Rhetorical Devices in Literature and Media

1. Rhetorical Devices in Literature and Media A presentation by Alexis Wells, Caleb Middleton, Emma Brick-Hezeau, and Imani Montilla.

2. allegory • the utilization of character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning • many children’s books, fables, and narratives with overarching morals use stories as an allegory to make a statement about more higher concepts • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is a religious allegory in which (witch...haha) the characters represent virtues. It is a biblical allegory with Aslan representing Christ and Edmund Judas. Aslan is martyred to symbolically represent Christ’s sacrifice

3. allusion • direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known • In Panic! at the Disco’s song “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” the singer alludes to the famous Mona Lisa smile: • “Whoa, Mona Lisa • You're guaranteed to run this town • Whoa, Mona Lisa, • I'd pay to see you frown”

4. alliteration • the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words • can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and supply musical sound and echo

5. ambiguity • the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage

6. anadiplosis • the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause • this is apparent in The Wanted’s song “Glad You Came”

7. anaphora • a repetitive device in which the same word or word is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences • a famous example of this comes from Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have A Dream” speech, in which his major points were prefaced with the phrase, “I have a dream”

8. epistrophe • a repetitive device in which the same word or word is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences • the opposite of anaphora • John Steinbeck uses epistrophe in Grapes of Wrath to emphasize the phrase “I’ll be there” • “Then I’ll be all aroun’ in the dark. I’ll be ever’where – wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. An’ when our folk eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build – why, I’ll be there.”

9. antecedent • the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun • antecedents are constantly utilized in writing, this example from William Shakespeare’s “Othello” uses the pronoun it to refer to the antecedent wind • Me thinks the wind has spoke aloud at land, A fuller blast ne’er shook our battlements Ifithath ruffianed so upon the sea antecedent pronoun

10. aphorism • a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or moral principle • often a memorable summation of the author’s point Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977)

11. apostrophe • a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction • an address to someone or something that cannot answer • in his play, Macbeth, William Shakespeare makes use of an apostrophe • “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” • in this excerpt, Macbeth has a strange vision of a dagger, and speaks to it as though it was a person, despite its inability to answer

12. clause • a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb • clauses fall under one of two categories, independent or dependent • independent, or main, clauses state a complete thought and can stand as their own sentence • dependent, or subordinate clauses, cannot stand alone • thus, they are always accompanied by an independent clause • an author often subordinates one clause in order to emphasize the importance of a point made or to clarify an element discussed

13. colloquialism Hey dog! • the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing • not typically okay to use these in formal writing, can be used to develop a conversational, familiar tone • JD Salinger achieves a colloquial tone through slang and crude language in “The Catcher in the Rye” • "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." • “I ordered a Scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it—I said it fast as hell, because if you hem and haw, they think you're under twenty-one and won't sell you any intoxicating liquor.”

14. conceit • a fanciful expression, usually an extended metaphor or some unexpected analogy/comparison • by showing a degree of intellectual divergence from the norm, it displays wit and cleverness The Pink Panther (2006)

15. connotation vs. denotation • connotation is the meaning we associate with a word • it can embody ideas, emotions, or attitudes • denotation is strictly the dictionary definition of a word • it is absent of any emotion or association, positive or negative Connotation Denotation “you are one cool cat.” “you are one cool cat.”

16. diction • the writer’s word choices • refers especially to the correctness, clearness, and effectiveness of the words • the author’s style is a combination of diction, syntax, figurative language, and literary devices cat woman cat lady

17. didactic • taken from Greek, didactic literally means “teaching” • thus, didactic works primarily have the purpose of teaching or instructing • typically they aim to teach a moral or ethical principle • Alexander Pope uses didacticism in “Essay on Man” • “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan the proper study of Mankind is Man.”

18. euphemism • taken from the Greek for “good speech” • more agreeable, less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept • may be used to adhere to social or political correctness, or to add humor or ironic understatement • In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses euphemism when Romeo says • “O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate” • This is a euphemism for crying, because doing so was deemed socially incorrect for men of the time. “passed away” “off his rocker”

19. figurative language • writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative or vivid figure of speech • a device used to produce figurative language • “it’s raining cats and dogs” means it is raining very hard

20. homily • a serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice • literally “sermon” • the entirety of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a homily, as Jonathan Edwards delivered it for the purpose of advocating his moral principles to the congregation

21. hyperbole • figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement • often used for comic effect or irony, but can be used in serious writing as well • In The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi uses hyperbole to describe the intense sadness Pinocchio felt upon learning that the Lovely Maiden with the Azure Hair had died • “He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills…” “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”

22. understatement • ironic minimizing of fact • opposite of hyperbole, understatement is often used to create humor Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

23. imagery • the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions • complex imagery may represent multiple things • “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” • Langston Hughes’s imagery refers to both the image of the raisin and the dream deferred • terms related to the 5 senses • visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory, and olfactory • “The gushing brook stole its way down the lush green mountains, dotted with tiny flowers in a riot of colors and trees coming alive with gaily chirping birds.”

