Class8

FiguresofStyleandThoughtIII
LesPerelman
21W747Sec.1 Sec.1 21W747
Fall2009
Figures removed due to copyright restrictions.
MoreRhetoricalFigures MoreRhetoricalFigures
Isocolon Isocolon
Aseriesofsimilarlystructuredelements Aseriesofsimilarlystructuredelements
havingroughlythesamelength.Akindof
parallelism parallelism.
IsocolonExample IsocolonExample
Thisstrugglewaspprotractedandfierce. gg
Suddenlythescenehascleared,thecrashand
thunderhasforthemomentbutonlyforthe
momentdiedaway Amiracleofdeliverance momentdiedaway.Amiracleofdeliverance,
achievedbyvalor,byperseverance,byperfect
discipline,byfaultlessservice,byresource,by
skill,byunconquerablefidelity,ismanifestto
usall.
WinstonChurchill WinstonChurchill
ScesisOnomaton ScesisOnomaton
Figureofrepetitioninwhichasetoftwoor Figureofrepetitioninwhichasetoftwoor
moredifferentwordshavingthesame(orvery
nearlythesame)meaningoccurswithinthe nearlythesame)meaningoccurswithinthe
samesentence;asuccessiveseriesofwordsor
phraseswhosemeaningsaregenerally phraseswhosemeaningsaregenerally
equivalent.
ScesisOnomatonExample ScesisOnomatonExample
Thereisnoroominthiscountryforanyflag Thereisnoroominthiscountryforanyflag
exceptourown.Thereisnoroomforthered
flag Itisopposedtoeverythingour flag.Itisopposedtoeverythingour
governmentstandsfor.Itstandsforanarchy,
chaos andruin Smashit" chaos,andruin.Smashit.
LeonardWood
ScesisOnomatonExample ScesisOnomatonExample
Lettherebenoillusions
aboutthedifficultyof
formingthiskindofa
nationalcommunity It's nationalcommunity.Its
tough,difficult,noteasy.
Butasppiritofharmonyywill
surviveinAmericaonlyif
eachofusremembersthat
weshareacommon weshareacommon
destiny"
BarbaraJordan
Asyndeton Asyndeton
Figureofomissioninwhichnormallyoccurring Figureofomissioninwhichnormallyoccurring
conjunctions(and,or,but,for,nor,so,yet)are
intentionallyomittedinsuccessivephrases or intentionallyomittedinsuccessivephrases,or
clauses;astringofwordsnotseparatedby
normallyoccurringconjunctions normallyoccurringconjunctions.
Asyndeton Asyndeton
"Theunionsurvival,itsveryexistence,sent
outasignaltoallHispanicsthatwewere
fightingforourdignity,thatwewere
challengingandovercominginjustice,that
wewereempoweringtheleasteducated
amongus,thepoorestamongus.The
messaggewasclear.Ifitcouldhappeninthe pp
fields,itcouldhappenanywhere:inthe
cities,inthecourts,inthecitycouncils,in
thestateleggislatures.
CesarChavez
Polysyndeton Polysyndeton
Figureofadditionandemphasiswhich Figureofadditionandemphasiswhich
intentionallyemploysaseriesofconjunctions
(and or but for nor so yet)notnormally (and,or,but,for,nor,so,yet)notnormally
foundinsuccessivewords,phrases,orclauses;
thedeliberateandexcessiveuseof thedeliberateandexcessiveuseof
conjunctionsinsuccessivewordsorclauses.
PolysyndetonExample PolysyndetonExample
"Wemustchangethat
deleteriousenvironmentofthe
80's,thatenvironmentwhichwas
characterizedbygreedand
h d d lfi h d hatredandselfishnessandmega
mergersanddebtoverhang...."
BarbaraJordan BarbaraJordan

Euphemismos Euphemismos
Figureusedtotransforman Figureusedtotransforman
unpleasant,distastefulorrepulsive
expressionintomoresocially
acceptableterms. acceptableterms.
Thatpersonisveracitychallenged.
EuphemismosExample EuphemismosExample
"Somepunditssaidour Somepunditssaidour
programswouldresultin
catastrophe.Thefactiswhat
theycalled'radical'wasreally
'right.'Whattheycalled
'd 'wasjust 'dangerous' j t
'desperatelyneeded.'"
RonaldReagan FarewellAddress RonaldReagan,FarewellAddress
EuphemismosExample EuphemismosExample
Now,thisisaboutprotectingourcitizens.Andallcountries
h bl k h d h haveanobligationtoworktogethertodoeverythingwecan
withinthelawtoensurethesafetyandsecurityofourpeople.
