Rhetorical Devices

1. Expletive is a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the expletive. (We emphasize the words on each side of a pause or interruption in order to maintain continuity of the thought.) Compare: But the la e was not drained !efore "pril. But the la e was not, in fact, drained !efore "pril. #xpletives are most fre$uently placed near the !eginning of a sentence, where important material has !een placed: "ll truth is not, indeed, of e$ual importance% !ut if little violations are allowed, every violation will in time !e thought little. &&'amuel (ohnson But sometimes they are placed at the very !eginning of a sentence, there!y serving as signals that the whole sentence is especially important. )n such cases the sentence should !e ept as short as possi!le: )n short, the co!!ler had neglected his soul. )ndeed, the water ) give him will !ecome in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. &&(ohn *:+* (,)-) .r the author may show that he does not intend to underemphasize an o!/ection or argument he re/ects: 0o !e sure, no one desires to live in a foul and disgusting environment. But neither do we want to desert our cities. )n a few instances, especially with short sentences, the expletive can !e placed last: )t was a hot day indeed. 1arold won, of course. " common practice is setting off the expletive !y commas, which increases the emphasis on the surrounding words, though in many cases the commas are necessary for clarity as well and cannot !e omitted. ,ote how the expletive itself is also emphasized: 1e without dou!t can !e trusted with a coo ie. 1e, without dou!t, can !e trusted with a coo ie. "n expletive can emphasize a phrase: 0he Bradys, clearly a happy family, live in an old house with s$uea y floors. 0ransitional phrases, accostives, some adver!s, and other interrupters can !e used for emphasizing portions of sentences, and therefore function as inds of $uasi&expletives in those circumstances. We find a few people, however, unwilling to come. 23our last remar ,2 he said, 2is impertinent.2 0here is nothing, 'ir, too little for so little a creature as man. &&'amuel (ohnson

'ome useful expletives include the following: in fact, of course, indeed, ) thin , without dou!t, to !e sure, naturally, it seems, after all, for all that, in !rief, on the whole, in short, to tell the truth, in any event, clearly, ) suppose, ) hope, at least, assuredly, certainly, remar a!ly, importantly, definitely. )n formal writing, avoid these and similar expletives: you now, you see, huh, get this. "nd it goes without saying that you should avoid the unprinta!le ones. 2. Asyndeton consists of omitting con/unctions !etween words, phrases, or clauses. )n a list of items, asyndeton gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a la!ored account:

.n his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.

0he lac of the 2and2 con/unction gives the impression that the list is perhaps not complete. Compare: 'he li es pic les, olives, raisins, dates, pretzels. 'he li es pic les, olives, raisins, dates, and pretzels. 'ometimes an asyndetic list is useful for the strong and direct climactic effect it has, much more emphatic than if a final con/unction were used. Compare: 0hey spent the day wondering, searching, thin ing, understanding. 0hey spent the day wondering, searching, thin ing, and understanding. )n certain cases, the omission of a con/unction !etween short phrases gives the impression of synonymity to the phrases, or ma es the latter phrase appear to !e an afterthought or even a su!stitute for the former. Compare: 1e was a winner, a hero. 1e was a winner and a hero. ,otice also the degree of spontaneity granted in some cases !y asyndetic usage. 20he moist, rich, fertile soil,2 appears more natural and spontaneous than 2the moist, rich, and fertile soil & 2 4enerally, asyndeton offers the feeling of speed and concision to lists and phrases and clauses, !ut occasionally the effect cannot !e so easily categorized. Consider the 2flavor2 of these examples:

