An analysis ò the most popular rhetorical devices in english and vietnamese=nghiên cứu về các biện pháp tu từ phổ biến nhất trong tiếng anh và tiếng việt

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI THU

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL
DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ PHỔ BIẾN NHẤT
TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

B.A THESIS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

VINH-05/2014
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI THU

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL
DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ PHỔ BIẾN NHẤT
TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

Supervisor: Phan THi Huong, M.A

VINH, 05/2014
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
For the completion of this paper, I would like to express my very great appreciation to
my supervisor, Phan Thi Huong, M.A, for her patient guidance, constant encouragement
and useful critiques throughout the process of writing this graduate paper. The blessing,
help and guidance given by her time to time shall carry me a long way in the journey of
life on which I am about to embark.
I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to the other lecturers in
Foreign Language Department in Vinh University for their enthusiastic transference of
essential knowledge, their cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which
help us to complete this task through various stages.
I would also like to extend my thanks to Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Anh, who obtained
Bachelor of English of Ho Chi Minh National University for providing me with the
valuable information and advice in this field. I am grateful for her cooperation during the
period of writing this paper.
Lastly I thank my parents, brothers and friends for their constant encouragement without
which this paper would not be possible.

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ABSTRACT
This paper aims to help readers have a more specific and obvious understanding of
rhetorical devices in English as well as in Vietnamese, especially for Vietnamese
learners of English. With the careful study in both English and Vietnamese Literature,
we collect the most typical examples of seven rhetorical devices that are effectively
used in some famous writing. Moreover, misuse of some devices is analyzed to find
out the tips to avoid misuse and misunderstanding of these rhetorical devices. Basing
on the similarities and differences in culture and customs of English and Vietnamese,
we compare the characteristics and usage of rhetorical devices in writing as well as in

daily communication of these two languages. Through showing the examples of
rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese, the paper highlights the importance of
learning and practice of rhetorical devices in writing and daily conversations.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………..
1.1 RATIONALE …………………………………………………………………...
1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ……………………………………………………..
1.2.1 Aims …………………………………………………………………………..
1.2.1 Objectives ……………………………………………………………………..
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION ………………………………………………………
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ………………………………………………………
1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY ……………………………………………….
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1 OVERVIEW …………………………………………………………………….
2.2 PREVIOUS STUDY ……………………………………………………………
2.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND …………………………………………….
2.3.1 General knowledge of Literature ……………………………………………...
2.3.1.1 Qualities of Literature ……………………………………………………….
2.3.1.2 Importance of Literature …………………………………………………….
2.3.2 Language and culture relationship ……………………………………………
2.3.2.1 Concept of Culture …………………………………………………………..
2.3.2.2 The Relation of Language and Culture ……………………………………...
2.3.3 Rhetorical Devices …………………………………………………………….
2.3.3.1 What is Rhetoric? ……………………………………………………………
2.3.3.2 Definition of Rhetorical Devices ……………………………………………
2.3.3.3 Types of Rhetorical Devices ………………………………………………...

2.3.3.4 The Four Aims of Rhetoric …………………………………………………...
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ……………………………………
3.1 METHOD DESIGN …………………………………………………………….
3.2 RESEARCH PROCEDURE ……………………………………………………
3.3 SUMMARY …………………………………………………………………….
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ……………………………………
4.1 THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE ……………………………………………………………………...
4.1.1 Metaphor ………………………………………………………………………
4.1.2 Parallelism …………………………………………………………………….
4.1.3 Hyperbole ……………………………………………………………………..
4.1.4 Understatement ………………………………………………………………..
4.1.5 Antithesis ……………………………………………………………………...
4.1.6 Rhetorical question ……………………………………………………………
4.1.7 Simile ………………………………………………………………………….
4.1.8 Summary ……………………………………………………………………...
4.2 MISUSE OF SIMILE AND METAPHOR IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
4.2.1 Misuse of metaphor and simile ………………………………………………
4.2.2 How to avoid misuse of metaphor and simile? ………………………………
4.3 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND
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ENGLISH CULTURE VIA THE USAGE OF RHETORICAL DEVICES
4.3.1 Similarities …………………………………………………………………….
4.3.2 Differences ……………………………………………………………………
4.3.3 Summary ……………………………………………………………………...
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS …………………………
5.1 CONCLUSIONS ………………………………………………………………
5.2 IMPLICATIONS ………………………………………………………………
5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY …………………………………………….
5.4 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ……………………………….

