Instant downloads of all 1396 LitChart PDFs. fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? Allusion: a indirect or casual reference to a famous person, place, event, or literary work. O, be some other name! Due to their emotional effect they are of the appeal to emotion – Pathos. Revenge. It mainly forms the basis of several jokes, is used as a way of insults, or could simply be used to dramatize a situation, where in reality, the situation may not be that bad. Also called erotema , eperotesis and interrogation . Hypophora is frequently used in persuasive speaking because the speaker can pose and answer a question that the audience is likely to be wondering about, thereby making the thought processes of the speaker and the audience seem more aligned. Rhetorical questions are often used as a tool in a … Such as "how can we live ignoring their cries?" Musicians such as Tina Turner, Jean Knight, and Stevie Wonder have all released hits structured around rhetorical questions, which allow them to powerfully express the joy, the pain, and the mystery of L-O-V-E. What's love got to do, got to do with it What's love but a second hand emotion What's love got to do, got to do with it Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken, Now because you wear all those fancy clothes (oh yeah) And have a big fine car, oh yes you do now Do you think I can afford to give you my love (oh yeah) You think you're higher than every star above, Mr. Big Stuff Who do you think you are Mr. Big Stuff You're never gonna get my love, Isn't she lovely Isn't she wonderful Isn't she precious Less than one minute old I never thought through love we'd be Making one as lovely as she But isn't she lovely made from love. Figures used to provoke emotional response (pathos) adhortatio A comandment, promise, or exhortation intended to move one's consent or desires. Though the percontation point has fallen out of use, modern writers do sometimes substitute a traditional question mark with a period or exclamation point after a rhetorical question. Hypophora can consist of a single question answered in a single sentence, a single question answered in a paragraph or even a section, or a series of questions, each answered in subsequent paragraphs. Here is Charles Bukowski in his short story collection Hot Water Music. Rhetorical questions in literature are as important as they are in daily language, or perhaps even more so. Rhetorical questions can be an effective persuasive device, subtly influencing the kind of response one wants to get from his/her hearers. Why Not Sell the Air . by Tecumseh (Shawnee leader) utilizes repetition, rhetorical questions, and allusions to persuade those who were selling or buying land to stop, and to tell the Indians that they must band together against those who try to force them out of their homes. Some additional key details about rhetorical questions: Here's how to pronounce rhetorical question: reh-tor-ih-kuhl kwes-chun, A question is rhetorical if and only if its goal is to produce an effect on the listener, rather than to obtain information. A rhetorical question is a question that is asked without the expectation of an answer. Cross-references throughout the website will help you see the relationship between, for example, a topic of invention , such as "comparison" and its related figures of speech, " metaphor ," etc. Because rhetorical questions challenge the listener, raise doubt, and help emphasize ideas, they appear often in songs and speeches, as well as in literature. For example, “Why are you so indecisive?” is likely to be a statement regarding one's opinion of the person addressed rather than a genuine request to know. For this reason, many sources argue that rhetorical questions do not need to end in a traditional question mark. Refine any search. I can say: … You ask, what is our aim? Simile. Based on this concept, rhetorical questions may be conceptualized as a way of making indirect assertions or claims. adynaton This use of epiplexis, a kind of rhetorical question, does not seek the information it ostensibly asks for, but is likely an attempt to provoke anger in the listener. In other words, rhetorical questions are great for speeches. If you naturally skim-read, I recommend slowing down and reading the following dialogue at as close to speech-speed as you can (out loud would be even better). Allusion. Although this kind of question is not meant to ask something or find a reply, it sometimes aims at starting a conversation or drawing attention. Get this guide to Rhetorical Question as an easy-to-print PDF. Why Not Sell the Air? