updated 13 February 2006
EVALUATIONS OF RHETORICAL
TERMS WITH EXAMPLES: 2006
(updated 13 February 2006)
STANDOUTS & PUZZLERS FOR TERMS A-G
Artisheia Brown
Lisa Hom
Katharine Phipps
Autumn Flynn
Stephanie Roberts
Ashley Walden
Tara Gergacs
Mary Culp
Lindsey Estepp
Leslie Moses
Emilie Tuminella
awbarbeeiii@netscape.net
Stephanie Deal
sweet4ceglia@yahoo.com
macrae@uga.edu
Kia Cooper
_____________________
Evaluations of Examples A-G
Puzzlers
PUZZLERS:
93)
(Emilie) Anaphora: “Living is only living when your experiences exceed any
expectation.”
Sounds
more like alliteration. Anaphora is the same
word or words used at the beginning of successive phrases.
17)
(Mccrae) Apostrophe “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such
odious subjects as soon as I can” Mansfield
Park, Austen
I’m
not quite sure whether this is a good example of apostrophe or not. I understand that it means to address an inanimate
or non-existent object and I guess she’s talking about not wanting to write about
painful subjects but I don’t know if this quote is an apostrophe. I’m puzzled.
STANDOUTS
87)
(Stephanie) Gradatio: "Fear leads to
anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering." Yoda, Star Wars: Episode I. I thought this was a wonderful example of the last
word of the first clause starting the second clause and so on. The gradual build from fear to suffering will
hopefully help me remember this word.
62) (Autumn) Commoratio: Repetition of a point
several times in different words.
‘“He’s
gone off his rocker!” shouted one of the fathers, aghast, and the other
parents
joined in the chorus of frightened shouting. “He’s crazy!” they shouted.
(Roald
Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Practically reading from a thesaurus! Connection between Commoratio, Charlie, Chocolate
and Crazy will help me remember this word.
________________________________________________
Katharine
Phipps
STANDOUTS
37. Nicholas
Stripling
Anaporia
"I
can't tell you how often writers use aporia."
This example helps me memorize the definition because ‘Aporia,’ is used in it. Nicholas is right, it is a horrible joke, however; its catchy.
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”)
I thought this was a good example of
the definition for gradatio because its contemporary and easy to remember.
50.Artisheia Brown
Anaphora
My Childhood
-Our drinks came with paper umbrellas.
My mother put on tennis whites.
My father went to the bar
the way he always did.
My
mother put on tennis whites.
My brother threw me against a wall
the
way he always did.
I believed in my guardian
angel.
(Kim Addonizio, Tell Me)
I personally wouldn’t
be able to define anaphora from reading this example.
11. Lisa Hom
I thought this example was
funny, but there wasn’t any clear ‘charm’ in it.
____________________________________
I had a hard time narrowing down my standouts, because there were a lot of examples that caught my eye. To me, the point of this exercise was to help us remember these crazy terms. The following examples not only jumped out at me, but have stayed with me and helped me cement those terms in my less-than-functional brain.
STANDOUTS:
Stephanie
Deal
84) Aposiopesis:
“Well, don't worry.
Don't worry. I'm not gonna to do what you all think I'm gonna to do, which is just
FLIP OUT! But let me just, let me just say, as I ease out of the office I helped build --
I'm sorry, but it's a FACT! -- that there is such a thing as manners, a way of treating
people.”
Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire
I am a pop culture junkie, and
thus movie quotes stick with me more than the more academic ones. Jerry Maguire is a very popular movie and
this come from one of its more popular scenes. This
was the most memorable (and funny) examples of aposiopesis, to me.
Lindsey
Estepp
70)
Dysphemism
"Wendy, darling. Light of my
life. I'm not gonna hurt ya... I'm just gonna bash your brains in."
-Jack Nicholson (The Shining)
This was my absolute favorite of
the entire bunch. It made me laugh out loud. I think that the best examples are those that take
the rhetorical device as far as it can go. This
one definitely hits the message home.
PUZZLERS:
Macrae Carreker
17. Apostrophe
“Let other pens
dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can”
I’m not sure if this
is exactly apostrophe. I got the sense that
apostrophe was when the speaker directly addresses the absent, abstract, or
nonexistent thing. I feel that Austen concedes
to “other pens” or other authors, just not directly. This is where the puzzlement comes in: this may be an apostrophe, but I’m just not
sure. Here is a great apostrophe that stuck in
my head (that almost made the standouts cut):
Tiffany Lynn Carabello
66)
apostrophe
“Hello darkness my old friend…”
-
Simon and
Garfunkel
Tiffany Lynn Carabello
Alex Barbee
47. Catachresis:
“We all
live in a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine…” –The Beatles, Yellow
Submarine
The thing that puzzles me about this one
is that I feel something is missing. I think
it just needs some more lyrics to explain why this definitely a catechresis. I don’t remember all the lyrics to fill in the
blanks. By “we,” do those crazy
Beatles mean themselves? The whole world? What? Why
is it so extreme or farfetched? Is it because
they live in a submarine, or because the submarine is yellow? I don’t think it’s a bad example, I just
am a little puzzled by it.