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REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………….
APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………….

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1

RATIONALE

Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient
Greece, and every one of the terms below stems from classical Greek or from Latin,
the language of the culture that inherited the Greek oratory legacy. But that should be
no obstacle to adding these tried-and-true tools to your argumentative armamentarium,
because brief definitions.
To aim to reach the reader needs of studying rhetorical devices and provide a more
specific and obvious understanding for readers, we implement this paper in accordance
with previous researchers and linguists.
Rhetorical device is one of the most interesting topics in literature nowadays. It not
only appears in poetry and prose but also figures in most of idioms. There are many
writings of famous writers in English and Vietnamese literature that effectively use
rhetorical devices as the best way to express the author‘s thoughts and attract reader‘s
attention. Many researchers studied the others features of linguistics such as semantic
features, syntactic features or types of rhetorical devices used in literature in general.
However, there are few research works to study the rhetorical devices, and no thesis of
rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese. Therefore, we collect data from many
sources and linguists to describe and analyze some of the rhetorical devices used in
English and Vietnamese famous writings and in daily life, especially in some familiar
idioms. In addition, we give out some more examples in English and Vietnamese
literature to provide more complete knowledge of rhetorical devices.
Each nation‘s language has its own similar and different concepts on many fields of

life such as humane values, ways of thinking, behavior standards, religious beliefs,
customs and traditions, social convention, etc. Words and expressions including
idioms have formed the vocabulary system of a language. Idioms and proverbs are
regarded as special factors of a language‘s vocabulary system because they reflect
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cultural specific characteristics of each nation, including material and spiritual values.
Therefore, many researchers have long shown their concerns for idioms. Follow the
previous researchers; we analyze some of the most popular idioms in English and
Vietnamese in order to make a clearer illustration of rhetorical devices.
The structure of this paper is organized following the form of an investigation. We
collect the data from English and Vietnamese dictionary as well as previous researches
to complete the paper: ―An analysis of the most popular rhetorical devices in English
and Vietnamese.‖
1.2

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.2.1 Aims
The study is expected to:
-

Investigate some typical rhetorical devices in some famous writing of

Vietnamese and English.
-

Help Vietnamese learners to be aware of the differences of various types of

rhetorical devices.
-

Provide Vietnamese learners of English with the basic knowledge of the field so

as to help them take use of rhetorical devices into their works and use them in writing,
listening, reading and speaking fluently and naturally.
1.2.2 Objectives
The paper is intended to achieve the following objectives:
-

Describe and identify some rhetorical types used in Vietnamese and English.

-

Describe and compare some rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese

works.
-

Suggest some implications to aim to help learners overcome their difficulties in

dealing with different types of rhetorical devices in English as well as in Vietnamese.
1.3

RESEARCH QUESTION

The study attempts to seek answers to the following questions:
-

What are the rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese?
What are types of rhetorical devices and their usage in some writing?
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What are the similarities and differences between rhetorical devices in English

and Vietnamese?
1.4

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

As this study is a B.A graduate paper, it focuses on the rhetorical devices in some
famous writing in both languages: Vietnamese and English. Specifically, we collected
the data from English and Vietnamese literature including some familiar idioms in
order to provide a clearer and more interesting picture of rhetorical devices in context.
Especially, the writer would like to pay attention to the effective use of rhetorical
devices of some famous writers in English and Vietnamese.
1.5

STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY

The thesis is organized into five chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical background
Chapter 3: Methodology and procedures
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND
2.1 OVERVIEW
The prosperity of language in form and content not only brings the beauty of language
but also deeply contributes to successful daily communications. Every language in the
world has a system of rhetorical devices that are used frequently in literature as well as
in daily conversation. Rhetorical devices make color for language and carry a large
amount of nationally or culturally specific information with them. It can be said that
these are interesting and popular phenomena of every language.
Studying the rhetorical devices thoroughly and deeply can help learners be easier to
approach and use them for the communication purposes as well as achieve the
successful in their jobs. Moreover, rhetorical devices contribute to expressing the
unique and character of a culture. Therefore, the studying and learning rhetorical
devices in language are more and more important and popular. There have been more
and more research works in many languages.
2.2 PREVIOUS STUDIES
Up to now, there have been a number of writers making investigations into rhetorical
devices in literature and daily speeches. There are many dictionaries and books about
rhetorical devices such as ―Rhetorical devices: A Handbook and Activities for Students
Writers”, by Brendan McGuigan (2007), “A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices‖, by
Robert A. Harris (1980), ―Writing with clarity and style: a guide to rhetorical devices
for contemporary writers”, by Robert A. Harris (2002), “Political Assassinations by
Jews: A Rhetorical Devices for Justice‖, by Nachman Ben- Yehuda (1992), etc.
Besides, there are also some dissertations of Vietnamese learners about rhetorical
devices which deal with certain type of rhetorical devices such as ―A study on
Metaphors of Love in English‖, by D.T.T Nhan (2012), B.A Thesis of Vinh

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University, ―An Investigation into The Use of Stylistic Devices in English Newspaper
Headlines‖, by Trần Huy Khánh (2010), Da Nang University, and so on.
2.3

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.3.1 General knowledge of literature
In this paper, we collect some famous writing in English and Vietnamese Literature
and focus on the most effective use of rhetorical devices in these writers. Therefore, in
order to help readers comprehend thoroughly the usage of rhetorical devices in
literature, we give a general knowledge of literature consisting of its qualities and
importance as follows:
2.3.1.1 Qualities of Literature
Dictionary.com defines literature, in part, as follows:
“writing in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and
universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history,
biography, and essays”.
That seems to make enough sense, and it represents a common definition of literature
found in most dictionaries. But as all dictionaries do, Dictionary.com goes on to offer
more definitions, one of which is this:
―any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills.”
From the definition of literature above, we can easily determine the qualities of
literature. The first significant thing is the essentially artistic quality of all literature.
All art is the expression of life in forms of truth and beauty; or rather, it is the
reflection of some truth and beauty which are in the world, but which remain
unnoticed until brought to our attention by some sensitive human soul, just as the

delicate curves of the shell reflect sounds and harmonies too faint to be otherwise
noticed. A hundred men may pass a hayfield and see only the sweaty toil and the
windrows of dried grass; but here is one who pauses by a Roumanian meadow, where
girls are making hay and singing as they work.
In the same pleasing, surprising way, all artistic work must be a kind of revelation.
Thus architecture is probably the oldest of the arts; yet we still have many builders but
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few architects, that is, men whose work in wood or stone suggests some hidden truth
and beauty to the human senses. So in literature, which is the art that expresses life in
words that appeal to our own sense of the beautiful, we have many writers but few
artists. In the broadest sense, perhaps, literature means simply the written records of
the race, including all its history and sciences, as well as its poems and novels; in the
narrower sense literature is the artistic record of life, and most of our writing is
excluded from it, just as the mass of our buildings, mere shelters from storm and from
cold, are excluded from architecture. A history or a work of science may be and
sometimes is literature, but only as we forget the subject-matter and the presentation of
facts in the simple beauty of its expression.
The second quality of literature is its suggestiveness, its appeal to our emotions and
imagination rather than to our intellect. It is not so much what it says as what it
awakens in us that constitutes its charm. When Milton makes Satan say, "Myself am
Hell," he does not state any fact, but rather opens up in these three tremendous words a
whole world of speculation and imagination. When Faustus in the presence of Helen
asks, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?" he does not state a fact or
expect an answer. He opens a door through which our imagination enters a new world,
a world of music, love, beauty, heroism,--the whole splendid world of Greek literature.
The third characteristic of literature, arising directly from the other two, is its
permanence. The world does not live by bread alone. Notwithstanding its hurry and
bustle and apparent absorption in material things, it does not willingly let any beautiful

