In rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in his audience (his reader(s) or listener(s)). These emotional responses are central to the meaning of the work or speech, and should also get the audience's attention. Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... Look up Emotion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Partial list

This list contains both rhetorical devices per se, as well as other tools of spoken and written language that may be prominently used for rhetorical purposes. See also the Glossary of rhetorical terms. Rhetorical Theory is a subject rife with jargon and special terminology. ...

• Anacoluthon, an abrupt change in sentence structure
• Analogy
• Antithesis
• Aposiopesis, suddenly breaking off in speech, as in "Why, you little —"
• Chiastic structure, in which attention is drawn to a main idea or complete thought
• Diction, the choice of words based on their connotation and precise meaning
• Epithet, a descriptive word or phrase that has become a fixed formula
• Imagery, also known as sensory detail
• Metaphor, a direct comparison between seemingly unrelated subjects
• Parade of horribles
• Parallelism
• Personification, giving human qualities to an inanimate object.
• Polysyndeton, (opposite asyndeton), the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted, as in "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy".
• Rhetorical organization, a division of a work into components, either explicitly or subtly, used for rhetorical purposes.
• Rhetorical question, a question to which an answer is not expected in response
• Simile
• Synecdoche, in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in "New York won by six runs" (meaning "New York's baseball team won by six runs").
• Symbolism, in which a (usually recurrent) object or character represents an idea.
• Syntax, also known as sentence structure, may be used as a rhetorical device.

An anacoluthon is a rhetorical device that can be loosely defined as a change of syntax within a sentence. ... Analogy is both the cognitive process of transferring information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. ... Look up Antithesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Aposiopesis (from Classical Greek, ἀποσιώπησις, becoming silent) is the term for the rhetorical device by which the speaker or writer deliberately stops short and leaves something unexpressed, but yet obvious, to be supplied by the imagination, giving the impression that she is unwilling or unable to continue. ... Chiastic structure is a literary structure used most notably in the Torah. ... Diction, in its original and primary meaning, is the term for a writer or speakers distinctive choices in vocabulary and style of expression. ... Connotation is a subjective cultural and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotative meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language, i. ... An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ... Imagery is any of the five senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste). ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... A parade of horribles is both a literal parade and a rhetorical device. ... Parallelism means to give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. ... Phillipp Veits Germania (1877), a personification of Germany. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... For other uses, see Organization (disambiguation). ... A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than to receive an answer. ... A simile is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of like, as, than, or resembles. Common examples are Curley was flopping like a fish on a line(extract of Mice and Men) etc. ... Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which: a term denoting a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing, or a term denoting a thing (a whole) is used to refer to part of it, or a term denoting a specific class of thing (a species... For other uses, see Syntax (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Stylistic device
• Figure of speech

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Figure of speech. ... A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or locution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. ...

External links

• Online Resource of Rhetorical Devices
• Handbook of rhetorical devices