)f, as is the case, we feel responsi!ility, are ashamed, are frightened, at transgressing the voice of conscience, this implies that there is .ne to whom we are responsi!le, !efore whom we are ashamed, whose claims upon us we fear. &&(ohn 1enry ,ewman )n !oo s ) find the dead as if they were alive% in !oo s ) foresee things to come% in !oo s warli e affairs are set forth% from !oo s come forth the laws of peace. &&5ichard de Bury We certainly have within us the image of some person, to whom our love and veneration loo , in whose smile we find our happiness, for whom we yearn,

towards whom we direct our pleadings, in whose anger we are trou!led and waste away. &&(ohn 1enry ,ewman 3. Polysyndeton is the use of a con/unction !etween each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton. 0he rhetorical effect of polysyndeton, however, often shares with that of asyndeton a feeling of multiplicity, energetic enumeration, and !uilding up. 0hey read and studied and wrote and drilled. ) laughed and played and tal ed and flun ed. 6se polysyndeton to show an attempt to encompass something complex: 0he water, li e a witch7s oils, 8 Burnt green, and !lue, and white. --S. 0. Coleridge 91e: pursues his way, 8 "nd swims, or sin s, or wades, or creeps, or flies. &&(ohn ;ilton 0he multiple con/unctions of the polysyndetic structure call attention to themselves and therefore add the effect of persistence or intensity or emphasis to the other effect of multiplicity. 0he repeated use of 2nor2 or 2or2 emphasizes alternatives% repeated use of 2!ut2 or 2yet2 stresses $ualifications. Consider the effectiveness of these: "nd to set forth the right standard, and to train according to it, and to help forward all students towards it according to their various capacities, this ) conceive to !e the !usiness of a 6niversity. &&(ohn 1enry ,ewman We have not power, nor influence, nor money, nor authority% !ut a willingness to persevere, and the hope that we shall con$uer soon. )n a s illed hand, a shift from polysyndeton to asyndeton can !e very impressive: Behold, the <ord ma eth the earth empty, and ma eth it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth a!road the inha!itants thereof. "nd it shall !e, as with the people, so with the priest% as with the servant, so with his master% as with the maid, so with her mistress% as with the !uyer, so with the seller% as with the lender, so with the !orrower% as with the ta er of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. &&)saiah =*:+&= (>(-) 4. Understatement deli!erately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. When the writer7s audience can !e expected to now the true nature of a fact which might !e rather difficult to descri!e ade$uately in a !rief space, the writer may choose to understate the fact as a means of employing the reader7s own powers of description. ?or example, instead of endeavoring to descri!e in a few words the horrors and destruction of the +@AB earth$ua e in 'an ?rancisco, a writer might state: 0he +@AB 'an ?rancisco earth$ua e interrupted !usiness somewhat in the downtown area. 0he effect is not the same as a description of destruction, since understatement li e this necessarily smac s of flippancy to some degree% !ut occasionally that is a desira!le effect. Consider these usages:

1enry and Catherine were married, the !ells rang, and every!ody smiled . . . . 0o !egin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty&six and eighteen is to do pretty well . . . . &&(ane "usten <ast wee ) saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly !elieve how much it altered her person for the worse. &&(onathan 'wift 3ou now ) would !e a little disappointed if you were to !e hit !y a drun driver at two a.m., so ) hope you will !e home early.

)n these cases the reader supplies his own nowledge of the facts and fills out a more vivid and personal description than the writer might have. )n a more important way, understatement should !e used as a tool for modesty and tactfulness. Whenever you represent your own accomplishments, and often when you /ust descri!e your own position, an understatement of the facts will help you to avoid the charge of egotism on the one hand and of self&interested puffery on the other. We are always more pleased to discover a thing greater than promised rather than less than promised&&or as 'amuel (ohnson put it, 2)t is more pleasing to see smo e !rightening into flame, than flame sin ing into smo e.2 "nd it goes without saying that a person modest of his own talents wins our admiration more easily than an egotist. 0hus an expert geologist might say, 23es, ) now a little a!out roc s,2 rather than, 23es, )7m an expert a!out roc s.2 ("n even !igger expert might raise his eye!rows if he heard that.) 6nderstatement is especially useful in dealing with a hostile audience or in disagreeing with someone, !ecause the statement, while carrying the same point, is much less offensive. Compare:

0he second law of thermodynamics pretty much wor s against the possi!ility of such an event. 0he second law of thermodynamics proves conclusively that that theory is utterly false and ridiculous.