thing perish. This is even more truth of its songs than of its painting and sculpture;
though permanence is a quality we should hardly expect in the present deluge of books
and magazines pouring day and night and to know him, the man of any age, we must
search deeper than his history. History records his deeds, his outward acts largely; but
every great act springs from an ideal, and to understand this we must read his
literature, where we find his ideals recorded. When we read a history of the AngloSaxons, for instance, we learn that they were sea rovers, pirates, explorers, great eaters
and drinkers; and we know something of their hovels and habits, and the lands which
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they harried and plundered. All that is interesting; but it does not tell us what most we
want to know about these old ancestors of ours,--not only what they did, but what they
thought and felt; how they looked on life and death; what they loved, what they feared,
and what they reverenced in God and man. Then we turn from history to the literature
which they themselves produced, and instantly we become acquainted. These hardy
people were not simply fighters and freebooters; they were men like ourselves; their
emotions awaken instant response in the souls of their descendants. At the words of
their gleemen we thrill again to their wild love of freedom and the open sea; we grow
tender at their love of home, and patriotic at their deathless loyalty to their chief,
whom they chose for themselves and hoisted on their shields in symbol of his
leadership. Once more we grow respectful in the presence of pure womanhood, or
melancholy before the sorrows and problems of life, or humbly confident, looking up
to the God whom they dared to call the Allfather. All these and many more intensely
real emotions pass through our souls as we read the few shining fragments of verses
that the jealous ages have left us.
It is so with any age or people. To understand them we must read not simply their history,
which records their deeds, but their literature, which records the dreams that made their
deeds possible. So Aristotle was profoundly right when he said that "poetry is more
serious and philosophical than history"; and Goethe, when he explained literature as "the
humanization of the whole world".

2.3.1.2Importance of Literature
It is a curious and prevalent opinion that literature, like all art, is a mere play of
imagination, pleasing enough, like a new novel, but without any serious or practical
importance. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Literature preserves the ideals of a
people; and ideals--love, faith, duty, friendship, freedom, reverence--are the part of
human life most worthy of preservation. The Greeks were a marvelous people; yet of all
their mighty works we cherish only a few ideals,--ideals of beauty in perishable stone,
and ideals of truth in imperishable prose and poetry. It was simply the ideals of the
Greeks and Hebrews and Romans, preserved in their literature, which made them what
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they were, and which determined their value to future generations. Our democracy, the
boast of all English-speaking nations, is a dream; not the doubtful and sometimes
disheartening spectacle presented in our legislative halls, but the lovely and immortal
ideal of a free and equal manhood, preserved as a most precious heritage in every great
literature from the Greeks to the Anglo-Saxons. All our arts, our sciences, even our
inventions are founded squarely upon ideals; for under every invention is still the dream
of Beowulf, that man may overcome the forces of nature; and the foundation of all our
sciences and discoveries is the immortal dream that men "shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil."
In a word, our whole civilization, our freedom, our progress, our homes, our religion,
rest solidly upon ideals for their foundation. Nothing but an ideal ever endures upon
earth. It is therefore impossible to overestimate the practical importance of literature,
which preserves these ideals from fathers to sons, while men, cities, governments,
civilizations, vanish from the face of the earth. It is only when we remember this that we
appreciate the action of the devout Mussulman, who picks up and carefully preserves
every scrap of paper on which words are written, because the scrap may perchance
contain the name of Allah, and the ideal is too enormously important to be neglected or
lost.

Each language has its own Literature with different periods based on the differences of
history. For instance, English Literature is divided into eight Periods, from the Old
English Literature of Anglo-Saxon to Modern Literature. The study of Literature and its
qualities and importance will help us to find out good writers and their works in term of
rhetorical devices in order to illustrate the paper with precise examples in both
Vietnamese and English Literature.

.

2.3.2 Language and culture relationship
So as to give a precise comparison between English and Vietnamese rhetorical
devices, we must base on the characteristics of culture of each nation. This part will
review background understanding of culture and the relation of culture and language.
2.3.2.1Concept of Culture
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

