Rhetorical Device Practice

A cliché can be an idiom, and an idiom can be a cliché. A cliché is an overused expression. An idiom is an expression used by a particular group of people; it is often metaphorical in nature but does not have the negative connotation that cliché has. Euphemism might fit in this group

Apostrophe is speech to an inanimate object , and personification is giving human characteristics to non-human things. Both involve humanizing. Speaking aloud to someone who is not there is an example of apostrophe. Whistling wind is personification.

Oxymoron is a two-word paradox, a statement or phrase thatseems contradictory but is actually true. Jumbo shrimp is an oxymoron. You have to be cruel to be kind is a paradox.

Metaphor, simile, and analogy are direct comparisons. A simile compares using like or as. An analogy is similar but more complex and extends the comparison in such a way that the two ideas or objects being discussed might be alike in so many ways that the comparison can be extended to other areas. 

Synecdoche is a type of metonymy, the naming of a concept through association. Synecdoche is part-whole while metonymy is related object, similar to symbolism. All hands on deck is synecdoche. The White House announced a new policy is metonymy.

They involve placement of words side-by-side. Juxtaposition is the placement of two contrasting ideas together so that their differences are emphasized. Antithesis is juxtaposition in balanced or parallel structure. Litotes occurs when an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

Meiosis/understatement, euphemism, and hyperbole involve making an idea smaller or larger for effect. Understatement describes something as less than it is, and euphemism softens meaning as well. Hyperbole does the opposite. 

Let's see how well you can identify these rhetorical devices. The next slides will have examples of some of these devices and you must identify which rhetorical device is being used.