4.3 Figurative Language & Rhetorical Devices

Schemes and tropes

Rhetoric uses figures of speech: metaphor, analogy, antithesis (contrasting ideas in balanced form), and rhetorical questions (asked for effect, not answer). These make arguments vivid and memorable.

Analogy

An analogy explains an unfamiliar idea by comparing it to a familiar one. It can clarify and persuade, but a weak analogy (false analogy) can also mislead.

Devices of emphasis

Anaphora repeats a word at the start of successive clauses ('We shall fight…'); antithesis balances opposites ('not that I loved Caesar less, but Rome more'). Both heighten emphasis and rhythm.

Key terms

Rhetorical question

A question asked for effect, not an answer.

Analogy

Explaining a new idea by comparing it to a familiar one.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word at the start of successive clauses.

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas balanced in parallel form.

False analogy

A misleading comparison between poorly matched things.

Try an AP-style question

What device is this?

1. Litotes
2. Hyperbole
3. Anaphora
4. Chiasmus