A brief history of culture concept

Anthropology began as a specialized discipline in the 19th century within a theoretical
school called evolutionism. This approach was related to the dominant Darwinist and,
more importantly, social Darwinist paradigms of the period. Evolutionists proposed a
developmental framework for recording and interpreting cultural variations around the
world and understanding them in relation to contemporary Victorian standards.
Culture was reduced to separable traits, which were collected by travelers, traders, and
missionaries and collated by "armchair anthropologists" in much the same way as
natural specimens and fossils. Grand catalogues of these items were used to chart the
stages of the human cultural development under an assumption that some traits were

representative of earlier or more "primitive" historical periods. This view ultimately
rested on a racial theory that these progressively arranged cultural differences were
attributable to unequal genetic propensities and endowments among peoples.
The theses of early anthropology are evident in Edward Tylor's 1871 work, Primitive
Culture, which includes the first formal definition of culture:
Culture or Civilization, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.
The telling point of this definition is that, although labeled a whole, culture is actually
treated as a list of elements. In effect, culture traits were understood as representing
one of a series of stages of mental and moral progress culminating in the rational
society of industrializing England.
Although most of these prejudices about non-Western peoples are still with us,
anthropologists have thoroughly repudiated the 19th century approach as an expression
of racialism and ethnocentrism, the practice of interpreting and judging other cultures
by the values of one's own. Franz Boas, an early 20th century anthropologist, was
instrumental in this reversal of perspective and laid out the ground rules for the
modern anthropological orientation of cultural relativism. This approach rests on four
major postulates, which directly confront the evolutionist position.
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Cultural aspects of human behavior are not biologically based or conditioned but are
acquired solely through learning.
Cultural conditioning of behavior is ultimately accomplished through habituation and
thus acts through unconscious processes rather than rational deliberation, although
secondary rationalizations are often offered to explain cultural values.
All cultures are equally developed according to their own priorities and values; none is
better, more advanced, or less primitive than any other.
Cultural traits cannot be classified or interpreted according to universal categories

appropriate to "human nature". They assume meaning only within the context of
coherently interrelated elements internal to the particular culture under consideration.


A definition of culture

Although there is no standard definition of culture, most alternatives incorporate the
Boasian postulates as in the case of Bates and Plog's offering, which we shall accept as
a working version:
Culture: The system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the
members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are
transmitted from generation to generation through learning [7].
Cultural phenomena are socially constructed artifacts. They are social facts in
Durkheim‘s sense of being collectively created and shared. They are neither natural
nor individual phenomena. Of course, being collective products does not mean they
are democratically constructed. Typically, small groups of powerful individuals
greatly influence the form that cultural phenomena take.
There are five main kinds of cultural phenomena:
a) Cultural activities such as producing goods, raising and educating children, making
and enforcing policies and laws, providing medical care. It is through these activities
that humans survive and develop themselves. They are basic to the ways in which
individuals interact with objects, people, and even oneself.

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b) Cultural values, schemas, meanings, concepts. People collectively endow things
with meaning. Youth, old age, man, woman, bodily features, wealth, nature, and time
mean different things in different societies.
c) Physical artifacts such as tools, books, paper, pottery, eating utensils, clocks,

clothing, buildings, furniture, toys, games, weapons and technology which are
collectively constructed.
d) Psychological phenomena such as emotions, perception, motivation, logical
reasoning, intelligence, memory, mental illness, imagination, language, and
personality are collectively constructed and distributed.
e) Agency. Humans actively construct and reconstruct cultural phenomena. This
"agency" is directed at constructing cultural phenomena and it is also influenced by
existing cultural activities, values, artifacts, and psychology.
2.3.2.2The Relation of Language and Culture
Language is the verbal expression of culture. Culture is the ideas, customs and beliefs
of a community with a distinct language containing semantics- everything a speaker
can think about things as medium of communication. For example, the Latin language
has no word for the female friend of a man because the Roman culture could not image
a male and a female being equals, which they considered necessary for friendship.
Another example is that Eskimos have many different terms for snow. There are
nuances that make each one different. Language and culture are not fundamentally
inseparable. At the most basic levels, language is a method of expressing ideas. That
is, language, is a communication; while usually verbal, language can also be visual
(via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hands and body gestures). Culture, on the
other hand, is a specific set of ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a
functioning society as distinct. A culture must have at least one language, which is use
as distinct medium of communication to convey its defining ideas, customs, beliefs, et
al., from one member of the culture to another member. Culture can develop multiple
language, or ―borrow‖ language from other cultures to use, not all such languages are
co-equal in the culture. One of the major defining characteristics of a culture is which
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languages are the primary means of communication in that culture, sociologists and
anthropologists draw lines between similar cultures heavily based on the prevalent

