NOTES Rhetorical Devices

and Idioms
 A rhetorical device uses words
in a certain way to convey
meaning or to persuade. It can
also be a technique to evoke an
emotion on the part of the
reader or audience. (Think
Martin Luther King speeches are
filled with rhetorical artistry.)
Idioms are commonly used figurative
expressions.
• Idiom is not a distinct figurative language technique. Rather, most
idioms are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, or other figurative
language techniques.
• For example, the idiom “I’m so hungry that I could eat a horse,” is
actually an example of hyperbole. And the idiom, “dropping like flies,”
is actually a simile.
• What separates an idiom from its original technique, however, is that
idioms have been so commonly used that they became incorporated
into the colloquial lexicon of native language speakers. In other
words, native speakers use them so much that they don’t even know
that they are using figurative language.
Here are some idiom examples:
1. Bob’s new corner office was just the icing on the cake (metaphor).
2. After eating candy, Billy ran around like a chicken with his head cut off
(simile).
3. The quarter back was running out of steam (metaphor).
4. That new car cost an arm and a leg (hyperbole).
5. Tom said that he changed but actions speak louder than words
(personification).

• Idioms are generally used so frequently by native language speakers that it

often goes unnoticed that figurative language is even being used. When
someone is learning a new language, one of the milestones of progress is
when the learner begins to understand and use the language idiomatically or
colloquially.
 Literary and Poetic Devices
• There is a distinction between figurative language
and poetic devices. Though the skills are related it
may be easier to understand these concepts in
separate notes.
• Poetic devices are often lumped together
with figurative language techniques (simile,
metaphor, personification, understatement), so often,
state tests evaluate both skills simultaneously.
Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in
words. An easier (though less exact) way to say this is that
alliteration is when the first sounds in words repeat.
Alliteration often works with assonance and consonance to
make phonetically pleasing arrangements.

Jakia jumped in the jar of jelly.

Despite their mother’s warnings, the children chose to chew with their
mouths open.
The grass grew green in the graveyard.

• Notice the repetition of the “j” sound in the first example? Alliteration is not always so jarringly obvious.
Sometimes it is very subtle, such as in the following example: He keeps the kitchen clean.
Assonance
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. It is often used in
combination with consonance and alliteration.

He saw the cost and hauled off.

Will she read these cheap leaflets.
The snow in the rose garden groaned.

• Notice the repetition of the “awe” sounds in the first example, the “e”
sounds in the second example, or the “o” sounds in the third example?
Assonance can be subtle and may go unnoticed if you’re not scanning for it.
Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in
words. An easier (though less exact) way to say this is that
alliteration is when the first sounds in words repeat.
Alliteration often works with assonance and consonance to
make phonetically pleasing arrangements.

Jakia jumped in the jar of jelly.

Despite their mother’s warnings, the children chose to chew with their
mouths open.
The grass grew green in the graveyard.

• Notice the repetition of the “j” sound in the first example? Alliteration is not always so jarringly obvious.
Sometimes it is very subtle, such as in the following example: He keeps the kitchen clean.
Assonance
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. It is often used in
combination with consonance and alliteration.

He saw the cost and hauled off.

Will she read these cheap leaflets.
The snow in the rose garden groaned.

• Notice the repetition of the “awe” sounds in the first example, the “e”
sounds in the second example, or the “o” sounds in the third example?
Assonance can be subtle and may go unnoticed if you’re not scanning for it.
 Consonance
• Also known as near rhyme, off rhyme, or slant rhyme, consonance is the
repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words. Using
consonance is a sophisticated poetic technique that can create subtle yet
beautiful lyrics or lines of poetry. Here is an example of consonance:

Her finger hungered for a ring.

The satin mittens were ancient.
You could paddle through the spittle in the bottle.

• Though the first of the above examples is also an example of personification,

we are interested in the repetition of the “nger” and “ng” sounds. If nobody is
around you right now, say out loud, “hungry and angry.”
Enjambment is when the writer uses line breaks
meaningfully and abruptly to either emphasize a
point or to create dual meanings
• When a poem is read, the reader will conventionally make a slight pause
(shorter than a comma) when transitioning from line to line.
• When a writer uses enjambment, he or she uses this space to spread an
idea over more than one line, either creating an alternate interpretation of
the lines or drawing attention to the enjambed words.

Rolling through the field in the

dead
of winter
 Imagery is when the writer or speaker uses their
descriptions to access the
senses of the reader of listener.
• Sometimes this is called, using sensory details. When I say “senses” or “sensory,” I am
referring to the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.

An old lump of snow melted in the corner.

The chirping crickets filled the empty night air.
I was awoken by the pleasing scent of the bacon as it wafted down the hallway.

• As you read the first example, you might be visualize snow melting, because the
description accesses your sense of sight. When you read the second example, you
may imagine the noises that crickets produce, as the imagery in the text references
this sound. And as you encounter the third example, you may recall the aroma of
bacon based on the imagery in the sentence. Good writers don’t just tell you things,
they show you things by using imagery.
Onomatopoeia
•The use of words that imitate sounds.
Examples would be hiss, buzz, swish, and
crunch.
 Repetition-is when the writer or speaker
knowingly repeats a word or group
of words for effect.
• This is a strong rhetorical technique that can also be used to build a theme in a speech
or poem. It is important to note that it is not considered using repetition when a writer
or speaker repeats essential articles, prepositions, pronouns, or conjunctions that are
frequently used unintentionally as the mechanics of language dictate.

Nobody, oh nobody can make it out here alone.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Love is a red, red rose.

• In the first example, only one word in the sentence is repeating: nobody. Nonetheless,
this is still considered repetition. A poet, writer, or speaker may also repeat more than
one word to have a greater impact or to highlight the importance of an idea, such as in
the second example. In the second example a whole group of words repeats: Free at
last. Each method of repetition can effectively embolden a message.
 Rhyme is when the end or final sound of two
or more words are identical.
• If the end sounds are not identical, then the speaker or writer is using
consonance or assonance instead. Rhymes can also occur internally or on
the inside of words or lines of poetry. A rhyme may also be monosyllabic (a
one syllable rhyme) or polysyllabic (rhyme two or more syllables), such as in
the following examples:

I left my punch card on the lunch yard.

I drove a race car to the space bar.
We saw a butter fly flutter by.

• This is the technique that students most often associate with poetry, but I
encourage my students to try writing free or blank verse, as it takes much
poetic skill to freely maneuver within the confines of a rhyme scheme.
Rhythm is when the arrangement of words creates
an audible pattern or beat when read out loud.
• A good way to check to see if a passage of text is using rhythm is to just hum
the sounds that the words make rather than clearly pronouncing them. If
you can hear a song or identify a form in the sounds, then the text is
rhythmic.

There once was a guy from Chicago / Who drank away all of his problems.
I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny / but we can have lots of good fun
that is funny.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

• Instead of just reading these examples, trying humming them. Do you hear
how they sort of bounce? This is a rhythm.
Sources
• http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/figurative-language/