Rethorical Devices - Examples

1. Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of neighboring words.

Examples include:

 Walter wondered where Winnie was.

 Blue baby bonnets bobbed through the bayou.
 Nick needed new notebooks.

2. Allusion is basically a reference to something else. It’s when a writer mentions some

other work, or refers to an earlier part of the current work.

In literature, it’s frequently used to reference cultural works (e.g. by alluding to a Bible or

Greek myth). 

For example:

You’re acting like such a Scrooge!

Alluding to Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, this line means that the person is being miserly and
selfish, just like the character Scrooge from the story.

3. Anaphora is a technique where several phrases or verses begin with the same word or
words.

Examples include:

 I came, I saw, I conquered. - Julius Caesar

 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the
age of foolishness. - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
 We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end... we shall never surrender. –
Winston Churchill

4. Antithesis, which literally means “opposite,” is a rhetorical device in which two

opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.

For example:

“Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind.”

The use of contrasting ideas, “a small step” and “a giant step,” in the sentence above
emphasizes the significance of one of the biggest landmarks of human history.

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 5. Epistrophe is when a certain phrase or word is repeated at the end of sentences or
clauses that follow each other. This repetition creates a rhythm while emphasizing the
repeated phrase.

 Example 1

Last week, he was just fine. Yesterday, he was just fine. And today, he was just fine.

Repetition of “he was just fine” serves to emphasize that the state of this person has not
changed over time.

6. Euphemism is a mild, indirect, or vague term that often substitutes a harsh, blunt, or
offensive term.

Examples include:

 'A little thin on top' instead of 'going bald.'

 'Letting you go' instead of 'firing you.'
 'Passed away' instead of 'died.'

7. Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Examples include:

 I've told you to stop a thousand times.

 I could do this forever.
 Everybody knows that.

8. Irony occurs when there's a marked contrast between what is said and what is meant,
or between appearance and reality.

Examples include:

 "How nice!" she said, when I told her I had to work all weekend.
 Naming a tiny Chihuahua Brutus.

9. Metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike things or ideas.

Examples include:

 Heart of stone
 Time is money

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  The world is a stage
 She's a night owl
 He's an ogre

10. Oxymoron is two contradictory terms used together.

Examples include:

 Peace force
 Sweet sorrow

11. Personification gives human qualities to non-living things or ideas.

Examples include:

 The flowers nodded.

 The snowflakes danced.
 The fog crept in.
 The wind howled.

12. Rhetorical Question is asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being
discussed, when no real answer is expected. Such a question is used to emphasize a
point or draw the audience’s attention.

 “Who knows?”
 “Why not?”

Examples of Rhetorical Question in Literature

13. Simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."

Examples include:

 As slippery as an eel
 As blind as a bat
 Eats like a pig
 As wise as an owl

14. Tricolon is a rhetorical term that consists of three parallel clauses, phrases, or words,
which happen to come in quick succession without any interruption.

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 Example Barack Obama speaks in Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela, December,
10, 2013

“After this great liberator is laid to rest, and when we have returned to our cities and villages
and rejoined our daily routines, let us search for his strength. Let us search for his largeness of
spirit somewhere inside of ourselves. And when the night grows dark, when injustice
weighs heavy on our hearts, when our best-laid plans seem beyond our reach, let us think
of Madiba and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of his cell …”

15. Understatement occurs when something is said to make something appear less
important or less serious.

Examples include:

 It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent.

 The weather is cooler today - referring to sub-zero temperatures.
 It stings a bit - referring to a serious wound or injury.