Rhetorical Device (Noun)
Meaning
A use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance).
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The politician's use of allusion to ancient Greece was a rhetorical device intended to evoke a sense of grandeur and tradition.
- The poet's repetition of the phrase "we shall overcome" was a powerful rhetorical device that emphasized the struggle for civil rights.
- The phrase "How many legs does a dog have if you call its tail a leg?" is a rhetorical device used to illustrate the difference between literal and figurative language.
- The writer's use of hyperbole in describing the "towering" skyscraper was a rhetorical device meant to convey a sense of awe and wonder.
- The phrase "What's in a name?" is a rhetorical device used by Shakespeare to explore the relationship between language and reality.