Question

What is rhetoric? Giving examples from a literary text which you have received. Write about the use of repetition as a rhetorical device.

Answer 1

Rhetoric is not just empty words or fine political speeches. Rhetoric is the study and art of writing and speaking well, being persuasive, and knowing how to compose successful writing and presentations. Rhetoric teaches us the essential skills of advanced learning and higher education. In Rhetoric classes, students learn to think logically, to discover wrong or weak arguments, to build a good case on a controversial topic, and to overcome the all-too-common fear of speaking in public so that they can deliver crisp and well-prepared speeches.

Answer 2

• Rhetoric refers to the use of the figure of speech and other techniques through persuasive and effective writings. The use of the figure of speech helps the author to connect with the reader and vice- versa. It helps in the better understanding and feeling of the story-line.

Some of the examples of rhetorical devices are:

Alliteration (repetition of initial consonant sound)

Simile (comparison of one object with another, not literal)

Onomatopoeia (imitation of the word described.)

Hyperbole (exaggeration of words), and so on.

• Examples of rhetoric from a literary text are:

From George Orwell's 'Hanging',

“We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.” - Appositive

and,

From Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory,

“Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape together a nickel and go to the butcher’s to buy Queenie’s traditional gift, a good gnawable beef bone.”- restrictive appositive.

An appositive is a phrase or word that points to the same thing as another noun in a sentence. It helps in providing additional information about the noun. For instance- Mrs. Ellis, a petite woman. Hence, it is separated with commas to remove appositive and without changing the meaning of the sentence.

• Repetition refers to the something which is being already said and written is repeated. In other words, it refers to the recurrence of events and actions. It is widely used in poetry and prose.