Anaphora:

the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Example: “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters;…when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” – then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” –Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Function: This quote from Martin Luther King Jr. in the Letter from a Birmingham Jail portrays King’s argument profusely. His use of anaphora reveals the depths of being a negro and how people may think they understand how he feels, when in reality, they do not. Anaphora and the repetition of “when” leading to “then” emphasizes the way King feels during this actual hard-time. He goes through this (when) and this and this and THAT’S (then) why Negros only understand the difficulty to wait. This anaphora used by King provides the audience with an appeal to pathos due to the repetitive list of unfortunate events toward Negros.

Antithesis: the contrast of thoughts in two phrases, clauses, or sentences

Example: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”  –Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Function: King uses antithesis in this letter to emphasize the difference in thought processes of whites and blacks. He uses the comparisons and contrasts in these quotes to reveal that the white’s thoughts are unjust and that the way to freedom and a just society is through the black’s way of thinking. Antithesis creates a clear comparison between two things, here, the demand of freedom, and therefore emphasizes the difference between them. King’s movement of the statement and change in words of “by the oppressor” and “by the oppressed” prove the tension between the two facts being compared.

Antimetabole: the identical or near repetition of words in one phrase or clause in reverse order in the next phrase or clause

Example:  “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” –John F. Kennedy, Presidential Speech

Function: John F. Kennedy was a president of the United States, and in this quote he uses the rhetorical device antimetabole. His use of antimetabole emphasizes his beliefs about how a country needs to be helped before a country can help you. This reverse order of the words “what your country can do for you” and “what you can do for your country” reveals the comparison lodged inside. The use of antimetabole creates a catchy, memorable quote which helps in his election.

Zeugma: a construction in which one word (usually verb) modifies or governs – often in different, sometimes incongruent ways – two or more words in a sentence

Example: “Someone sent me a T-shirt not long ago that read “Well-Behaved Women Don’t Make History.” They don’t make good lawyers, either, or doctors or businesswomen.” – Anna Quindlen, TLoC

Function: Anna Quindlen uses zeugma in this quote to place and emphasis on what women are “good for.” She uses zeugma in the verb “make” as it reveals different nouns as its direct object in the quote (history, lawyers, doctors, businesswomen). Quindlen uses this zeugma to emphasize her stance on what women are good at. The emphasis is mostly placed on history, considering history is not an occupations, while the other comparisons are. Quindlen uses this zeugma to guide her audience to form a connection between women’s rights (history), and women looking for a successful, career-based future (lawyers, doctors, businesswomen).

Juxtaposition: placement of two things side by side for emphasis

Oxymoron: a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms

Example: “Here is much to do with hate, but more with love.
Why then, O bawling love! O bawling hate!
O anything! of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness! serious vanity!
Mis-shapen chaos and well seeming forms.” -Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Function: Oxymorons are slight contradictions in speech. They are used to draw attention to a topic and make the audience notice the contradiction more intensely. It creates an analysis from the audience unwillingly. In the above passage, there are multiple examples of oxymorons throughout. Shakespeare writes “bawling love,” “heavy lightness,” and “serious vanity” as the oxymorons. These contradictions cause the reader to analyze each subject. The reader sees love as hurtful, sees lightness as burdening, and sees vanity as a bigger deal than thought out to be. Shakespeare uses these contradictions in the oxymorons to emphasize the dual themes behind one topic. He is pleading that love is not just happy and sweet. These oxymorons used by Shakespeare place an emphasis on the meaning of the word it is contradicting.

Example: Whaam! (1963) –Comic Book, Roy Lichtenstein

Function: This use of onomatopoeia in novels, poems, pictures, and here, comic books, is a subtle, yet noticeable rhetorical device. Onomatopoeia stands out and is occasionally followed by an exclamation point. Use of onomatopoeia provides the reading with a sort of dramatic effect of the subject the word is coming from. In this example from the comic book by Roy Lichtenstein, the use of onomatopoeia depicts an aircraft striking another with rockets. The use of “whaam!” brings the picture to life and incorporates not only vision, but sound into effect as well. Lichtenstein uses onomatopoeia in his comic book to dramatize the picture and story and create a stronger connection with the audience.