8 most common rhetorical figures

1. Alliteration
from Mod.L. “alliteratio” = ”to begin with the same letter”
Alliteration is the repetition of a particular sound in the
first syllables of a series of words or phrases.
Examples:
q A peck of pickled peppers.
q Carrie’s cat clawed her couch, creating chaos.
q Dan’s dog dove deep in the dam, drinking dirty water.
q “Three grey geese in a green field grazing,
Grey were the geese and green was the grazing“
– Mother Goose

2. Anaphora
From Gr. “αναφορά” = ”reference”
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or short
phrase at the beginning of successive sentences. By
building toward a climax, anaphora can create a
strong emotional effect.
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas
and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the
air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in
the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
– Winston Churchill, speech to the House of Commons, 4 June 1940

3. Antithesis (Greek for "setting opposite", from ντί "against" ἀ
+ θέσις "position")
•
• When there is need of silence, you speak, and when there is need
of speech, you are dumb;
•
when you are present, you wish to be absent, and when absent,
you desire to be present;
•
in peace you are for war, and in war you long for peace;
•
in council you descant on bravery, and in the battle you tremble.

4. Oxymoron
From Gr. “οξύς” + “μωρός” = “clever” + “moron”
We use an oxymoron when we place
contradictory terms side by side, often to make
an emphatic or humoristic statement. The name
itself is an illustration of this: one cannot be
clever and a moron at the same time…
…or can one?
Examples:
"act naturally" – "random order" – "original copy" – "found missing" "alone
together" – "criminal justice" – "old news" – "peace force" "even odds" –
"awfully good" – "definite possibility" – "terribly pleased" – "real phony" –
"ill health" – "loose tights" – "small crowd" "clearly misunderstood" –
"thunderous silence"

5. Tricolon: Tricolon is a rhetorical term for a series of three parallel words,
phrases, or clauses. Plural: tricolons or tricola. Adjective: tricolonic. Also known as a triadic
sentence.• Government of the people, by the people, for the people" ...
President Abraham Lincoln
• "Never in the history of human endeavor has so much been owed
by so many to so few" ... Sir Winston Churchill
• "Veni, vidi, vinci" ... Julius Caesar
• “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me
and I will learn” – Benjamin Franklin
• "The few, the proud, the Marines" - advertising slogan, United States
Marine Corps
•

6. Xiasmus: in rhetoric, chiasmus (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the
Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses
are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the
clauses display inverted parallelism.
•
Listen, young men, to an old man to whom old men were glad to listen
when he was young
‘Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.
“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you
want to forget.”

7. Rhetorical question
From Gr. “ρήτωρ” = ”orator”, ”public speaker”
A rhetorical question is a question to which we do
not expect a reply. We use this figure of speech to
enhance our arguments, encourage the
listener/reader to think of the answer, or even
create a humourous effect.
Examples:
q”Oh God, what have I done to deserve this?”
q“Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an
institution?” – H. L. Mencken
q"Aren't you glad you use Dial?
Don't you wish everybody did?"
– 1960s television advertisement for Dial soap

8. Litotes:derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which
employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive
statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions.
• She's not bad looking
• They do not seem the happiest couple around.
• He is not the cleverest person I have ever met.
• She is not unlike her mother.
• Ken Adams is not an ordinary man
• A million dollars is not a little amount.
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