RHETORICAL DEVICES

Diction
Imagery
Details = TONE
Language
Syntax

DICTION
Diction is the author’s word choice, and includes connotation (the suggested meaning of a word)
and denotation (the literal meaning of the word). Diction guides the meaning an author wants the
reader to take away from the text. When interpreting diction, some questions you should ask
yourself are: Why did the author choose that word over that word? How does the author’s word
choice affect my understanding? What was the author’s motive in choosing this specific word or
phrase?

 Describe diction (choice of words) by considering the following:

o Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than one syllable in
length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words, the more difficult the content.
o Words can be mainly colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), formal (literary) or old-
fashioned.
o Words can be mainly denotative (containing an exact meaning, e.g., dress) or connotative
(containing suggested meaning, e.g., gown)
o Words can be concrete (specific) or abstract (general or conceptual).
o Words can euphonious (pleasant sounding, e.g., languid, murmur) or cacophonous (harsh
sound, e.g., raucous, croak).

Example: “The spider herself is of uncertain lineage…” (Dillard).

Instead of saying the spider has no specific species, Annie Dillard uses the word “lineage”. How does
her use of this word change your idea of this spider? How does Dillard want the reader to feel about
this spider?

IMAGERY
Imagery appeals to your five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, touch). Images help convey the
author’s attitude and tone. Some questions to ask yourself when interpreting imagery are: Why did
the author choose this particular image? How does this image affect this piece of literature?

The giggling girl gave

Alliteration repetition of consonant sounds at the start of a word
gum.
Moths cough and drop
Assonance repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of a word
wings
The man has kin in
Consonance repetition of consonant sounds in the middle of a word
Spain
Onomatopoeia writing sounds as words The clock went tick tock
Her hair is like a rat’s
Simile a direct comparison of unlike things using like or as
nest
The man’s suit is a
Metaphor a direct comparison of unlike things
rainbow
I’d die for a piece of
Hyperbole a deliberate exaggeration for effect
candy
Understatement represents something as less than it is A million dollars is okay
The teapot cried for
Personification attributing human qualities to inhuman objects
water
Metonymy word exchanged for another closely associated with it Uncle Sam wants you!
Shoes menders mend
Pun play on words – Uses words with multiple meanings
soles.
Symbol something that represents/stands for something else the American Flag
comparing two things that have at least one thing in A similar thing
Analogy
common happened…
Oxymoron Use or words seemingly in contradiction to each other bittersweet chocolate

DETAILS Details are facts that help color an otherwise drab “picture” for the reader.
Details give life to characters, settings, and situations. It is through details that the reader is able to
form precise mental images.

Example: “When called upon, I delivered an effortless list of things that I detest: blood sausage,
intestinal pates, braid pudding…I then declared my love for IBM typewriters, the French word for
bruise, and my electric floor waxer” (Sedaris).
Think about what choices Sedaris makes and what these choices say about him. What if he just said
I listed several items I detest and three I love? How would that change the essay?

LANGUAGE
Language is the entire body of words in a piece of text. This is not the same as diction, which
involves merely isolated examples of words. The language used in a text helps shape its tone. For
example, a wedding invitation might use formal language, an e-mail to a friend will use informal
language, and a text message might use a series of symbols and abbreviations that form an
altogether different kind of language.

Artificial false Literal apparent, word for word

Bombastic pompous, ostentatious Moralistic puritanical, righteous
Colloquial vernacular Obscure unclear
Concrete actual, specific, particular Obtuse dull-witted, undiscerning
Connotative alludes to; suggestive Ordinary everyday, common
Cultured cultivated, refined, finished Pedantic didactic, scholastic, bookish
Detached cut-off, removed, separated Plain clear, obvious
Emotional expressive of emotions Poetic lyric, melodious, romantic
Esoteric understood by a chosen few Precise exact, accurate, decisive
Euphemistic insincere, affected Pretentious pompous, gaudy, inflated
Exact verbatim, precise Provincial rural, rustic, unpolished
Figurative serving as illustration Scholarly intellectual, academic
Formal academic, conventional Sensuous passionate, luscious
Grotesque hideous, deformed Simple clear, intelligible
Homespun folksy, homey, native, rustic Slang lingo, colloquialism
Idiomatic Peculiar, vernacular Symbolic representative, metaphorical
Insipid uninteresting, tame, dull Trite common, banal, stereotyped
Jargon vocabulary for a profession Informal casual, relaxed, unofficial
Learned educated, experienced Vulgar coarse, indecent, tasteless

Example: “That night when the katydids and tree frogs and every other musical creature were
wound up and going strong, I walked around the honey house, feeling like I had spring fever” (Kidd
284).
The language used in this passage is conversational and almost colloquial. By using words like
“katydids” and phrases like “wound up,” Kidd creates a comfortable, rural atmosphere. The words in
this passage are not formal or highfalutin; rather, they are informal and commonplace.
Rhetorical Devices -- The use of language that creates a literary effect – enhance and support
Rhetorical Question food for thought; create satire/sarcasm; pose dilemma
Euphemism substituting a milder or less offensive sounding word(s)
Aphorism universal commends, sayings, proverbs – convey major point
Repetition also called refrain; repeated word, sentence or phrase
Restatement main point said in another way
Irony Either verbal or situational – good for revealing attitude
Allusion refers to something universally known
Paradox a statement that can be true and false at the same time

SYNTAX
Syntax focuses on the way sentences are structured, the way they are crafted. When analyzing
syntax, look for varied uses of punctuation, paragraph divisions, sentence length, and sharp
contrasts in diction. How does the sentence structure affect the reader? How does it affect the text?
Why are some sentences long? Why are others short? What purpose does the structure of various
sentences serve?

