Transcript Our Advanced Rhetoric

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Periphrasis—excessive use of words
Anaphora—repetition of beginnings
Epiphora—repetition of endings
Antanaclasis—repetition of word from line to
line, but the meaning of the word changes
Chiasmus—repetition of phrase, but in reverse
order
Polysyndeton—many conjunctions between
clauses, often slowing rhythm
DEFINITION: The excessive use of words to
convey a meaning (which could have been
conveyed in fewer words)
EFFECT: Embellishes sentences, draws the
readers attention, & gives prose a “poetic” flavor
EXAMPLE: Instead of saying, "I lost my homework,"
you say, "As a matter of fact, the assignment in
question is temporarily unavailable due to the
secrecy of its location."
Pick a situation, and write a periphrasis-filled
dialogue:
--you forgot your homework (teacher)
--you forgot to clear your room (parent)
--you forgot to pick up your friend (friend)
 beginning several lines with the same
word or words. This creates a
parallelism and a rhythm, which can
intensify the meaning of the piece.
 Your task: identify the meaning,
evaluate the effect of anaphora
 “Man”
 Challenges listener, but sets up as
equal
 Personalizes lyrics
 Disregards a connection to women,
but that makes some men (the
pathetic ones) feel stronger
 “I have a dream”
 It’s not going away; he’ll be here,
dreaming, till it happens
 Most dreams aren’t memorable; he’s
making sure this one is (irony caused
by anaphora).
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always had to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well now they know
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Primacy bias
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Can be very dramatic (recency bias)
Emphasizes a concept, idea or situation
The speaker’s words have rhythm and cadence
“Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. We
call on our people to seize this moment, so that
the process towards democracy is rapid and
uninterrupted. … I have fought against
white domination and I have fought against
black domination.”
— Nelson Mandela, Cape Town, 11 February 1990
“… generations of Americans have responded with a
simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes
we can. It was a creed written into the founding
documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes
we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as
they blazed a trail toward freedom through the
darkest of nights: Yes we can. It was sung by
immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and
pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving
wilderness: Yes we can.“
— Barrack Obama, New Hampshire primary, 8 January
2008
“Fie, fie, thou shamest thy shape, thy love, thy wit,
Which, like a userer, abound’st in all,
And uses none in that true sense indeed
Which should bedeck thy shape, thy love, thy wit.”
(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)
Again, Shakespeare is at his best in using epiphora; “thy
shape, thy love, thy wit” comes twice within four lines. It
puts much emphasis on three attributes of Romeo.
Friar Laurence is at his best when he speaks
this dialogue.
“I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a
Pepper, we’re a Pepper. Wouldn’t you
like to be a Pepper, too? Dr. Pepper.”
“a Pepper” has been repeated in all the phrases to
emphasize the point for the consumers that they
must get Dr. Pepper to join everyone else
Let’s keep taking notes
on advanced rhetoric!
Antanaclasis is a rhetorical
device in which a phrase or
word is repeatedly used
(from one line to the next).
However, the meaning of a
word changes in each case.
If we don’t hang together, we will
hang separately.
--Ben Franklin
Hang means _____________________
Hang means _____________________
“If you aren’t fired with
enthusiasm, you will be fired
with enthusiasm.”
--Vince Lombardi
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
(Stopping By Woods on Snowy Evening by Robert
Frost)
The first use of a word, “sleep,” means nocturnal
rest and in the last line it has the meaning of
death.
two or more clauses are balanced against each
other by the reversal of their structures in order
to produce an artistic effect
 Ask not what your country can do
for you—ask what you can do
for your country.
--JFK
 Let us never negotiate out of fear.
But let us never fear to negotiate.
 Mankind must put an end to war,
or war will put an end to mankind.
 Let us preach what we practice —
let us practice what we preach.
 We don’t mistrust each
other because we’re armed; we’re
armed because we mistrust each other.
--Churchill
 I am stuck on Band-Aid,
and Band-Aid‘s stuck on me.
 I am stuck on Band-Aid,
and Band-Aid‘s stuck on me.
 Figurative (“stuck” means you like
it a lot)
 Literally stuck
 “Marge and Susan and Anne and Daisy
and Barry all planned to go for a picnic”,
instead of “Marge, Susan, Anne, Daisy and
Barry…”
 emphasizes each of the individuals and
calls attention to every person one by one
instead of assembling them as a group
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[A] bar with a real brass rail was set up, and
stocked with gins and liquors and with
cordials so long forgotten that most of his
female guests were too young to know one
from another.
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The result of the repeated ands here suggests the
superabundance of alcoholic beverages (during a time of
Prohibition) implies the power, influence and money
Gatsby had, but it also suggests that the guests are
probably going to be getting drunk at the party
[T]he orchestra has arrived, no thin five-piece
affair, but a whole pitful of
oboes and trombones and saxophones and
violins and cornets and piccolos, and low and
high drums.
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The music for Gatsby's party is a large number of
musicians who will be providing significant music for
this gathering.
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Use with moderation
Rethink relationships
Allude to famous
examples
Mark up your editorial for
advanced rhetoric
Rewrite the thesis
Rate it for persuasive
power ___/10
 Take a reading.
 Get ready to take some notes.
 Get excited.
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Read it.
Record these:
 thesis, main points
 Cool parts / questionable parts
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Let’s read it together
 When you have to read, go for 2 sentences to 1
paragraph. Then say something:
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Agree, disagree?
Surprises?
Confusing parts?
Interesting parts?
Connections?