Thisisaglobalwaronterrorism,andweworkcooperatively
withmanynations Andwerespectthesovereigntyofeach withmanynations.Andwerespectthesovereigntyofeach
nation.Andwehaveandwewillcontinuetodoso.Itistheir
choiceastohowtheywantto itistheirchoiceintermsof
howtheyywanttopparticippate.Butintermsofrenditionsand
talkinginanyspecificwayaboutit,I'mjustnotgoingtodoit.
I'mnotgoingtogetintotalkingabouttheseissuesbecauseit
couldcompromisethingsinanongoingwaronterrorism.And
we''renotgoiingtoddothhat.
PressBriefingbyScottMcClellan

Anesis Anesis
Afigureofadditionthatoccurswhen Afigureofadditionthatoccurswhen
aconcludingsentence,clause,or
phraseisaddedtoastatementwhich
purposelydiminishestheeffectof purposelydiminishestheeffectof
whathasbeenpreviouslystated.
AnesisExample AnesisExample
"Thisyear'sspacebudgetis
threetimeswhatitwasin threetimeswhatitwasin
January1961,anditisgreater
thanthespacebudgetofthe
i i ht bi d previouseightyearscombined.
Thatbudgetnowstandsat5
billion400milliondollarsayear
astaggeringsum,though
somewhatlessthanwepayfor
cigarettesandcigarsevery cigarettesandcigarsevery
year.
JohnF.Kennedy
Ri U i i Add RiceUniversityAddresson
SpaceExploration
AnesisExample AnesisExample
"Weareheretodayandhavebeenthisweekforone
singllereason bbecauseth heSovietUnionsecretlly
introducedthismenacingoffensivemilitarybuildup
intotheislandofCubawhileassuringtheworldthat
nothingwasfurtherfromtheirthoughts.The nothingwasfurtherfromtheirthoughts.The
argument,initsessence,oftheSovietUnionisthatit
wasnottheSovietUnionwhichcreatedthisthreatto
peacebysecretlyinstallingtheseweaponsinCuba,but
th t it th U it d St t hi h t d thi i i thatitwastheUnitedStateswhichcreatedthiscrisis
bydiscoveringandreportingtheseinstallations.Thisis
thefirsttime,Iconfess,thatIhaveeverhearditsaid
thatthecrimeisnottheburglarbutthediscoveryof g y
theburglar.
AdlaiStevenson,AddresstotheUnitedNationsSecurity
CouncilonSovietMissilesinCuba
Hyperbole Hyperbole
Deliberateexaggerationofaperson thing Deliberateexaggerationofaperson,thing,
quality,eventtoemphasizeapointexternalto
theobjectofexaggeration;intentional theobjectofexaggeration;intentional
exaggerationforrhetoricaleffect.
HyperboleExample HyperboleExample
"Theonlyplacewhere Theonlyplacewhere
democracycomes
beforeworkisinthe
dictionary." Ralph
Nader,2000NAACP
Add Address
HyperboleExample HyperboleExample
"Myysenioryyear, ,Ireceivedatelepphonecallfroma
gentlemanbythenameofMr.GilBrandtofthe
DallasCowboys.AndhestatedthattheCowboyswas
interestedindraftingme andIcouldn'tignoreit interestedindraftingme,andIcouldntignoreit.II
decidedtoattendtheCowboystrainingcamp.That
year,1967,theDallasCowboyyshad137rookiesin y
trainingcamp.GilBrandtwassigningeverybody
thatcouldwalk.Onlyfivemadetheteamthatyear,
andIwasoneofthefive" andIwasoneofthefive.
LarryRayfieldWright
Metaphor Metaphor
Figureofexplicationoccurringwhena Figureofexplicationoccurringwhena
comparisonmadebyspeakingofonethingin
termsofanother;animpliedcomparison
betweentwodifferentthingswhichshareat
leastoneattributeincommon;anassociation
b lik hi (A B) hi betweentwounlikethings(Avs.B)achievedd
byborrowingthelanguagethatreferstothing
AandapplyingittothingB AandapplyingittothingB. (nottobe (nottobe
confusedwithsimile)
MetaphorExample MetaphorExample
"Withthisfaithwewillbe Withthisfaithwewillbe
abletotransformthe
janglingdiscordsofour
nationintoabeautiful
symphonyof
b th brotherh hoodd.""
MartinLutherKing,I
HaveaDream HaveaDream
MetaphorExample MetaphorExample
"Atthedawnofspring p g
lastyear,asingleactof
terrorbroughtforththe
long coldwinterinour long,coldwinterinour
hearts.Thepeopleof
OklahomaCityyare
mourningstill."
