updated 13 February 2006
RHETORICAL TERMS WITH EXAMPLES: 2006
(updated 13 February 2006)
With examples provided by students enrolled in ENGL 5730 in Spring 2006 and submitted--in
phase one--by the evening of Feb. 6 and--in phase two--by Feb. 12th. And evaluations (Standouts and
Puzzlers) posted by Feb. 12.
Here is the original assignment: "From our CLASS PRODUCTIONS page, go to "Rhetorical Terms with Examples:
2005," "77
Rhetorical Terms with Examples" (contributed by the rhetoric class of 2003), "66 Rhetorical Terms with
Examples" (contributed by the rhetoric class of 2002), and "Examples of Rhetorical Terms"
(contributed by the rhetoric class of 2000): read the examples and try to define the
rhetorical terms they illustrate (then check your answers by visiting our Glossary of Terms).
Next, and no later than 6:00 this evening (Feb. 6),
send me an e-mail with five different examples you
have found (or created) of any five different terms (from our list of terms) beginning A through G (we'll cover the rest of
the alphabet next week). Be sure to cite the author and title of any poem,
song lyric, essay, story, gum wrapper, movie script, t-shirt, road sign, or novel you
quote from. (As usual, please send me the terms both attached as a Word doc
and pasted into your e-mail message.) Obviously, I expect you to provide a
fresh example, not one that's already been submitted. And your great challenge is to
find examples of some of the less obvious (and perhaps more difficult to remember)
terms. If you submit sorry examples of terms (such as alliteration and fable)
that we have known all of our lives, I will deduct points and ridicule you mercilessly on
this web site. On the other hand, if you submit particularly imaginative examples
for more challenging terms, I will heap extra points upon you and honor your name.
As you're working on the exercise (don't wait till the last minute), send me an
e-mail if you're uncertain about the meaning of a term or the appropriateness of your
example."
How to use this page: After studying the example(s) accompanying each
rhetorical term below, try to compose a clear and accurate definition of the
term. Better yet, write down your definition. Then click on the term to
compare your definition with the one in our online glossary.
WARNING: Although most of the terms below are
illustrated appropriately, some are mistakenly identified, some others are unclearly
identified (especially in longer passages, where it may not be obvious which part
of the passage illustrates the term), and still others are incompletely identified.
Soon we'll be making some clarifications and corrections to the terms and examples on this
page. Don't feel hurt if your contributions are corrected or qualified in any way:
the main purpose of this exercise is to help deepen and clarify your understanding of the
terms.
For the most part, your contributions have been copied and pasted into the web page
without any alterations. If you spot any errors in the quotations that you sent me,
please notify me via e-mail. In many cases, original
formatting has been lost, and so the layout has gotten a little messy (a major problem
with texts that were not submitted as Word attachments). Sorry! If texts
arrived without names, contributors are identified by e-mail addresses.
Terms A-G: GROUP A
Stephanie Roberts
Lisa Hom
Macrae Carreker
Mary Culp
Tara Gergacs
Alex
Barbee
Nicholas Stripling
Ashley Walden
Terms A-G: GROUP B
Alex Barbee (version 2)
Artisheia
Brown
Nicki
Peebles
Autumn Flynn
Tiffany Carabello
Terms A-G: GROUP C
Lindsey
Estepp
Katharine Phipps
Kia Cooper
Stephanie Deal
Emilie Tuminella
Bisceglia Coleman
Leslie
Moses
EVALUATIONS (Standouts & Puzzlers) of A-G
Terms
H-Z: GROUP D
Katharine Phipps
Lisa Hom
Autumn Flynn
Stephanie Roberts
Ashley Walden
Artisheia Brown
Tiffany Lynn Carabello
Tara Gergacs
Terms
H-Z: GROUP E
Leslie Moses
Mary Culp
Alex Barbee
Emilie Tuminella
Stephanie Deal
Macrae Carreker
Bisceglia Coleman
Lindsey Estepp
________________________
Stephanie
Roberts
1.