_________________________________________________
Stephanie Roberts
Puzzlers:
#11: Lisa Hom’s example of effectio
Although Dolly Parton’s statement is a personal description, her disavowals regarding her hair color and intelligence do not give audiences a personal “head to toe” inventory. In fact, Parton’s statement is a better illustration of enthymeme in which we have to figure out that by “I also know I’m not a blonde” Parton reveals to us that she dyes her hair.
# 56: Nicki Peebles’ example of
anadiplosis
I am not sure if this example qualifies as anadiplosis because it does not exactly take
the concluding phrase of “what I establish today” to begin the next line. It is
more approximate than exact and I am unclear if the quote constitutes as an example of
anadiplosis if it is not an exact repetition.
#41: Ashley Walden’s example of categoria
Twain’s critique of Cooper’s talents as a writer is an excellent of categoria. His opening claim in the given example makes a direct assertion of Cooper’s main “literary offence”: his dullness. Throughout the example, Twain exposes Copper’s faults clearly and precisely, holding his evaluation together with music metaphors.
#70: Lindsey Estepp’s example of dysphemism
Given the seemingly sincere tone of the
quote’s first part, we think that Jack Nicholson’s character will lead us to a
euphemism for “hurt.” However, he takes us into the opposite direction with the
crude “bash your brains in.”
_____________________________________________
Puzzlers:
#47,
Alex Barbee- Catachresis: “There she
stood on stage for all to see, showing off like the greedy songbird she was." -F.
Murray Abraham (from the movie Amadeus)
I’m having difficultly seeing how this is an
extreme or far-fetched metaphor. While “greedy songbird” is a metaphor, it does
not appear to be a far-fetched metaphor when referring to a performer on a stage.
#94, Bisceglia Coleman- Alliteration: "To raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy; it takes business people; it takes community leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us." Hillary Rodham Clinton
While the first clause does contain alliteration, this stands out more as an example of anaphora than alliteration to me. I immediately saw the presence of anaphora in the quote, but it took me a bit longer to find the alliteration.
Standouts:
#4, Stephanie Roberts- Chiasmus: “Virtue that
transgresses is but patch’d with sin, and sin that amends is but
patch’d with virtue.” Source: Feste in Twelfth Night,
The
repetition of virtue and sin in the clauses makes this a very clear, memorable example of
chiasmus.
#7, Lisa Hom- Antithesis: “Rabbit’s
clever,” said Pooh thoughtfully.
“Yes”
said Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever.”
“Yes,”
said Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain.”
“I
suppose,” said Pooh, “that that’s why he never understands anything.”
A.A.
Milne from The House at Pooh
Corner
The
contrast between the idea of having a brain and not being able to understand anything
makes the presence of antithesis in this passage very clear. This example also stood out
to me because the story and characters are recognizable to many, which makes it easy to
place the passage into context.
__________________________________________
Puzzlers:
56) Anadiplosis: “I
am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established
yesterday or some previous day.” James
Joyce
This example puzzles me
because anadiplosis means repetition of the last word of one line or clause begins the
next. The next sentence should say, “What I establish today,” instead of “I
am today what I established.”
95) Antonomasia: “Of all my roommates I’m the mother”
I am puzzled because
antonomasia means substitution of a title, epithet, or descriptive phrase for a proper
name. Since she is a roommate and is like a
mother, I think another word would have been better. Maybe
“of all my roommates I’m Mother Goose.”
It would be a proper name.
Standouts:
31)
Anadiplosis: “I am Sam, Sam I
am....” –Dr. Suess
This example shows the
repetition from the last word to the next. It
is very clear and anyone can point it out.
87) Gradatio: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads
to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering." Yoda, Star Wars:
Episode I
This example is good
because it follows the definition. It is also
a very popular quote from popular culture and everyone can relate to it.
______________________________________________
Gradatio: this is a great
example because it follows the definition of gradatio perfectly. It is a very clear
example.
"Fear leads to
anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering."
Antithesis: I think this
is a good example of an antithesis because it is a balanced sentence with contrasting
ideas.
“Not
that I loved Caesar less but that I loved Rome more.” Brutus in William
Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.”
Puzzling
Examples:
Bdelygmia
– a litany of abuse- a series of critical epithets, descriptions, or attributes
I
don’t think that this is a strong example because it doesn’t exaggerate the
criticisms the way that I think it should.
Ex.
“I do hate a proud man, as I do hate the engend’ring of toads.”
Shakespeare’s Trolius
and Cressida.
I think this is a weak example of antonomasia
because instead of giving herself a specific proper name to remember, she is describing
herself with a general word.
Of
all my roommates, I’m the mother.
_________________________________________________
Proceed to Standouts &
Puzzlers A-G part 2
____________________________________________
English 5730 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
updated 13 February 2006