language usage. Languages, on the other hand, can be developed, or evolve, apart from
its originating culture. Certain languages have scope for cross-culture adaption and
communication, and may not actually be part of any culture. Additionally, many
languages are used by different cultures (that is, the same language, can be used in
different cultures). Language is heavily influenced by culture, as culture come up with
new ideas, they develop language components to express those ideas. The reserve is
also true: the limits of a language can define what is expressible in a culture (that is,
the limits of a language can prevent certain concepts from being a part of a culture.)
Finally, languages are not solely defined by their developing culture(s) - most modern
languages are amalgamations of other prior and current languages. That is, most
languages borrow words and phrases ("loan words") from other existing languages to
describe new ideas and concept. In fact, in the modern very-connected world, once one
language manufactures a new word to describe something, there is a very strong
tendency for other languages to "steal" that word directly, rather than manufacture a
unique one itself. The English language is a stellar example of a "thief" language - by
some accounts, over 60% of the English language is of foreign origin (i.e. those words
were originally imported from another language). Conversely, English is currently the
world's largest "donor" language, with vast quantities of English words being imported
directly into virtually all other languages.
2.3.3 Rhetorical devices
2.3.3.1What is rhetoric?
According to Brendan McGuigan in ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities
for Student Writers‖, [3], rhetoric is defined as follow: ―In reading, speaking or
writing, rhetoric is a tool that enhances composition; its aim is to persuade, to inform,
to express a personal thought, or simply to entertain the readers.‖. Accordingly, what
the former study of rhetoric allows us to do is isolate exactly what it is we have done
so that in the future we can do it again for a similar effect. In accordance with Plato,
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rhetoric is ―the art of winning the soul by discourse‖. Andrew King and Jim Kuypers
said in ―The Art of Rhetorical Criticism‖, (2004), "The strategic use of
communication, oral or written, to achieve specifiable goals." In a different way,
Thomas B. Farrell defined rhetoric as ―an acquired competency, a manner of thinking
that invents possibilities for persuasion, conviction, action, and judgments‖, The
Norms of Rhetorical Culture, (1993). Another definition of rhetoric is of Michael E.
Eidenmuller, Voice of America Interview, (2011). In this study, he defined rhetoric as
―a rational study and artful practice of human symbol use (especially if not exclusively
with words) when and where those symbols target identifiable communities of interest
to create, enhance, undermine, or otherwise influence human belief, attitude, emotion,
judgment, behavior".
2.3.3.2 Definition of rhetorical devices
Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient
Greece, and every one of the terms below stems from classical Greek or from Latin,
the language of the culture that inherited the Greek oratory legacy. Not much different
from rhetoric, rhetorical devices are very important in writing essay and for a speech.
They help to make the presentation be more interesting and attractive. Especially, they
play a significant part in idioms in expressing the meaning and entertaining the
readers. According to Wikipedia, rhetorical devices are defined as ― techniques that an
author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal
of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective,
using sentences designed to encourage or provoke a rational argument from an
emotional display of a given perspective or action. Note that although rhetorical
devices may be used to evoke an emotional response in the audience, this is not their
primary purpose‖. Brendan McGuigan said in ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and
Activities for Student Writers‖, [3], rhetorical devices help to strengthen the paper.
Some of these devices are meant as transitional tools to help writers move seamlessly
from one portion of an essay to another, while others are meant to help writers present
their evidence or information as strongly as possible.
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In Vietnamese, on accordance with encyclopedia dictionary, rhetorical devices are
defined as ―the ways to use language instruments to aim to achieve expressing effect:
interesting, beautiful, expressive and attractive‖. Accordingly, depending on the
combination of linguistic instruments, rhetorical devices are divided into four parts:
phonetic rhetorical devices, lexical- semantics rhetorical devices, syntactic rhetorical
devices and text rhetorical devices.
2.3.3.3Types of rhetorical devices
There are about 50 rhetorical devices that are usually used in English and Vietnamese.
In this paper, we list 50 rhetorical devices in writing with definitions and examples as
the followings:
 Alliteration- the recurrence of initial consonant sounds- rubber baby buggy
bumpers.
 Allusion- a reference to an event, literary work or person- I cannot do that because
I am not Superman
 Amplification- the repetition of a word or expression for emphasis- Love, real love,
takes time
 Analogy- compares two different things that have some similar characteristics- He
is flaky as a snowstorm
 Anaphora- repeats a word or phrase in successive phrases-―If you prick us, do we
not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? (Merchant of Venice, W.
Shakespeare)
 Antanagoge- places a criticism and compliment together to lessen the impact- The
car is not pretty but it runs great.
 Antimetabole- repeats words or phrases in reverse order-―Ask not what your
country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.‖(J F. Kennedy)
 Antiphrasis- uses a word with an opposite meaning- The Chihuahua was named
Goliath