Anaphora: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
or verses.
“They have a right to do justice, as between their fellows, whether their fellows are
in public function or in ordinary occupation. They have a right to the fruits of their
industry; and to the means of making their industry fruitful. They have a right to the
acquisitions of their parents.
Source: Edmund Burke from Reflections on the
Revolution in France
2.
Apophasis: The mention of something in disclaiming intention of mentioning
it—or pretending to deny what is really affirmed.
Before employing abolitionist rhetoric to appeal to her audience’s sense of duty and
understanding of men’s rights, Mary Wollstonecraft writes, “Quitting now the flowers of rhetoric, let us, Sir,
reason together.”
Source: Mary Wollstonecraft from A Vindication of
the Rights of Men
3.
Bdelygmia: A litany of abuse
Josh: You know what, CJ? I really think I'm
the best judge of what I mean, you paranoid Berkeley
shiksa feminista. Wow, that was way too far.
CJ: No. No. Well, I've got a staff meeting
to go to and so do you, you elitist, Harvard,
fascist, missed-the-dean's-list-two-semesters-in-a-row Yankee jackass. Source: Bradley
Whitford as Josh Lyman and Allison Janney as CJ Cregg in The West Wing.
4.
Chiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is
balanced against the first but with the parts of the first.
“Virtue that transgresses is but
patch’d with sin, and sin that amends is but patch’d with virtue.”
Source: Feste in Twelfth Night, I. v. 48-9.
5.
Epicrisis: Circumstance in which a speaker quotes a passage and comments on it.
“‘We hold these truths to be self-evident,’ they said, ‘that all men
are created equal.’ Strange as it may seem, that was the first time in history that
anyone had ever bothered to write that down. Decisions are made by those who show
up.”
Source: Martin Sheen as President Bartlet in The
West Wing
____________________________
Lisa Hom
6. ACCUMULATION
A Modern Man
by George Carlin from When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
I’m a modern man, digital and smoke-free;
a man for the millennium.
A diversified, multi-cultural, post-modern deconstructionist;
politically, anatomically and ecologically incorrect.
I’ve been uplinked
and downloaded,
I’ve been inputted and outsourced.
I know the upside of downsizing,
I know the downside of upgrading.
I’m a high-tech
low-life.
a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art,
bi-coastal multi-tasker,
and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I’m new-wave, but I’m old-school;
and my inner child is outward bound.
I’m a hot-wired, heat-seeking,
warm-hearted cool customer;
voice-activated and biodegradable.
Note: there are four more pages of this if you would like
to see the rest
“Rabbit’s
clever,” said Pooh thoughtfully.
“Yes” said
Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever.”
“And he has
Brain.”
“Yes,” said
Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain.”
There was a long
silence.
“I suppose,”
said Pooh, “that that’s why he never understands anything.”
A.A. Milne from The House at Pooh Corner
A cat has claws at the
end of its paws.
A comma’s a pause
at the end of a clause.
Lynne Truss from Eats Shoots & Leaves
10.
CHIASMUS
“How old would you be if you didn't know how old you
were?” Satchel Paige
11. EFFECTIO
“I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm
not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.” Dolly
Parton
12. EPANALEPSIS
“Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle.” Bob Hope
13.
EPIPLEXIS
“Haw
smiled. He knew Hem was wondering “Who
moved my Cheese?” but Haw was wondering, “Why didn’t I get up and move with
the Cheese sooner?” Spencer Johnson,
M.D., from Who
Moved My Cheese?
14. EUPHEMISMS
fix = neuter = castrate; fix = spay = sterilize; complimentary = free; skin blemishes = zits = pimples;
laugh lines = crow’s
feet = wrinkles; love
handles = spare tire = beer belly = beer gut = fat
________________________________________
Macrae Carreker
15. Anaphora
“The
old tree is leafless in the forest,/The old year is ending in the frost,/The old wound, if
stricken, is the sorest,/The old hope is hardest to be lost:”
(“The Cry of the Children,” Elizabeth Browning)
16. Chiasmus
“The
years to come seemed waste of breath,/waste of breath the years behind.” (“An
Irish Airman Foresees his Death,” Yeats)
17. Apostrophe
“Let
other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit
such odious subjects as soon as I can” Mansfield Park,
Austen
18. Anticlimax
“For
God, for country, and for Yale.”
