between words within a sentence.

=== Antithesis/Antimetabole/Chiasmus ===
[[Antithesis]] involves putting together two opposite ideas in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.<ref name="McGuigan 2011 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}} Contrast is emphasised by parallel but similar structures of the opposing phrases or clauses to draw the listeners' or readers' attention. Compared to chiasmus, the ideas must be opposites.
{{blockquote|Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. |Shakespeare |[[Measure for Measure]] 2.1}}

[[Antimetabole]] involves repeating but reversing the order of words, phrases or clauses. The exact same words are repeated, as opposed to antithesis or chiasmus.
{{blockquote|Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. |[[John F. Kennedy|John F Kennedy]] |[[Inauguration of John F. Kennedy|Inaugural Address]]}}

[[Chiasmus]] involves parallel clause structure but in reverse order for the second part. This means that words or elements are repeated in the reverse order.<ref name="Farnsworth 2011 no page">{{Cite book|last=Farnsworth |first=Ward |title=Farnsworth's classical English rhetoric|year=2011|publisher=David R. Godine, Publisher|isbn=978-1-56792-385-8|edition=1st|location=Boston|oclc=369308749}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2023}} The ideas thus contrasted are often related but not necessarily opposite.

{{blockquote|But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er<br/>Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves! |Shakespeare |[[Othello]] 3.3}}

=== Asyndeton/Polysyndeton ===
[[Asyndeton]] is the removal of conjunctions like "or", "and", or "but" where it might have been expected.<ref name="Farnsworth 2011 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}}{{blockquote|Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful day! |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 4.4}}

[[Polysyndeton]] is the use of more [[Conjunction (grammar)|conjunctions]] than strictly needed. This device is often combined with anaphora.<ref name="Farnsworth 2011 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}}
{{blockquote|We'll live,<br/> And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh<br/> At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues<br/> Talk of court news... |Shakespeare |[[King Lear]] 5.3}}

=== Auxesis/Catacosmesis ===
[[Auxesis (figure of speech)|Auxesis]] is arranging words in a list from least to most significant.<ref name="Miriam Joseph 2008 no page">{{Cite book|last=Miriam Joseph, Sister|title=Shakespeare's use of the arts of language|year=2008|publisher=Paul Dry|isbn=978-1-58988-048-1|location=Philadelphia |oclc=216936830}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2023}} This can create [[Climax (rhetoric)|climax]].
{{blockquote|
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, <br/>But sad mortality o'er-sways their power... |Shakespeare |[[Sonnet 65]]}}

[[Catacosmesis]], the opposite, involves arranging them from most to least significant.<ref name="Miriam Joseph 2008 no page" />{{Page needed|date=April 2023}}
{{blockquote|Nor brass, nor stone, nor parchment bears not one. |Shakespeare |[[The Winter's Tale]] 1.2}}

This can create [[Anticlimax (figure of speech)|anticlimax]] for humour or other purposes.
{{blockquote|He has seen the ravages of war, he has known natural catastrophes, he has been to singles bars. |[[Woody Allen]]}}

=== Oxymoron ===
An [[oxymoron]] is a two-word paradox often achieved through the deliberate use of antonyms. This creates an internal contradiction that can have rhetorical effect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://literarydevices.net/oxymoron/|title=Oxymoron - Examples and Definition of Oxymoron|date=2013-06-26|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-04}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
I could weep<br/>And I could laugh, I am light and heavy. |Shakespeare |[[Coriolanus]] 2.1}}

=== Zeugma ===
[[Zeugma and syllepsis|Zeugma]] involves the linking of two or more words or phrases that occupy the same position in a sentence to another word or phrase in the same sentence. This can take advantage of the latter word having multiple meanings depending on context to create a clever use of language that can make the sentence and the claim thus advanced more eloquent and persuasive.

In the following examples, 2 nouns (as direct objects) are linked to the same verb which must then be interpreted in 2 different ways.<ref name="Reedsy">{{Cite web|url=http://blog.reedsy.com/rhetorical-devices/|title=30 Rhetorical Devices — And How to Use Them|date=2019-01-11|website=Reedsy|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-12}}</ref>

{{blockquote|He caught the train and a bad cold.}} 
{{blockquote|I held my breath and the door for you.}}
{{blockquote|Dumbledore was striding serenely across the room wearing long midnight-blue robes and a perfectly calm expression.|[[J. K. Rowling]] |''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''}}

Zeugma is sometimes defined broadly to include other ways in which one word in a sentence can relate to two or more others. Even simple constructions like multiple subjects linked to the same verb are then "zeugma without complication".<ref name="Dupriez1991">{{cite book|author=Bernard Marie Dupriez|title=A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A-Z|url=http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflite0000dupr|url-access=registration|access-date=25 September 2013|year=1991|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-6803-3|page=[http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoflite0000dupr/page/440 440]}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.}} {{blockquote|Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. |[[William Shakespeare]] |[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]] 3.2}}

== Discourse level ==
Discourse level rhetorical devices rely on relations between phrases, clauses and sentences. Often they relate to how new arguments are introduced into the text or how previous arguments are emphasized. Examples include [[antanagoge]], [[apophasis]], [[aporia]], [[hypophora]], [[Metanoia (rhetoric)|metanoia]] and [[procatalepsis]].