5emem!er, the goal of writing is to persuade, not to offend% once you insult or put off your opponent, o!/ector, or dis!eliever, you will never persuade him of anything, no matter how 2o!viously wrong2 he is or how clearly right you are. 0he degree and power of pride in the human heart must never !e underestimated. ;any people are unwilling to hear o!/ections of any ind, and view disagreement as a sign of contempt for their intellect. 0he use of understatement allows you to show a ind of respect for your reader7s understanding. 3ou have to o!/ect to his !elief, !ut you are sympathetic with his position and see how he might have come to !elieve it% therefore, you hum!ly offer to steer him right, or at least to offer what you thin is a more accurate view. #ven those who agree with you already will !e more persuaded !ecause the modest thin er is always prefera!le to the flaming !igot. Compare these statements and consider what effect each would have on you if you read them in a persuasive article: "nyone who says this water is safe to drin is either stupid or foolish. 0he stuff is poisoned with coliform !acteria. Con7t those idiots now thatD

;y opponents thin this water is drin a!le, !ut )7m not sure ) would drin it. Eerhaps they are not aware of the dangerous !acterial count . . . 9and so on, explaining the !asis for your opinion:.

5. Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated !y denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would !e used. Cepending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or !ecomes an intensifying expression. Compare the difference !etween these statements: 1eat waves are common in the summer. 1eat waves are not rare in the summer. (ohnson uses litotes to ma e a modest assertion, saying 2not improperly2 rather than 2correctly2 or 2!est2: 0his ind of writing may !e termed not improperly the comedy of romance. . . . .ccasionally a litotic construction conveys an ironic sentiment !y its understatement: We saw him throw the !uc ets of paint at his canvas in disgust, and the result did not perfectly represent his su!/ect, ;rs. (ittery. 6sually, though, litotes intensifies the sentiment intended !y the writer, and creates the effect of strong feelings moderately conveyed. 1itting that telephone pole certainly didn7t do your car any good. )f you can tell the fair one7s mind, it will !e no small proof of your art, for ) dare say it is more than she herself can do. &&"lexander Eope " figure lean or corpulent, tall or short, though deviating from !eauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts, which may contri!ute to ma e them on the whole not unpleasing. &&'ir (oshua 5eynolds 1e who examines his own self will not long remain ignorant of his failings. .verall the flavors of the mushrooms, her!s, and spices com!ine to ma e the dish not at all disagreea!le to the palate. But note that, as 4eorge .rwell points out in 2Eolitics and the #nglish <anguage,2 the 2not un&2 construction (for example, 2not unwilling2) should not !e used indiscriminately. 5ather, find an opposite $uality which as a word is something other than the $uality itself with an 2un2 attached. ?or instance, instead of, 2We were not unvictorious,2 you could write, 2We were not defeated,2 or 2We did not fail to win,2 or something similar. . Parallelism is recurrent syntactical similarity. 'everal parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are e$ual in importance. Earallelism also adds !alance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence. "ny sentence elements can !e paralleled, any num!er of times (though, of course, excess $uic ly !ecomes ridiculous). 3ou might choose parallel su!/ects with parallel modifiers attached to them:

?erocious dragons !reathing fire and wic ed sorcerers casting their spells do their harm !y night in the forest of Car ness.

