Rhetorical Devices
1. Antithesis (Juxtaposition)
Antithesis, literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two
opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
Juxtaposition is when ideas, words, or phrases that are
normally not associated, are placed next to one another,
creating an effect of surprise and wit.
Effect: It causes the reader to make the comparison of the two ideas, mostly
to see the complexity (as stated above) of two ideas, and also to
emphasize the ideas that are juxtaposed. It is often found in a parallel
structure, as can be seen in the opening lines of 'A Tale of Two Cities': "It was
the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Some famous antithetical statements have become part of our everyday speech
and are frequently used in arguments and discussions. Below is the list of some
antithetical statements:
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
Man proposes, God disposes.
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.
Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness.
You are easy on the eyes, but hard on the heart.
Juxtaposition can occur in literature between characters, settings, events, ideas, or
actions in order to encourage the reader to compare and contrast the entities.
, Examples of Juxtaposition
Example 1
A butler spends his days in a beautiful mansion dressed in a tuxedo, but returns home to a
closet-sized apartment in a rundown part of town.
Example 1 juxtaposes two settings: a wealthy person’s mansion and a poor butler’s
apartment. Such juxtaposition serves to highlight just how different the butler’s quality of
living is from his employer’s.
Example 2
A waitress is remarkably rude and impatient with a doting couple. She is extremely kind,
though, to a quiet man who is eating alone with a book.
Here, the juxtaposition is of the waitress’s attitude towards certain customers. Her rudeness to
a couple followed by kindness to a single man implies that she is jealous of the couple and
empathetic to the single man, as she herself is either single or unhappy in a relationship.
Because such different attitudes are in close proximity, the meaning behind them is
magnified.
2. Repetition
Repetition can be of the same word or of a group of words that are
similar.
a) Same words identify the part of speech
b) Group of similar words identify one group word as diction
If the same word is repeated in a passage or paragraph it is because the
author wants to: Emphasise a specific point / idea. It is important to
identify the diction and its connotation and link it to mood or tone in
order to explain Repetition.
1. Antithesis (Juxtaposition)
Antithesis, literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two
opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
Juxtaposition is when ideas, words, or phrases that are
normally not associated, are placed next to one another,
creating an effect of surprise and wit.
Effect: It causes the reader to make the comparison of the two ideas, mostly
to see the complexity (as stated above) of two ideas, and also to
emphasize the ideas that are juxtaposed. It is often found in a parallel
structure, as can be seen in the opening lines of 'A Tale of Two Cities': "It was
the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Some famous antithetical statements have become part of our everyday speech
and are frequently used in arguments and discussions. Below is the list of some
antithetical statements:
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
Man proposes, God disposes.
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.
Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness.
You are easy on the eyes, but hard on the heart.
Juxtaposition can occur in literature between characters, settings, events, ideas, or
actions in order to encourage the reader to compare and contrast the entities.
, Examples of Juxtaposition
Example 1
A butler spends his days in a beautiful mansion dressed in a tuxedo, but returns home to a
closet-sized apartment in a rundown part of town.
Example 1 juxtaposes two settings: a wealthy person’s mansion and a poor butler’s
apartment. Such juxtaposition serves to highlight just how different the butler’s quality of
living is from his employer’s.
Example 2
A waitress is remarkably rude and impatient with a doting couple. She is extremely kind,
though, to a quiet man who is eating alone with a book.
Here, the juxtaposition is of the waitress’s attitude towards certain customers. Her rudeness to
a couple followed by kindness to a single man implies that she is jealous of the couple and
empathetic to the single man, as she herself is either single or unhappy in a relationship.
Because such different attitudes are in close proximity, the meaning behind them is
magnified.
2. Repetition
Repetition can be of the same word or of a group of words that are
similar.
a) Same words identify the part of speech
b) Group of similar words identify one group word as diction
If the same word is repeated in a passage or paragraph it is because the
author wants to: Emphasise a specific point / idea. It is important to
identify the diction and its connotation and link it to mood or tone in
order to explain Repetition.
