Rhetorical Devices And Techniques
Choose the correct technique or device after each example. Note that this is not a quiz; it is intended as a tool to acquire and identify rhetorical terms, so take notes.
Questions and Answers
- 1.
These devices were calculated to stir his audience into a rational hysteria.
- A.
Apostrophe
- B.
Oxymoron
- C.
Parallelism
- D.
Asyndeton
- E.
Synecdoche
Correct Answer
B. OxymoronExplanation
"rational hysteria" combines words with opposing denotations.Rate this question:
-
- 2.
Come over Saturday night, and we'll break bread together.
- A.
Simile
- B.
Personification
- C.
Pun
- D.
Synecdoche
- E.
Prepositional phrase
Correct Answer
D. SynecdocheExplanation
You aren't literally eating nothing but bread: "bread" is a substitute for food and synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole.Rate this question:
-
- 3.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. Winston Churchill
- A.
Synecdoche
- B.
Epistrophe
- C.
Anaphora
- D.
Ellipses
- E.
Polysyndeton
Correct Answer
C. AnaphoraExplanation
Churchill repeats "we shall fight" at the beginning of successive clauses.Rate this question:
-
- 4.
There is even, and it is the achievement of this book, a curious sense of happiness running through its paragraphs. Norman Mailer
- A.
Parenthesis
- B.
Ellipsis
- C.
Apostrophe
- D.
Antithesis
- E.
Chiasmus
Correct Answer
A. ParenthesisExplanation
Parenthesis is the insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence. In this case, the parenthetical insertion occurs after "There is even"; the sudden insertion adding the idea that "it is the achievement of this book" is cut off from the rest of the sentence. This abrupt and brief insertion gives an emotional or intellectual charge.Rate this question:
-
- 5.
Rape is the sexual sin of the mob, adultery of the bourgeoisie, and incest of the aristocracy. John Updike
- A.
Anaphora
- B.
Climax
- C.
Antithesis
- D.
Hyperbole
- E.
Ellipsis
Correct Answer
E. EllipsisExplanation
Ellipsis is the deliberate omission of a word or words which are readily implied by the context. In this case, Updike omits "sexual sin" from the two phrases following the first clause, but we know to what he refers. Ellipsis provides and artful and arresting means of securing cogent expression.Rate this question:
-
- 6.
. . .government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Abraham Lincoln
- A.
Parenthesis
- B.
Asyndeton
- C.
Antithesis
- D.
Chiasmus
- E.
Anaphora
Correct Answer
B. AsyndetonExplanation
Asyndeton is a deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clauses or words. Clearly, Lincoln has not added the conjunction "and" here to add rhythm, which can stir the emotions, and a sense of hurry or certainty.Rate this question:
-
- 7.
Our knowledge separates as well as it unites; our orders disintegrate as well as bind; our art brings us together and sets us apart. J. Robert Oppenheimer
- A.
Asyndeton
- B.
Climax
- C.
Antithesis
- D.
Ellipsis
- E.
Synecdoche
Correct Answer
C. AntithesisExplanation
Antithesis is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure. Here Oppenheimer develops the idea that opposing consequences result from all endeavors.Rate this question:
-
- 8.
It is hard to make money, but to spend it is easy.
- A.
Chiasmus
- B.
Anaphora
- C.
Climax
- D.
Ellipsis
- E.
Litotes
Correct Answer
A. ChiasmusExplanation
Chiasmus is the reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases/clauses. Here the "hard" emphasizes making money, while the "easy" emphasizes spending it. Chiasmus creates a "neatly turned phrase," the kind that creates aphorisms or helps you win arguments.Rate this question:
-
- 9.
It shreds the nerves, it vivisects the psyche--and it may even scare the living daylights out of more than a few playgoers. A review in Time, 1966
- A.
Ellipsis
- B.
Parenthesis
- C.
Apostrophe
- D.
Climax
- E.
Chiasmus
Correct Answer
D. ClimaxExplanation
Climax is an arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance. Notice that this scheme arranges the commentary by increasing the horrifying effects of the movie on the viewer.Rate this question:
-
- 10.
Entertainer Frank Sinatra isn't the slow-burn type. Article in Newsweek, 1965
- A.
Hyperbole
- B.
Anaphora
- C.
Ellipsis
- D.
Irony
- E.
Litotes
Correct Answer
E. LitotesExplanation
Litotes deliberately uses understatement to enhance the impressiveness of what we say. Frequently, litotes is an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, e.g., "you won't be sorry" means "you'll be glad."Rate this question:
-
- 11.
By Spring, if God was good, all the proud privileges of trench lice, mustard gas, spattered brains, punctured lungs, ripped guts, asphyxiation, mud, and gangrene, might be his. Thomas Wolfe
- A.