.r parallel ver!s and adver!s: ) have always sought !ut seldom o!tained a par ing space near the door. Fuic ly and happily he wal ed around the corner to !uy the !oo . .r parallel ver!s and direct o!/ects: 1e li ed to eat watermelon and to avoid grapefruit. .r /ust the o!/ects: 0his wealthy car collector owns three pastel Cadillacs, two gold 5olls 5oyces, and ten assorted ;ercedes. .r parallel prepositional phrases: 1e found it difficult to vote for an ideal truth !ut against his own self interest. 0he pilot wal ed down the aisle, through the door, and into the coc pit, singing 26p, 6p, and "way.2 ,otice how paralleling rather long su!ordinate clauses helps you to hold the whole sentence clearly in your head: 0hese critics&&who point out the !eauties of style and ideas, who discover the faults of false constructions, and who discuss the application of the rules&&usually help a lot in engendering an understanding of the writer7s essay. When, at the conclusion of a prolonged episode of agonizing thought, you decide to !uy this car% when, after a hundred frantic sessions of !egging stonefaced !an ers for the money, you can o!tain sufficient funds% and when, after two more years of impatience and frustration, you finally get a driver7s license, then come see me and we will tal a!out a deal. "fter you corner the mar et in Brazilian coffee futures, !ut !efore you manipulate the price through the ceiling, sit down and have a cup of coffee with me (while ) can still afford it). )t is also possi!le to parallel participial, infinitive, and gerund phrases: 1e left the engine on, idling erratically and heating rapidly. 0o thin accurately and to write precisely are interrelated goals. 'he li ed snea ing up to 0ed and putting the ice cream down his !ac , !ecause he was so cool a!out it. )n practice some com!ination of parts of speech or sentence elements is used to form a statement, depending as always on what you have to say. )n addition, the parallelism, while it normally should !e pretty close, does not have to !e exact in its syntactical similarity. ?or example, you might write, 1e ran up to the !oo shelves, gra!!ed a chair standing near!y, stepped painfully on his tiptoes, and pulled the fifty&pound volume on top of him, crushing his ri!s and impressing him with the power of nowledge.

1ere are some other examples of parallelism: ) shall never envy the honors which wit and learning o!tain in any other cause, if ) can !e num!ered among the writers who have given ardor to virtue, and confidence to truth. &&'amuel (ohnson 0hey had great s ill in optics, and had instructed him to see faults in others, and !eauties in himself, that could !e discovered !y no!ody else. . . . &&"lexander Eope ?or the end of a theoretical science is truth, !ut the end of a practical science is performance. &&"ristotle !. "hiasm#s might !e called 2reverse parallelism,2 since the second part of a grammatical construction is !alanced or paralleled !y the first part, only in reverse order. )nstead of an ",B structure (e.g., 2learned unwillingly2) paralleled !y another ",B structure (2forgotten gladly2), the ",B will !e followed !y B," (2gladly forgotten2). 'o instead of writing, 2What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly,2 you could write, 2What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten.2 'imilarly, the parallel sentence, 2What is now great was at first little,2 could !e written chiastically as, 2What is now great was little at first.2 1ere are some examples: 1e la!ors without complaining and without !ragging rests. Eolished in courts and hardened in the field, 5enowned for con$uest, and in council s illed. &&(oseph "ddison ?or the <ord is a 4reat 4od . . . in whose hand are the depths of the earth% the pea s of the mountains are his also. &&Esalm @G:* Chiasmus is easiest to write and yet can !e made very !eautiful and effective simply !y moving su!ordinate clauses around: )f you come to them, they are not asleep% if you as and in$uire of them, they do not withdraw themselves% they do not chide if you ma e mista es% they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. &&5ichard de Bury Erepositional phrases or other modifiers can also !e moved around to form chiastic structures. 'ometimes the effect is rather emphatic: 0ell me not of your many perfections% of your great modesty tell me not either. (ust as the term 2menial2 does not apply to any honest la!or, so no dishonest wor can !e called 2prestigious.2 "t other times the effect is more su!dued !ut still desira!le. Compare the versions of these sentences, written first in chiastic and then in strictly parallel form. Which do you li e !etter in each caseD .n the way to school, my car ran out of gas% then it had a flat on the way home. .n the way to school, my car ran out of gas% then on the way home it had a flat. 'itting together at lunch, the ids tal ed incessantly% !ut they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist7s office. 'itting together at lunch, the ids tal ed incessantly% !ut sitting in the dentist7s office, they said nothing at all.