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. : Examples: Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say, "Well done"? As you know a figure of speech is "a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect." Variety is the spice of life; Ans: The figures of speech are as follows. Short question Answer 1-A metaphor is a figure of speech that, rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. Get a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 Lit Terms we cover. In this soliloquy from Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet poses a series of rhetorical questions as she struggles to grasp the difficult truth—that her beloved Romeo is a member of the Montague family: Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. Rather, the reader—like the mirror—is simply there to witness his happy solitude. (Irene Koshik, Beyond Rhetorical Questions.John Benjamins, 2005) Other common forms of figurative speech are hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration for the sake of effect), as in “I’m so mad I could chew nails”; the rhetorical question (asked for effect, with no answer expected), as in “How can I express my thanks to you?”; litotes (an emphasis by negation), as in “It’s no fun to be sick”; and onomatopoeia (imitation of natural sounds by words), in such words as “crunch,” “gurgle,” … This example (without any form of paraphrase) is adapted for use here, from James Jasinski’s Sourcebook on RhetoricOpens in new window. Considering a contemporary example. A rhetorical question is a question that is asked not to get an answer, but instead to emphasize a point. It's therefore not a rhetorical question, because Hamlet asks the question as an opening to actually seek an answer to the question he is obsessing over. For example, consider this quotation from an oration by the ancient Greek orator Demosthenes: I am at no loss for information about you and your family; but I am at a loss where to begin. When a speaker uses epiplexis rhetoric, the goal is an attempt to shame or rebuke an opponent or a listener into adopting their own or a particular point of view. The cat ran away like the wind; Suddenly in the middle of the night, the dog started barking. There is a lively debate as to whether this alternative punctuation is grammatically correct. The absence or presence of a rhetorical question in some of the most famous lines in literature would change the impact altogether. An example of aporia that is not also a rhetorical question comes from the most famous excerpt of Shakespeare's Hamlet: To be or not to be—that is the question. These expressions of doubt may or may not be made through the form of a question. Learn moreOpens in new window, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The rhetorical question as a figure of speech Opens in new window is usually employed in the form of asking a question in order to achieve a given purpose other than to obtain an answer to the question. If you'd like to look up specific terms of rhetoric, either scroll through the list of figures of speech (or "flowers" of rhetoric) on the right, or Search the Forest (above or here). However, there are a few exceptions that usually arise in written dialogue: To demonstrate that a previously asked question was obvious, Explanations and citation info for 28,705 quotes across 1396 books, Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play. Here’s a quick and simple definition:Some additional key details about rhetorical questions: 1. For example, if a person asks, "How many times do I have to tell you not to eat my dessert?" Function of Rhetorical Question ... Hypophora, also referred to as anthypophora or antipophora, is a figure of speech in which the speaker poses a question and then answers the question. It is asked when the questioner already knows the answer or an answer is not really required. It’s just part of the way people speak in real life, so using a rhetorical question here and there can make your writing sound more natural. . As a part of figures of speech, rhetoric questions have its own importance in language and literature. Line-by-line modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that entails an intentional deviation from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Posts about Rhetorical question written by A Quiver of Quotes. Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today say, "Let's have four more years of this"? Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. For example, here is an example of hypophora used in a speech by Dwight Eisenhower: When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? When a rhetorical question is asked, the listener is often expected to understand the message intended without giving an answer. 2. As a part of figures of speech, rhetoric questions have its own importance in language and literature. It can be primarily to express emotion, as with the specific types: Eroteme The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The figure of speech known as erotesis is a rhetorical question implying strong affirmation or denial. A common example is the question "Can't you do anything right?" Stylistic Devices (Rhetorical Devices, Figures of Speech) On the following pages, we will explain some of the most important stylistic devices (also called rhetorical devices or figures of speech) – they are not only useful for analysing texts, but also for creating your own texts. While Hamlet asks this question without expecting an answer (he's alone when he asks it), he's not asking in order to persuade or make a point. Rhetorical questions are also sometimes called erotema. A type of scheme is … it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. Sell a Country! From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Take the poem below, "Danse Russe (Russian Dance)" by William Carlos Williams: If when my wife is sleeping and the baby and Kathleen are sleeping and the sun is a flame-white disc in silken mists above shining trees,— if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself: "I am lonely, lonely.