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 Antithesis- makes a connection between two things that are contrastive- ―That‘s
one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind‖(Neil Armstrong)
 Antistrophe- Repetition of a word or phrase at the close of successive clause- You
said he was late-true enough. You said he was not prepared-true enough. You said
he did not defend his statement- true enough.
 Apophasis- Calling attention to something by dismissing it-No one would suggest
that those who are homeless elected to live on the streets willingly
 Aporia- A statement of hesitation, also known as dubitation, in which characters
express to themselves an actual or feigned doubt or dilemma- Should I strike now,
or bide my time?
 Aposiopesis- Abrupt discontinuation of a statement- If you say that one more time,
I‘m gonna Apostrophe- Interruption of thought to directly address a person or a
personification- So, I ask you, dear reader, what would you have me do?
 Asyndeton- absence of conjunctions-We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we
cannot hallow this ground
 Auxesis- Exaggeration, often with sequential enhancement- You found my purse?
You are a hero, a prince, a god!
 Bdelygmia- A rants of abusive language-Calling you an idiot would be an insult to
stupid people. Are you always this stupid, or are you just making a special effort
today?


Bomphiologia- Excessive braggadocio-I am the very model of a modern majorgeneral. I‘ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral.

 Brachyology- An abbreviated expression or telegrammatic statement-I have three
words for you, buddy: pot, kettle, black.
 Cacophony- Deliberate use of harsh letter sounds-The clash and clang of steel

jarred him awake

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 Catachresis- A hyperbolic metaphor, as in ―Each word was a lightning bolt to his
heart.‖
 Chiasmus- the reversal of grammatical order from one phrase to the next,
exemplified in these two well-known quotes about evaluation-Judge not, lest ye be
judged‖ and ―A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you
are loved by others
 Commoratio- Repetition of a point with different wording-He‘s passed on! This
parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He‘s expired and gone to meet his maker!
 Dehortatio- Imperative advice about how not to act- Do not look a gift horse in the
mouth
 Diacope- Repetition of one or more words after the interval of one or more other
words- People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like
 Diatyposis- Advice- Do unto others as you would have others do unto you
 Distinctio- A definition or clarification of a term- What we will be seeking . . . will
be large, stable communities of like-minded people, which is to say relatives
 Epanalepsis- repeats something from the beginning of a sentence at the end - My
ears heard what you said but I couldn‘t believe my ears
 Epistrophe- The repetition of a word at the end of each phrase or clause- I swear to
tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
 Epizeuxis- also called palilogia, refers to nothing more than the repetition of
words- To my fifteen-year-old daughter, everything is ‗boring, boring, boring!
 Hendiadys- A conjunctive rather than a coordinate phrase- I made it nice and hot,
just the way you like it
 Hyperbaton-Excursion from natural word ordered in various ways- Theirs was a
glory unsurpassed

 Hysteron- proteron- A reversal of logical order of elements in a phrase- Sudden
thunder and lightning drove them to shelter