0he computer mainframe is now on sale% availa!le also at a discount is the peripheral e$uipment. 0he computer mainframe is now on sale% the peripheral e$uipment is also availa!le at a discount.

Chiasmus may !e useful for those sentences in which you want !alance, !ut which cannot !e paralleled effectively, either !ecause they are too short, or !ecause the emphasis is placed on the wrong words. "nd sometimes a chiastic structure will /ust seem to 2wor 2 when a parallel one will not. $. %e#&ma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct lin age (or yo ing together) of two or more parts of speech !y another part of speech. 0hus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one su!/ect with two (or more) ver!s, a ver! with two (or more) direct o!/ects, two (or more) su!/ects with one ver!, and so forth. 0he main !enefit of the lin ing is that it shows relationships !etween ideas and actions more clearly. )n one form (prozeugma), the yo ing word precedes the words yo ed. 'o, for example, you could have a ver! stated in the first clause understood in the following clauses:

Eride opresseth humility% hatred love% cruelty compassion. &&Eeacham ?red excelled at sports% 1arvey at eating% 0om with girls. "lexander con$uered the world% ), ;inneapolis.

" more important version of this form (with its own name, diazeugma) is the single su!/ect with multiple ver!s: . . . )t operated through the medium of unconscious self&deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. &&0homas <ove Eeacoc ;r. 4lowry held his memory in high honor, and made a punch!owl of his s ull. &&)!id. 0his terrace . . . too in an o!li$ue view of the open sea, and fronted a long trac of level sea&coast . . . . &&)!id. ?luffy rolled on her !ac , raised her paws, and meowed to !e petted. ,otice that two or three ver! phrases are the usual proportion. But if you have a lot to say a!out the actions of the su!/ect, or if you want to show a sort of multiplicity of !ehavior or doings, you can use several ver!s: When at ,ightmare "!!ey, he would condole with ;r. 4lowry, drin ;adeira with 'cythrop, crac /o es with ;r. 1ilary, hand ;rs. 1ilary to the piano, ta e charge of her fan and gloves, and turn over her music with surprising dexterity, $uote 5evelations with ;r. 0oo!ad, and lament the good old times of feudal dar ness with the 0ranscendental ;r. ?los y. &&0homas <ove Eeacoc 0wo or more su!ordinate relative pronoun clauses can !e lin ed prozeugmatically, with the noun !ecoming the yo ing word:

1is father, to comfort him, read him a Commentary on #cclesiastes, which he had himself composed, and which demonstrated incontroverti!ly that all is vanity. &&0homas <ove Eeacoc . !oo s who alone are li!eral and free, who give to all who as of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfullyH &&5ichard de Bury

3ou could have two or more direct o!/ects: With one mighty swing he noc ed the !all through the window and two spectators off their chairs. 1e gra!!ed his hat from the rac in the closet, his gloves from the ta!le near the door, and his car eys from the punch!owl. .r a preposition with two o!/ects: ;r. 4lowry was horror&struc !y the sight of a round, ruddy face, and a pair of laughing eyes. &&0homas <ove Eeacoc 'ometimes you might want to create a lin age in which the ver! must !e understood in a slightly different sense: 1e gra!!ed his hat from the rac !y the stairs and a iss from the lips of his wife. 1e smashed the cloc into !its and his fist through the wall. )n hypozeugma the yo ing word follows the words it yo es together. " common form is multiple su!/ects: 1ours, days, wee s, months, and years do pass away. &&'herry 0he moat at its !ase, and the fens !eyond comprised the whole of his prospect. &&Eeacoc 0o generate that much electricity and to achieve that ind of dura!ility would re$uire a completely new generator design. )t is possi!le also to hold off a ver! until the last clause: 0he little !a!y from his cri!, the screaming lady off the roof, and the man from the flooded !asement were all rescued. 1ypozeugma can !e used with ad/ectives or ad/ective phrases, too. 1ere, Eeacoc uses two participial phrases, one past and one present: Cisappointed !oth in love and in friendship, and loo ing upon human learning as vanity, he had come to a conclusion that there was !ut one good thing in the world, videlicet, a good dinner . . . . 0he utility of the zeugmatic devices lies partly in their economy (for they save repetition of su!/ects or ver!s or other words), and partly in the connections they create !etween thoughts. 0he more connections !etween ideas you can ma e in an essay, whether those connections are simple transitional devices or more ela!orate rhetorical ones, the fewer your reader will have to guess at, and therefore the clearer your points will !e.