19. Aposiopesis
“‘He
ain’t got to be like him- From him is
enough.’
‘I’ll
be responsible for-’”
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
_______________________________
Mary Culp
20. Epideictic:
I weep for
Adonais-he is dead!/ O, weep for Adonais! Though our tears/ Thaw not the frost which binds
so dear a head!/ And thou, sad Hour, selected from all years/ To mourn our loss, rouse thy
obscure compeers,/ And teach them thine own sorrow, say: with me/ Died Adonais; till the
Future dares/ Forget the Past, his fate and fame shall be/ An echo and light unto
eternity!
“Adonais” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
21. Epidzeuxis:
Farewell,
farewell! But this I tell/ To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!/ He prayeth well, who loveth well/
Both man and bird and beast.
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge
22.
Asyndeton:
Pavement
slipp’ry, people sneezing,/ Lords in ermine, beggars freezing;/ Titles glutons
dainties carving,/ Genius in a garret starving.
“January, 1795” by Mary Robinson
23.
Distinctio:
Socrates: If I
went on to say: “Tell me, what is this very thing, Meno, in which they all are the
same and do not differ from one another?” Would you be able to tell me?
Meno: I would.
Socrates: The
same is true in the case of the virtues. Even if they are many and various, all of them
have one and the same from which makes them virtues, and it is right to look to this when
one is asked to make clear what virtue is. Or do you not understand what I mean?
Plato’s Meno
24. Epimone:
Then since I
do believe in spirits, as you admit, if spirits are gods, this is what I mean when I say
you speak in riddles and in jest, as you state that I do not believe in gods and then
again that I do, since I do believe in spirits. If, on the other hand, the spirits are
children of the gods, bastard children of the gods by nymphs or some other mothers, as
they are said to be, what man would believe children of the gods to exist, but not gods?
That would be just as absurd as to believe the young of horses and asses, namely mules, to
exist, but not to believe in the existence of horses and asses. You must have made this
disposition, Meletus, either to test us or because you were at a loss to find any true
wrongdoing of which to accuse me. There is no way in which you could persuade anyone of
even small intelligence that it is possible for one and the same man to believe in
spiritual but not also in divine things, and then again for that same man to believe
neither in spirits nor in gods nor in heroes.
Plato’s Apology
_____________________________
Tara Gergacs
25) Anadiplosis: Example- “Life is beautiful with love, with
love we can conquer anything” Tara Gergacs
26) Antithesis: Example- “Not that I loved Caesar less but
that I loved Rome more.” Brutus in William Shakespeare’s “Julius
Caesar.”
27) Apostrophe: Example- “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo.” Juliet in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo
and Juliet”
28) Aposiopesis: Example- “I made an A in my--I almost forgot
to call my mom.” Tara Gergacs
29) Epanalepsis-
Example “Strong I am with the Force, but not that strong.” Yoda- “Stars
Wars-Return of the Jedi”
_____________________________
Alex Barbee
30)
Analogy: A personal favorite cause it is so true.