24. inference/infer • to infer is to draw a conclusion based on the information presented • if a multiple-choice question asks for an inference to be drawn, the most reasonable and direct inference is the safest option • if the answer choice is directly stated, it is not an inference Aaron can inferthat the cake contains apples. The Big Bang Theory (2009)

25. syllogism • from the Greek for “reckoning together” • a syllogism is a deductive system of logic that presents two premises, a major and a minor, that lead to a sound conclusion • syllogisms are only valid if their premises are both valid • in his play “Timon of Athens”, Shakespeare makes use of a syllogism • “Flavius: Have you forgot me, sir? Timon: Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men; Then, if thou grant’st thou’rt a man, I have forgot thee.” • after stating that he has “forgot all men”, Timon tells Flavius that as long as he is a man, he has forgotten him too

26. invective • an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language • Kent hurls invectives at Oswald in Scene II of King Lear • “A knave, a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave… and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch…”

27. irony/ironic • a contrast between what is stated and what is meant • three major types, verbal, situational, and dramatic • verbal - words literally state the opposite of the writer’s meaning • can also be characterized as sarcasm • situational - events turn out opposite than expected • dramatic - a fact or event is unknown by a character but known by the audience • this can create tragedy or comedy depending on its use verbal dramatic situational

28. literary examples of irony • A Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift, makes frequent use of verbal irony in order to phone in the point he is attempting to make • “I rather recommend buying the children alive and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.” • clearly Swift does not truly want this, rather, he is making a critique on the standard of living for the poor throughout his writing • situational irony is exemplified in the Harry Potter series • throughout the seven books, it is implied that Harry has the power to kill Voldemort • at the end of the series, however, it is revealed that SPOILER ALERT Harry must allow Voldemort to kill him in order for his soul to become mortal again • dramatic irony is famously used in Romeo and Juliet • though the audience knows that juliet is only sleeping, Romeo truly believes she has died • this results in his, and subsequently her, suicides

29. litotes • employs an understatement by using double negatives. • Frederick Douglass utilizes litotes for emphasis in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave • “Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.” • by stating that it is “not uncommon”, Douglass shows that these arguments were in fact a regular occurrence

30. loose sentence vs. periodic sentence • loose sentences have an independent that comes first which is followed by dependent phrases and clauses • they can make a work seem informal and relaxed • “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.” - JFK, 1961 • periodic sentences, however, present their independent clause in a main idea at the end, preceded by a clause or phrase that cannot stand alone • these sentences add emphasis and structural variety • "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson periodic loose

31. metonymy • figure of speech in which one object’s name is substituted for another closely related to it • comes from the Greek for “changed label” or “substitute name” • this is used to generate a typically stronger emotional impact “the pen (knowledge) is mightier than the sword (force)”

32. tone vs. mood • tone is the author’s attitude towards his or her own material, the audience, or possibly even both • easier to determine when spoken, tone can be: sarcastic, humorous, formal, somber, etc. • mood has two technical meanings • the first is grammatical, deals with verbal units • indicative for facts, subjunctive for untrue conditions, imperative for commands • the second refers to the major atmosphere/emotional aura of a work • this can be affected by setting, tone, and events tone mood

33. atmosphere • the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author’s choice of objects that are described • often foreshadows events • Jane Eyre has a mysterious and spooky atmosphere, created by Charlotte Brontë’s description of the setting: • "I lingered in the long passageway to which this led, separating the front and back rooms of the third story: narrow, low, and dim, with only one little window at the far end, and looking, with its two rows of small black doors all shut, like a corridor in some Bluebeard's castle...the laugh was as tragic, as preternatural a laugh as any I ever heard; and, but that it was a high room, and that no circumstance of ghostliness accompanied the curious cachinnation, but that neither scene nor season favoured fear, I should have been superstitiously afraid.”

34. narrative • the telling of a story or an account of an event/series of events

35. oxymoron • Greek for “pointedly foolish”, figure of speech where an author groups seemingly contradictory terms to suggest a paradox • Alexander Pope uses oxymoron to add humor and develop his point that reading does not make one smart. • “The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, • With loads of learned lumber in his head.” “bittersweet” “civil war” “business ethics”

36. paradox • statement that seems to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity • George Orwell presents a paradox to his audience when, in Animal Farm, the pigs create the cardinal rule that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” • this detail, alongside the rest of the novel, serves to challenge the concept of absolute equality that supposedly existed in the Soviet Union

37. parallelism • comes from Greek roots meaning “beside one another” • the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity • this can involve repetition of a particular preposition or verbal phrase • typically used to unify a selection, add emphasis and organization, or provide a rhythm • parallelism is used at the opening of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities • “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