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 Litotes- the strategy of understatement often employed to provide subtle emphasis,
frequently for ironic effect or to underline a passionate opinion- The assassin was
not unacquainted with danger
 Meiosis- A dismissive epithet, such as treehugger, or a humorously dismissive
understatement- It‘s just a flesh wound!
 Metanoia- The qualification of a statement to either diminish or strengthen its toneShe was disturbed — make that appalled — by the spectacle.
 Paronomasia- Punning wordplay, including any of many types, including
homophonic or homographic puns- You can tune a guitar, but you can‘t tuna fish.
Unless of course, you play bass
 Pleonasm- Redundancy for emphasis- We heard it with our own ears
 Polyptoton- Repetition of two or more forms of a word; also known as
paregmenon- You try to forget, and in the forgetting, you are yourself forgotten
 Polysyndeton- Insertion of conjunctions before each word in a list- My fellow
students read and studied and wrote and passed. I laughed and played and talked
and failed
 Scesis Onomaton- Repetition of an idea using synonymous words or phrases- We
succeeded, won, and walked away victorious
 Sententia- The punctuation of a point with an aphorism such as ―Don‘t judge a
book by its cover.‖
 Sentential Adverbs- single words or brief phrases emphasize the thought they
precede, interrupt, or — rarely — follow. Examples include however, naturally, no
doubt, and of course — and, in informal writing, phrases such as ―you see‖
 Syllepsis- Divergent use of a word in two phrases- We must all hang together or
assuredly we will all hang separately

 Symploce- A combination of anaphora and epistrophe- To think clearly and
rationally should be a major goal for man; but to think clearly and rationally is
always the greatest difficulty faced by man
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 Synathroesmus- A series of adjectives, also known as accumulatio, compiled often
in the service of criticism- You‘re the most arrogant, selfish, self-absorbed,
insufferable narcissist I‘ve ever met
 Synecdoche- Substitution of a part or a substance for a whole, one thing for
another, or a specific name used for a generic- A hundred head of cattle were
scattered throughout the field
 Tapinosis- Invective- Get out of my way, you mouth-breathing cretin
 Tricolon- A series of three parallel words, phrases, clauses, or statements- Tell me
and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn
2.3.3.4The four aims of rhetoric
In accordance with Brendan McGuigan in the book ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook
and Activities for Student Writers‖, 2008, he mentioned to the four aims of rhetoric
specifically: to persuade, to inform, to express and to entertain.


The first aim: to persuade

Persuasion is one of the oldest, and perhaps the most recognized, uses of rhetoric.
Because of the way in which many rhetorical devices affect readers, you are offered an
opportunity to subtly guide their respective in ways often barred in a direct approach.
By arousing an emotional response, evoking powerful imagery, or calling upon
reputable authorities, rhetoric gives you a great deal of power with which to
communicate your messages.
It is no coincidence that the two groups who use rhetoric the most are also the two

groups the most interested in persuading others: politicians and lawyers. Look at
almost any political speech written in the past few hundred years, and you‘ll find
many clever uses of rhetoric, for a good lawyer or political wields rhetoric like a
surgeon wields a scalpel‖ with education, with confidence and with precision.
Many of rhetorical devices covered in this thesis are used to persuade a reader. Some,
such as an exemplum (citing examples) come naturally when crafting an argument,
while others, such as sentential (quoting wise sayings) build from this common-sense
approach and help to bolster your credibility. In a larger sense, nearly every rhetorical
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device can be seen as a way of helping to persuade, by improving style, by
entertaining the readers, and by organizing thoughts, rhetorical devices can make an
argument stronger and more convincing.


The second aim: to inform

While rhetoric may not be visible in its informative use as it is when being used to
persuade, it still serve a vital function. If you look at writing that has helped you learn
about something, or if you focus on specific teacher‘s method during class, you will
likely come across many of the devices outline in this paper. Similarly, you
undoubtedly use tools of rhetoric when you are teaching others or trying to explain a
concept to someone else. We have all used the metaphor to make a difficult concept a
bit more accessible, and there are many other devices that come just as naturally when
trying to inform.


The third aim: to express

Essays written to express tend to be much less former than those meant to inform,
although the goal is similar. You will often be asked to express your personal thoughts
on something- in a college entrance essay, for example. Using rhetorical devices can
ensure that your ideas shine.
While you don‘t need to actually convince your readers of your ideas when writing an
essay to express, you do need to persuade them that your ideas are worth reading.
Your style of writing will play a large part in doing this, and using rhetorical devices
concerned with style will help draw in your readers. The way in which you structure
your essay is also important when writing to express yourself. Express essays run the
risk of coming across as rambling and incoherent, but by using established rhetorical
forms, you can build your ideas on a solid structure. A mastery of rhetoric can help
turn express essays into gems of writing that others will be excited to read.


The fourth aim: to entertain

In addition to the three purposes already mentioned, you may write something with the
primary intent of entertaining of your readers.

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