A rhetorical device is a technique, sometimes called a resource of language, used by an author or speaker to induce an emotional response. These emotional responses are central to the meaning of the work or speech, and should also get get the listener (or reader's) attention.
A partial list of rhetorical devices
This list contains both rhetorical devices per se, as well as other tools of spoken and written language that may be promionently used for rhetorical purposes.
- Anacoluthon, an abrupt change in sentence structure
- Analogy
- Chiastic structure, in which attention is drawn to a main idea
- Diction, the choice of words based on their connotation and precise meaning
- Epithet
- Imagery, also known as detail
- Metaphor
- Parade of horribles
- Parallelism
- Organization , a division of a work into components, either explicitly or subtly, used for rhetorical purposes.
- Rhetorical question
- Simile
- 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.
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