=== Amplification/Pleonasm ===
[[Amplification (linguistics)|Amplification]] involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail, to emphasise what might otherwise be passed over.<ref name="McGuigan 2011 no page"/>{{page missing|date=January 2023}} This allows one to call attention to and expand a point to ensure the reader realizes its importance or centrality in the discussion.
{{blockquote|
But this revolting boy, of course,<br> Was so unutterably vile,<br> So greedy, foul, and infantile<br> He left a most disgusting taste<br> Inside our mouths... |[[Roald Dahl]] |''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'')}}

[[Pleonasm]] involves using more words than necessary to describe an idea. This creates emphasis and can introduce additional elements of meaning.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://literarydevices.net/pleonasm/|title=Pleonasm - Definition and Examples of Pleonasm|date=2014-02-14|website=Literary Devices|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Swerve not from the smallest article of it, neither in time, matter or other circumstance. |Shakespeare |[[Measure for Measure]] 4.2}}

=== Antanagoge ===
[[Antanagoge]] involves "placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point".<ref name="Harris Handbook">{{Cite web|url=http://virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm|title=A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices|last=Harris|first=Robert A.|year=2013|website=virtualsalt.com}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
Within the infant rind of this weak flower<br> Poison hath residence, and medicine power. |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.3<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Dell, Leslie.|title=Shakespearean language: a guide for actors and students|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=0-313-00694-6|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=51389694}}</ref>}}

One scenario involves a situation when one is unable to respond to a negative point and chooses instead to introduce another point to reduce the accusation's significance.

{{blockquote|We may be managing the situation poorly, but so did you at first.}}

Antanagoge can also be used to positively interpret a negative situation:
{{blockquote|
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.<ref name="Reedsy" />}}

=== Apophasis ===
[[Apophasis]] is the tactic of bringing up a subject by denying that it should be brought up.<ref>Baird, A. Craig; Thonssen, Lester (1948). "Chapter 15 The Style of Public Address". [http://www.questia.com/library/2465598/speech-criticism-the-development-of-standards-for Speech Criticism, the Development of Standards for Rhetorical Appraisal]. Ronald Press Co. p. 432.</ref> It is also known as paralipsis, occupatio, praeteritio, preterition, or parasiopesis.

{{blockquote|
There's something tells me, but it is not love, <br/>I would not lose you; and you know yourself, <br/>Hate counsels not in such a quality. |Shakespeare |[[The Merchant of Venice]] 3.2}}

=== Aporia ===
[[Aporia]] is the rhetorical expression of doubt.<ref name="Harris Handbook" />

{{blockquote|
To be or not to be, that is the question. |Shakespeare |[[Hamlet]] 3.1}}

When the rhetorical question posed is answered, this is also an instance of [[hypophora]].

===Diasyrmus===
Rejecting an argument through ridiculous comparison.<ref>Silva Rhetoricae, [http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/D/diasyrmus.htm Diasyrmus], accessed 13 November 2020</ref>

=== Derision ===
This involves setting up an opposing position to ridicule without offering a counterargument.<ref name="Crews-Anderson 2007 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}}
{{blockquote|
You believe we should vote for him? [[Swampland in Florida|I've got a bridge to sell you]].}}

=== Enthymeme ===
[[Syllogism]] which omits either one of the premises or the conclusion. The omitted part must be clearly understood by the reader. Sometimes this depends on contextual knowledge.
{{blockquote|They say it takes hundreds of years to build a nation. <br>Welcome to Singapore. |[[Singapore Tourism Board]] campaign}}(Modern Singapore is currently {{Age|1965|8|9}} years old.)

=== Gish gallop ===

The [[Gish gallop]] is in which a person in a [[debate]] attempts to overwhelm an opponent by presenting an excessive number of arguments, without regard for their accuracy or strength, with a rapidity that makes it impossible for the opponent to address them in the time available. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of their quality.

The term "Gish gallop" was coined in 1994 by the anthropologist [[Eugenie Scott]] who named it after the American [[Creationism|creationist]] [[Duane Gish]], dubbed the technique's "most avid practitioner".

=== Hyperbole ===
[[Hyperbole]] is deliberate exaggeration.<ref name="Harris Handbook" /> This can be for literary effect:
{{blockquote|The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,<br>As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven<br>Would through the airy region stream so bright<br>That birds would sing and think it were not night |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.2)}}

Or for argumentative effect:
{{blockquote|
Her election to Parliament would be the worst thing to ever happen to this country! <ref name="Crews-Anderson 2007 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}}}}

=== Hypophora ===
The use of [[hypophora]] is the technique whereby one asks a question and then proceeds to answer the question.<ref name="McGuigan 2011 no page">{{Cite book|last=McGuigan |first=Brendan|title=Rhetorical devices : a handbook and activities for student writers|others=Moliken, Paul; Grudzina, Douglas|year=2011|isbn=978-1-58049-765-7|edition=Revised [edition]|location=Clayton, DE|oclc=816509713}}</ref>{{page missing|date=January 2023}}

