Rhetorical Strategies list 16

Question 1

Irony

Answer 1

the use of words to convey the opposite of their litera meaning; or, congruity between what is expected and what actually occurs Example: “Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”– Coleridge

Question 2

Analogy

Answer 2

a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way. Example: Pupils are more like oysters than sausages. The job of teaching is not to stuff them and then seal them up, but to help them open and reveal the riches within. There are pearls in each of us, if only we knew how to cultivate them with ardor and persistence. Sydney J. Harris Example: CRUMB: BREAD (A) ounce unit (B) splinter wood (C) water bucket (D) twine rope (E) cream butter

Question 3

Antithesis

Answer 3

a statement in which two opposing ideas are contrasted through parallel structures of the contrasted phrase(s) Example: Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind

Question 4

Juxtaposition

Answer 4

placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast Example: “Wealth and poverty, guilt and grief, orange and apple, God and Satan, let us settle ourselves and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and the slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, a appearance Henry David Thoreau

Question 5

Paradox

Answer 5

from the Greek word “paradoxon” that means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth. Example: “I must be cruel to be kind Shakespeare’s Hamlet This is seemingly contradictory, but makes sense in consideration of the fact that in order to avenge his father’s death, Hamlet must kill Claudius, his mother’s husband; thus making his mother better off.