10 Emphatic Rhetorical Devices Flashcards
Adynaton
Adynaton is an extreme exaggeration—a hyperbole so out there that it’s beyond impossible.
Ex. Some philosophers grow ulcers
from eating loneliness.
Amplification
The amplification rhetorical device uses superfluous words, embellishments, and unnecessary additions to draw attention towards a particular idea which might otherwise escape the reader’s attention.
What the author believes to be a highly important idea.
Ex. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Antiphrasis
Antiphrasis is the use of words to mean the opposite of their dictionary definitions.
Ex. Those shoes are wicked!
Asterismos
Asterismos is when you call attention to an idea with an introductory word or phrase.
Ex. Behold! Alas! Hark! Listen! Hey! Now! Looky here!
Litotes
A litotes is a double negative for rhetorical emphasis.
Ex. Not bad.
Meiosis
A meiosis gives the impression that something is less important than it actually is.
Witty understatement (Form of hyperbole)
Ex. “tis but a scratch”
Metanoia
When a writer backtracks or modifies something they just wrote, they use the device metanoia.
Immediate self-correction emphasizes the correction itself.
Ex. He’s stupid; Wait, no. Very stupid!
Paralipsis
Paralipsis is a form of raising a topic by pretending not to want to speak on that topic.
Ex. Wars and famine is happening all around us but that’s not important!
Overstatement
An overstatement is a device in which the writer intentionally exaggerates something to illustrate a point.
Ex. Musicians eat, sleep and breathe music.
Tmesis
A tmesis is a word or phrase embedded in another word or phrase, usually for emphatic effect.
Ex. Congratu - fucka - lations.