{{blockquote|
Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word honour? What is that honour? Air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? He that died a' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. 'Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. |Shakespeare |[[Henry IV, Part 1]] 5.1}}

=== Innuendo ===
This device indirectly implies an accusation without explicitly stating it.<ref name="Crews-Anderson 2007 no page" />{{page needed|date=January 2023}} This can be combined with [[apophasis]].
{{blockquote|
I know you aren't an alcoholic, but I did notice you've replaced all the bottles in your liquor cabinet.}}

=== Metanoia ===
[[Metanoia (rhetoric)|Metanoia]] qualifies a statement or by recalling or rejecting it in part or full, and then re-expressing it in a better, milder, or stronger way.<ref name="Harris Handbook" /><ref name="Harris 2003 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}} A negative is often used to do the recalling.

{{blockquote|
All faults that may be named, nay, that hell knows... |Shakespeare |[[Cymbeline]] 2.4}}

=== Procatalepsis ===
By anticipating and answering a possible objection, [[procatalepsis]] allows an argument to continue while rebutting points opposing it. It is a relative of [[hypophora]].<ref name="McGuigan 2011 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}}
{{blockquote|
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,<br>'But if we take the set away,<br>What shall we do to entertain<br>Our darling children? Please explain!'<br>We'll answer this by asking you,<br>'What used the darling ones to do?<br>How used they keep themselves contented<br>Before this monster was invented?' |[[Roald Dahl]] |''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]''}}

=== Understatement ===
[[Understatement]], or [[Meiosis (figure of speech)|meiosis]], involves deliberately understating the importance, significance or magnitude of a subject.<ref name="McGuigan 2011 no page" />{{page missing|date=January 2023}}
{{blockquote|
The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage.| The [[Hirohito surrender broadcast]]}} 

A subtype of understatement is [[litotes]], which uses negation:
{{blockquote|Heatwaves are not rare in the summer.}}

==Irony and imagery==
=== Irony ===
[[Irony]] is the figure of speech where the words of a speaker intends to express a meaning that is directly opposite of the said words.<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" />
{{blockquote|
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -<br>For Brutus is an honourable man;<br>So are they all, all honourable men -<br>Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.<br>He was my friend, faithful and just to me:<br>But Brutus says he was ambitious;<br>And Brutus is an honourable man. |Shakespeare [[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]] 3.2}}
=== Metaphor ===
[[Metaphor]] connects two different things to one another. It is frequently invoked by the verb "to be".<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" /> The use of metaphor in rhetoric is primarily to convey to the audience a new idea or meaning by linking it to an already familiar idea or meaning. The literary critic and rhetorician, [[I. A. Richards]], divides a metaphor into two parts: the vehicle and the tenor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=I. A. (Ivor Armstrong) |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/8632866 |title=The philosophy of rhetoric |date=1981 |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=8632866|pages=119–27}}</ref>

In the following example, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun (the vehicle), and this metaphor connecting Juliet to the sun shows that Romeo sees Juliet as being radiant and regards her as an essential being (the tenor).

{{blockquote|But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?<br>It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.2}}

In the example below, John Green compares a toddler to the sun because they do not want to go to bed.

{{blockquote|The sun was a toddler insistently refusing to go to bed: It was past eight thirty and still light.|John Green, The Fault in Our Stars}}

=== Personification ===
[[Personification]] is the representation of animals, inanimate objects and ideas as having human attributes.<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" />
{{blockquote|
The gray-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.3}}

=== Simile ===
[[Simile]] compares two different things that resemble each other in at least one way using "like" or "as" to explain the comparison.<ref name="Reedsy" /><ref name="Harris Handbook" />
{{blockquote|
I'll warrant him, as gentle as a lamb. |Shakespeare |[[Romeo and Juliet]] 2.5}}

=== Metonymy ===
[[Metonymy]] is a figure of speech where a thing or concept is referred to indirectly by the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. For example, "crown" to denote king or queen.

==== Synecdoche ====
A [[synecdoche]] is a class of [[metonymy]], often by means of either mentioning [[Pars pro toto|a part for the whole]] or conversely [[Totum pro parte|the whole for one of its parts]]. Examples from common English expressions include "suits" (for "businessmen"), "boots" (for "soldiers", a [[pars pro toto]]), and "America" (for "the United States of America", a [[totum pro parte]]).

===<span class="anchor" id="enargia"></span> Enargia ===

"Vivid, forceful descriptions creating strong visual images related to audience experience."<ref>{{Cite book
| last        = Lanham
| first       = Richard A.
| author-link = Richard Lanham
| title       = A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms
| edition     = 2nd
| publisher   = University of California Press
| year        = 1991
| isbn        = 9780520076693 
}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Figure of speech]]
*[[Glossary of rhetorical terms]]
*[[Rhetorical modes]]
*[[Stylistic device]]
*[[Literary device]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm Handbook of rhetorical devices]
*[http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html List of Fallacious Arguments]{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214094206/http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm Online Resource of Rhetorical Devices]
*[http://americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm Rhetorical Figures in Sound]

{{Figures of speech}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhetorical Device}}
[[Category:Rhetorical techniques| ]]