'. Antithesis esta!lishes a clear, contrasting relationship !etween two ideas !y /oining them together or /uxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. 1uman !eings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship !etween ideas:

0o err is human% to forgive, divine. &&Eope 0hat short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in 1arold7s outloo . 0hat7s one small step for a man, one giant leap for man ind. &&,eil "rmstrong

"ntithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea !y admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths: 0hough surprising, it is true% though frightening at first, it is really harmless. )f we try, we might succeed% if we do not try, we cannot succeed. 'uccess ma es men proud% failure ma es them wise. "ntithesis, !ecause of its close /uxtaposition and intentional contrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for ma ing relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might !e otherwise overloo ed !y a careless thin er or casual reader:

)n order that all men may !e taught to spea truth, it is necessary that all li ewise should learn to hear it. &&'amuel (ohnson 0he scri!es and Eharisees sit on ;oses7 seat% so practice and o!serve whatever they tell you, !ut not what they do% for they preach, !ut do not practice. &&;att. =I:=&I (5'-) ) agree that it is legal% !ut my $uestion was, )s it moralD 0he advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the !est, !ut it means that they are e$ual% for in advertising 2!est2 is a parity claim and only 2!etter2 indicates superiority.

,ote also that short phrases can !e made antithetical: #very man who proposes to grow eminent !y learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry% and remem!er that fame is not conferred !ut as the recompense of la!or, and that la!or, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. &&'amuel (ohnson 1(. Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or words at the !eginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in con/unction with climax and with parallelism: 0o thin on death it is a misery,8 0o thin on life it is a vanity%8 0o thin on the world verily it is,8 0o thin that here man hath no perfect !liss. &&Eeacham )n !oo s ) find the dead as if they were alive% in !oo s ) foresee things to come% in !oo s warli e affairs are set forth% from !oo s come forth the laws of peace. &&5ichard de Bury

?inally, we must consider what pleasantness of teaching there is in !oo s, how easy, how secretH 1ow safely we lay !are the poverty of human ignorance to !oo s without feeling any shameH &&)!id. 0he wish of the genuine painter must !e more extensive: instead of endeavoring to amuse man ind with the minute neatness of his imitations, he must endeavor to improve them !y the grandeur of his ideas% instead of see ing praise, !y deceiving the superficial sense of the spectator, he must strive for fame !y captivating the imagination. &&'ir (oshua 5eynolds 'lowly and grimly they advanced, not nowing what lay ahead, not nowing what they would find at the top of the hill, not nowing that they were so near to Cisneyland. 0hey are the entertainment of minds unfurnished with ideas, and therefore easily suscepti!le of impressions% not fixed !y principles, and therefore easily following the current of fancy% not informed !y experience, and conse$uently open to every false suggestion and partial account. &&'amuel (ohnson

"naphora can !e used with $uestions, negations, hypotheses, conclusions, and su!ordinating con/unctions, although care must !e ta en not to !ecome affected or to sound rhetorical and !om!astic. Consider these selections: Will he read the !oo D Will he learn what it has to teach himD Will he live according to what he has learnedD ,ot time, not money, not laws, !ut willing diligence will get this done. )f we can get the lantern lit, if we can find the main cave, and if we can see the stalagmites, )7ll show you the one with the !at s eleton in it. !e used for "dver!s and prepositions can anaphora, too: 0hey are masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money. &&5ichard de Bury 'he stro ed her itty cat very softly, very slowly, very smoothly.