Consider the following patterns and structures:

Does the sentence length fit the subject matter?
Why is the sentence length effective?
What variety of sentence lengths are present?
Sentence beginnings – Variety or Pattern?
Arrangement of ideas in sentences
Arrangement of ideas in paragraph – Pattern?

Construction of sentences to convey attitude

Declarative assertive – A statement
Imperative authoritative - Command
Interrogative asks a question
Simple Sentence one subject and one verb
Loose Sentence details after the subject and verb – happening now
Periodic Sentence details before the subject and verb – reflection on a past event
Juxtaposition normally unassociated ideas, words or phrases placed ext together
Parallelism show equal ideas; for emphasis; for rhythm
Repetition words, sounds, and ideas used more than once – rhythm/emphasis
Rhetorical Question a question that expects no answer

Punctuation is included in syntax

Ellipses a trailing off; equally etc.; going off into a dreamlike state
Dash interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another
Semicolon parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of detail
Colon a list; a definition or explanation; a result
Italics for emphasis
Capitalization for emphasis
Exclamation Point for emphasis; for emotion

Sentence Structure
Describe the sentence structure by considering the following:
1. Examine the sentence length. Are the sentences telegraphic (shorter than 5 words in length),
short (approximately 5 words in length), medium (approximately 18 words in length), or long
and involved (30 or more words in length)? Does the sentence length fit the subject matter?
What variety of lengths is present? Why is the sentence length effective?
2. Examine sentence beginnings. Is there a good variety or does a patterning emerge?
3. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a sentence. Are they set out in a special way for a
purpose?
4. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph. Is there evidence of any pattern or
structure?
5. Examine the sentence patterns. Some elements to consider are listed below:
a. A declarative (assertive) sentence makes a statement: e.g., The king is sick.
b. An imperative sentence gives a command: e.g., Stand up.
c. An interrogative sentence asks a question: e.g., Is the king sick?
d. An exclamatory sentence makes an exclamation: e.g., The king is dead!
e. A simple sentence contains one subject and one verb: e.g., The singer bowed to her adoring
audience.
f. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction
(and, but, or) or by a semicolon: e.g., The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no
encores.
g. A complex sentence contains an independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses:
e.g., You said that you would tell the truth.
h. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more principal clauses and one or more
subordinate clauses: e.g., The singer bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang
no encores.
i. A loose sentence makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending: e.g.,
We reached Edmonton/that morning/after a turbulent flight/and some exciting
experiences.
j. A periodic sentence makes sense only when the end of the sentence is reached: e.g., That
morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we reached Edmonton.
k. In a balanced sentence, the phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue or their
likeness of structure, meaning, or length: e.g., He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.
l. Natural order of a sentence involves constructing a sentence so the subject comes before
the predicate: e.g., Oranges grow in California.
m. Inverted order of a sentence (sentence inversion) involves constructing a sentence so that
the predicate comes before the subject: e.g., In California grow oranges. This is a device
in which normal sentence patterns are reverse to create an emphatic or rhythmic effect.
n. Split order of a sentence divides the predicate into two parts with the subject coming in
the middle: e.g., In California oranges grow.
o. Juxtaposition is a poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas,
words, or phrases are placed next to one another creating an effect of surprise and wit:
e.g., “The apparition of these faces in the crowd:/ Petals on a wet, black bough” (“In a
Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound)
p. Parallel structure (parallelism) refers to a grammatical or structural similarity between
sentences or parts of a sentence. It involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences,
and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally developed and similarly
phrased: e.g., He was walking, running, and jumping for joy.
q. Repetition is a device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to
enhance rhythm and create emphasis: e.g., “…government of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from the earth” (“Address at Gettysburg” by Abraham Lincoln)
r. A rhetorical question is a question that expects no answer. It is used to draw attention to
a point that is generally stronger than a direct statement: e.g., If Mr. Ferchoff is always
fair, as you have said, why did he refuse to listen to Mrs. Baldwin’s arguments?

Example: “Outside I heard the wind high in the trees, a singsong voice that carried me back to long-
ago times when I would wake in the night to the same sound and, muddled with sleep and wanting,
would imagine it was my mother out there among the trees, singing her bottomless love” (Kidd 258).

Because the sentence is lengthy, it connotes that long stretch of time that memory can create, and
memory is exactly where Lily is at this point. The length of the sentence also helps convey the
dreamlike quality of her memory of “muddled” sleep. Also, Lily is remembering her mother’s
“bottomless love,” which also connects to the seemingly “bottomless” sentence.

Adapted from AP Language & Composition Course Handouts