AlGore,Oklahoma
BombingMemorial BombingMemorial
Address
Paradox Paradox
Figurethatemploysanapparentcontradiction Figurethatemploysanapparentcontradiction
which,nonetheless,evokessomemeasureof
truth;astatementwhichseemsatonelevelto
benonsensicalbecauseitmovesagainsta
normalcy.Atanotherlevel,however,the
fi j i figureconjuresanewwayoffseeingor
understanding,anovelmeaning.
E l "I d 't h tl ith l h Example:"Idon'thustlewithpeoplewhoare
dishonest."
ca es s e e e ce a o
ParadoxExample ParadoxExample
"ParadoxhasbeendefinedasTruthstandingonherheadto
b d d h l k attractattention.Butitmustbeadmittedthatwriters,like
othermendicantsandmountebanks,frequentlydotryto
attractattention.Theysetoutconspicuously,inasinglelinein
aplay orattheheadortailofaparagraph remarksofthis aplay,orattheheadortailofaparagraph,remarksofthis
challengingkind;aswhenMr.BernardShawwrote:The
GoldenRuleisthatthereisnoGoldenRule.;orOscarWilde
observed:Icanresisteveryythinggexcep ptte e p mptation;;orasa
dullerscribe(nottobenamedwiththeseandnowdoing
penanceforhisearliervicesinthenoblertoilofcelebrating
thevirtuesofMr.Pond)saidindefenseofhobbiesand
amateursanddgenerald ff ldufferslikehi himself lf:If Ifathingi isworthh lik hi
doing,it'sworthdoingbadly. Tothesethingsdowriters
sink."
G K Chesterton WhenDoctorsAgree( G.K.Chesterton,WhenDoctorsAgree(
Oxymoron Oxymoron
FigurethatbindstogetherTWOwordsthat FigurethatbindstogetherTWOwordsthat
areordinarilycontradictory;aTWOWORD
paradox;twowordswithcontraryor paradox;twowordswithcontraryor
apparentlycontradictorymeaningsoccurring
nexttoeachother and which nonetheless nexttoeachother,and,which,nonetheless,
evokesomemeasureoftruth;thefigure
conjuresanewwayofseeingor conjuresanewwayofseeingor
understanding,anovelmeaning.
OxymoronExample OxymoronExample
"Safesex Safesex nowthere'sanoxymoron That's nowtheresanoxymoron.Thats
like'tacticalNuke'or'adultmale.'"
Aposiopesis Aposiopesis
Figureinwhichthespeakerabruptlystopsor Figureinwhichthespeakerabruptlystopsor
fallsshortofcompletingastatement;stopping
shortofcompletingastatement shortofcompletingastatement.
AposiopesisExample AposiopesisExample
"AtthisjjunctureIwantto
getinto BythewayIwas
toldtogiveyousome
adviceaboutthemedia You adviceaboutthemedia.You
don'tknowhowsmallIfeel
givingyouadvice,butIllbe
gladtoanywaysinceIve
beenaskedto."
RushLimbaugg , h,Addressto
theincomingHouseGOP
Freshmen
RhetoricalQuestion RhetoricalQuestion
Figurewhichasksaquestion notforthe Figurewhichasksaquestion,notforthe
purposeoffurtherdiscussion,buttoassertor
denyananswerimplicitly;aquestionwhose denyananswerimplicitly;aquestionwhose
answerisobviousorimplied.
RhetoricalQuestionExample RhetoricalQuestionExample
CananyonelookattherecordofthisAdministration
andsay andsay,"Welldone"? Welldone ?
Cananyonecomparethestateofoureconomywhen
theCarterAdministrationtookofficewithwherewe theCarterAdministrationtookofficewithwherewe
aretodayandsay,"Keepupthegoodwork"?
Cananyonelookatourreducedstandingintheworld Cananyonelookatourreducedstandingintheworld
todayandsay,"Let'shavefourmoreyearsofthis?
RonaldReagan,1980RepublicanNational Convention RonaldReagan,1980RepublicanNational Convention
AcceptanceAddress
RhetoricalQuestionExample RhetoricalQuestionExample
"Itreallyistimetoaskourselves Itreallyistimetoaskourselves,
'Howcanweallowtherichand
powerful notonlytoripoff powerful,notonlytoripoff
peopleasconsumers,butto
continuetoripthemoffas continuetoripthemoffas
taxpayers?
RalphNader,2000NAACP
CConventiionAddress Add
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21W.747 Classical Rhetoric and Modern Political Discourse
Fall 2009
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