38. paralipsis • deliberately emphasizing an idea by pretending to ignore it • Bob from The Incredibles emphasizes his advice to his client by pretending he wouldn’t help her. (start at 0:55) The Incredibles (2004)

39. parody • work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect or ridicule • In Weird Al Yankovic's “Like A Surgeon,” he imitates Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” song, dance style, and video motifs closely to poke fun at both surgeons and Madonna. “Like A Surgeon” (1985)

40. predicate adjective vs. predicate nominative • two types of subject complement • predicate adjective is an adjective, group of adjectives, or adjective clause that follows a linking verb, it is in the predicate of a sentence and modifies its subject • predicate nominative is a noun, group of nouns, or noun clause that renames the subject in a sentence’s predicate • Jaden Smith uses predicate adjectives • “Kids who go to normal school are so teenagery, so angsty.” • Kanye West uses predicate nominatives • “Fusion is the future. The mixing of ideas. The two lunch tables working together. Humanity...we're 1 people.”

41. rhetor, rhetoric, rhetorical modes • rhetoris the speaker who uses elements of rhetoric inspeaking or text • rhetoric comes from the Greek for “orator” • it is the collective principles that define effective, eloquent, and persuasive writing • rhetorical modes are the major kinds of writing and their variety, conventions, and purposes, the four most common areexposition, argumentation (persuasive), description, and narration • exposition is the explanation and analysis of information • argumentation is the validation of an idea through reasoning and discussion • description is the presentation of a person, place, event, or action through strong imagery • narration is the process used to tell a story, event, or series of events

42. rhetorical modes in literature • exposition • the star wars opening crawl provides key background information • argumentation • Charles Dickens employs persuasive language and takes a point of view to validate the opinion expressed in his story • “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” • descriptionAbraham Lincoln uses description in this letter to his friend"If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes--no other marks or brands recollected."

43. rhetorical modes in literature (cont) • narration • "Landlord!" said I, "what sort of chap is he -- does he always keep such late hours?" It was now hard upon twelve o'clock.The landlord chuckled again with his lean chuckle, and seemed to be mightily tickled at something beyond my comprehension. "No," he answered, "generally he's an early bird -- airley to bed and airley to rise -- yea, he's the bird what catches the worm. -- But to-night he went out a peddling, you see, and I don't see what on airth keeps him so late, unless, may be, he can't sell his head.""Can't sell his head? -- What sort of a bamboozingly story is this you are telling me?" getting into a towering rage. "Do you pretend to say, landlord, that this harpooneer is actually engaged this blessed Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning, in peddling his head around this town?" Moby Dick is told entirely through narration. It is a series of events told by and from the point of view of one character--the narrator.

44. sarcasm • sarcasm comes from the Greek for “to tear flesh” • it involves the use of bitter language to hurt or ridicule something or someone • if effectively done, it can be witty and insightful; if poorly done, it’s just rude The series Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008) uses sarcasm to deride other characters

45. satire • satire, though often associated with sarcasm, is a work that targets human vices and follies, or social norms to ridicule or inspire reform • it often utilizes sarcasm, but other modes such as irony or hyperbole are also used The movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) satirizes hipster culture.

46. style • evaluation of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices • Emily Dickinson employs a descriptive and highly imagistic style in her poem “Summer Shower” • A drop fell on the apple tree, • Another on the roof, • And made the gables laugh, • The breezes brought dejected lutes, • And bathed them in the glee; • And signed the fete away.

47. subject complement and subordinate clause • subject complement is the word or clause, and its accompanying phrases, that follows a linking verb • it complements the subject by renaming it or describing it • if it renames it, the complement is a predicate nominative • if it describes it, it is a predicate adjective • subordinate clauses, like all clauses, contain a subject and a verb • they cannot stand alone, however, because they do not express a complete thought • thus, they are sometimes called dependent clauses • example of a subordinate clause from Steven Universe • “If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs.”

48. symbol/symbolism • anything that represents itself and stands for something else • symbols can often be universal, with blackbirds such as the one in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”, representing death and loss, and the blackbirds in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that represent death and danger • some symbols are tailor-made for a particular story, as the A on Hester’s chest in The Scarlet Letter was meant to represent the public shame of her sin

49. syntax • the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences • similar to diction, except diction refers to individual word choice, whereas syntax refers to the groups of words, and their arrangement, chosen by a writer

50. transition • a word or phrase that links different ideas • transitions are often used in expository and argumentative writing in order to signal a shift from one idea to the next • some commonly used transitions include furthermore, consequently, for example, in addition, etc. • Nicki Minaj uses transition in her verse in the Kanye West song “Monster” • “OK, first things first I’ll eat your brains Then I’mma start rocking gold teeth and fangs” Queen Onika