A rhetorical device is a technique, sometimes called a resource of language, used by an author or speaker to induce an emotional response. These emotional responses are central to the meaning of the work or speech, and should also get the listener (or the reader's) attention.

Partial list

This list contains both rhetorical devices per se, as well as other tools of spoken and written language that may be prominently used for rhetorical purposes.

• Anacoluthon, an abrupt change in sentence structure
• Analogy
• Chiastic structure, in which attention is drawn to a main idea
• Diction, the choice of words based on their connotation and precise meaning
• Epithet
• Imagery, also known as detail
• Metaphor
• Parade of horribles
• Parallelism
• Rhetorical organization, a division of a work into components, either explicitly or subtly, used for rhetorical purposes.
• Rhetorical question
• Simile
• Symbolism, in which a (usually recurrent) object or character represents an idea.
• Syntax, also known as sentence structure, may be used as a rhetorical device.

See also

• Figure of speech

External links

• Online Resource of Rhetorical Devices
• Handbook of rhetorical devices

Rhetoric