. . . For answers successfully arrived
at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he
is ignorant of it. –Aristotle
31)
Anadiplosis:
“I am Sam, Sam I am....” –Dr. Suess
32)
Catachresis:
“We all live in a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine…” –The
Beatles, Yellow Submarine
33)
Cliché:
“If something’s not
broken, don’t fix it.” –Any mouse
34)
Dialect:
“"Well, you're innocent, ain't you! Does three hundred dollars lay round
every day for people to pick up? Some folks thinks the nigger ain't far from here. I'm one
of them -- but I hain't talked it around. A few days ago I was talking with an old couple
that lives next door in the log shanty, and they happened to say hardly anybody ever goes
to that island over yonder that they call Jackson's Island. Don't anybody live there? says
I. No, nobody, says they. I didn't say any more, but I done some thinking. I was pretty
near certain I'd seen smoke over there, about the head of the island, a day or two before
that, so I says to myself, like as not that nigger's hiding over there; anyway, says I,
it's worth the trouble to give the old place a hunt. I hain't seen any smoke sence, so I
reckon maybe he's gone, if it was him; but husband's going over to see -- him and another
man. He was gone up the river; but he got back to-day and I told him as soon as he got
here two hours ago." –Samuel Clemens
(a.k.a. Mark Twain) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
_________________________
Nicholas
Stripling
35. Epiplexis
Example: Why
died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? —Job 3:11
36. Epizeuxis
Example: "Here he is! The one and only winner of the
Gemini Croquet contest! This boy is fueled, like FIRE! So start melting ladies 'cause the
boy is hotter than hot. He's hot Hot! HOT!!"
--
delivered by Chris Tucker (from the movie The 5th Element)
37.
aporia
Example: "I can't tell you how often writers use
aporia."
--
delivered by Professor Taylor Feb. 2 2006 AASU Campus
(as a horribly delivered joke)
38. fable
Example: JODY
Scorpion wants to cross a river, but he can't swim. Goes to the frog, who can, and asks for a ride. Frog says, "If I give you a ride on my back, you'll go and sting me." Scorpion replies, "It would not be in my interest to sting you since as I'll be on your back we both would drown." Frog thinks about this logic for a while and accepts the deal. Takes the scorpion on his back. Braves the waters. Halfway over feels a burning spear in his side and realizes the scorpion has stung him after all. And as they both sink beneath the waves the frog cries out, "Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion, for now we both will drown?" Scorpion replies, "I can't help it, it's in my nature."
-- written by: Neil Jordan for the movie (The Crying Game)
39. euphemism
Example: Vomiting euphemisms told by computer geeks.
7>
Discussing the Bush tax cut plan.
6> Oh, he ain’t just UpChucking…he’s doing a complete UpCharles!
5> Jailbreak from cellblock stomach.
4> Surfing with the porcelain browser
3> Buying the round-trip meal ticket
2> Opening the Pod Bay Door.
The Number 1 Euphemism for vomiting
amongst computer geeks in the office…
1> Reformatting the stomach drive.
-- David
Letterman
_________________________________
Ashley Walden
40. Anaphora: “If you are stone, be
loadstone; if you are plant, be sensitive; if you are man, be love.” (Victor Hugo,
Marius’ Love Letter from Les Miserables)
41. Categoria: “Cooper’s
word-sense was singularly dull. When a person has a poor ear for music he will flat and
sharp right along without knowing it. He keeps near the tune, but it is not the tune. When
a person has a poor ear for words, the result is a literary flatting and sharping; you
perceive what he is intending to say, but you also perceive that he doesn’t say it.
This is Cooper.” (Mark Twain, Fenimore
Cooper’s Literary Offences)
42. Chiasmus: “You're in pretty good
shape for the shape you are in.” (Dr. Seuss, You’re
Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children)
43. Exuscitatio: “The blues are
because you’re getting gat and maybe its been raining too much…the mean reds are
horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid
of.” (Holly Golightly, Breakfast at
Tiffany’s)
44. Gradatio: “It takes an egg to
make a hen
It takes a hen to make an egg
There is no end to what I'm saying
It takes a thought to make a word
And it takes a word to make an action” (Jason Mraz, “Life is Wonderful”)
_________________________________________________
Continue to A-G Group B
Continue to A-G Group C
Proceed to H-Z Group D
Proceed to H-Z Group E
EVALUATIONS (Standouts & Puzzlers) of A-G
____________________________________________
English 5730 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
updated 13 February 2006