Antithesis
- B.
Anaphora
- C.
Irony
- D.
Hyperbole
- E.
Apostrophe
Correct Answer
C. IronyExplanation
You know irony: the use of a word(s) in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning. Hence, "proud privileges" here is ironic since all these "privileges" are hellish consequences of war.Rate this question:
-
- 12.
O, eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast persuaded. . . .Thou hast drawn together all the far-stretched greatness, all the pride, cruelty, and ambition of a man, and covered it all with these two narrow words, Hic jacet. Sir Walter Raleigh
- A.
Asyndeton
- B.
Ellipsis
- C.
Anaphora
- D.
Personification
- E.
Apostrophe
Correct Answer
E. ApostropheExplanation
This is APOSTROPHE because the speaker is talking to Death. Personification would give Death human characteristics, while apostrophe addresses an absent person or abstraction.Rate this question:
-
- 13.
Mother Tongue is a self-reliant female. Charlton Laird
- A.
Simile
- B.
Personification
- C.
Apostrophe
- D.
Metaphor
- E.
Synecdoche
Correct Answer
B. PersonificationExplanation
Personification invests abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities or abilities. Here "Mother Tongue" is personified as "self-reliant" and "female," both human characteristics. It isn't apostrophe because the speaker is not addressing Mother Tongue.Rate this question:
-
- 14.
We walked along a road in Cumberland and stooped, because the sky hung so low. Thomas Wolfe
- A.
Metaphor
- B.
Personification
- C.
Synecdoche
- D.
Hyperbole
- E.
Ellipsis
Correct Answer
D. HyperboleExplanation
Hyperbole is the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect. We are so accustomed to using superlatives these days, that hyperbole is easy to miss. In this example, the sky clearly cannot hang so low that humans must stoop, but the hyperbole reinforces how stormy and dark the sky looks.Rate this question:
-
- 15.
So let the class invent its own assignments. If it wants more sophistication, fine. Peter Elbow
- A.
Ellipsis
- B.
Antithesis
- C.
Metaphor
- D.
Apostrophe
- E.
Zeugma
Correct Answer
A. EllipsisExplanation
Again, this is an ellipsis. Notice that the words left out come after "sophistication IN ITS ASSIGNMENTS," which Elbow does not repeat because it is understood.Rate this question:
-
- 16.
He maintained a flourishing business and racehorse.
- A.
Metaphor
- B.
Zeugma
- C.
Synecdoche
- D.
Ellipsis
- E.
Hyperbole
Correct Answer
B. ZeugmaExplanation
Zeugma occurs when one word, here "flourishing," governs two unlike words, "business" and "racehorse" being unalike ideas.Rate this question:
-
- 17.
Any theory of post-historical society--our sense of being "in history" is largely determined by the pressure of political and social conflicts--will have to consider the dilemma of human motivations in the just city. George Steiner
- A.
Zeugma
- B.
Apostrophe
- C.
Anaphora
- D.
Parenthesis
- E.
Polysyndeton
Correct Answer
D. ParenthesisExplanation
Parenthesis--insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence, remember? So here the interruption is between the dashes. Notice how the sentence makes perfect sense without it because the interruption isn't related to the basic meaning of the sentence.Rate this question:
-
- 18.
Are there no roofs in this town where I can rest?
- A.
Simile
- B.
Metaphor
- C.
Synecdoche
- D.
Chiasmus
- E.
Zeugma
Correct Answer
C. SynecdocheExplanation
"Roofs" here is a part of the whole because it stands in for houses. This poor fellow cannot find accommodations for the night.Rate this question:
-
- 19.
Though studious, he was popular; though argumentative, he was modest; though inflexible, he was candid; and though metaphysical, yet orthodox. Samuel Johnson
- A.
Ellipsis
- B.
Polysyndeton
- C.
Antithesis
- D.
Chiasmus
- E.
Synecdoche
Correct Answer
C. AntithesisExplanation
Note the series of contrasts? This is classic antithesis at work.Rate this question:
-
- 20.
This semester I am taking English and history and biology and mathematics and sociology and physical education.
- A.
Irony
- B.
Polysyndeton
- C.
Asyndeton
- D.
Metaphor
- E.
Climax
Correct Answer
B. PolysyndetonExplanation
Polysyndeton is the deliberate use of many conjunctions, giving the effect of solemnity or burden. In this case, the poor student sounds overwhelmed even though he is only taking 6 classes.Rate this question:
-
Quiz Review Timeline +
Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.
-
Current Version
-
Mar 20, 2023Quiz Edited by
ProProfs Editorial Team -
Feb 07, 2017Quiz Created by
Ksavella
Back to top