The use of singular “they” has become increasingly accepted both in mainstream academia and the general public.  Academic writing style...

Mark Antony's speech is the standard of excellence for rhetoric and rhetorical analysis.

Leda and the Swan is a poem that recounts the story of the rape of Leda by Zeus. In the Greek tale, Zeus who was famous for being a God...

A simile compares one thing to another using the word “as” or “like.” Smilies are unlike metaphors , where implicit comparisons are made....

A metaphor compares two unrelated things by claiming that one thing is another.

Parallelism or parallel construction refers to the maintenance of the same grammatical structure throughout a sentence or paragraph. It...

The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay is a poem expressing the poet's own deep loneliness and alienation as reflected in the dancer it features. At first glance, the poem appears to be McKay writing about the plight of some poor girl alienated from her work as a dancer in a club, even as she wows and entertains the crowd. Portrait of Claude McKay from 1920. However, a more careful reading shows that the poet is seeing in the dancer’s plight his own predicament as a deracinated pe

Farnsworth’s Classical English Rhetoric provides a thorough treatment of rhetorical devices.

In "The Wild Swans at Coole,” Yeats contemplates his loneliness compared to the ageless beauty of swans.

Sonnet 23 by John Milton is the poet mourning the death of his second wife after childbirth.

We examine examples of rhetoric making speeches memorable.

A literary analysis essay is a critical form of academic writing that seeks to analyze the literary merits of a work.

Prolepsis is when the speaker anticipates an objection to their argument and answers it directly.

A history essay analyzes specific persons or events in a critical manner.

Hypophora occurs when the speaker asks a question and proceeds to answer it.

Erotema — more commonly known as a rhetorical question — is a rhetorical device  that uses questions that do not call for a reply. The word is pronounced as e-ro- tem -a. The other term for it is erotesis . There are famous examples of erotema throughout history and literature, such as Mark Antony’s famous speech at Caesar’s funeral (which we will expound upon soon). Portrait of Douglass in 1879. However, Federick Douglass’ use of erotema is what we will examine at the moment

Litotes occurs when a speaker denies the opposite of a claim instead of making an affirmative claim directly.

Metanoia is a rhetorical device that involves a speaker correcting themselves.

Aposiopesis is a rhetorical device where the speaker breaks off a sentence and leaves it unfinished.

With praeteritio, the speaker describes what they won't say and does just that.