Rhetorical Devices: An Overview

Why are rhetorical devices important?

Just like poets today, Latin poets used rhetorical devices to communicate the subtext of their work. These devices allow the words on a page to transcend their definitions and instead combine to create a poem laden with meaning. Understanding how Latin poets employed these devices is key to understanding and reflecting upon the messages their verses delivered. Without further ado, here is a condensed list of some common Latin rhetorical devices.

The List:

A

1. Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant or vowel sounds.

   1. "Veni, vidi, vici."

2. Anacoluthon: Unanticipated break in grammatical structure

   1. "I want to -- wait, no, I don't."

3. Anaphora: Repetition of words, sounds, or ideas at the beginning of subsequent sentences or clauses.

   1. "Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas." (you do nothing, you try nothing, you think nothing)

4. Antithesis: Contradictory messaging in the same phrase

   1. "Speed up slowly."

5. Apo Koinou: One part of speech serving multiple lines

   1. Seen most often with verbs on a different line than their subject

6. Aposiopesis: Sudden speech interruption

   1. "If you do that, I swear-"

      1. NOTE: This is NOT the same as anacoluthon; this interruption serves to amplify the message of the speech before, not depart from it

7. Apostrophe: Addressing an abstract or absent figure

   1. "O patria"

8. Ascending Tricolon: Triplets in which each progressive line gets longer/more intense

   1. "I entered; I entered the barn; I entered the barn and set it on fire"

9. Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions when they are necessary

   1. "I came, I saw, I conquered."

C

1. Chiasmus: ABBA word/idea arrangement

   1. Very popular in English poetry

D

1. Descending Tricolon: Triplets in which each progressive line gets shorter/less intense

   1. The opposite of ascending tricolon

E

1. Ecphonesis: Unanticipated emotional exclamation

   1. "Oh no!"

2. Ellipsis: Omission of implied words (any type of word is fair game)

   1. "You coming?" (missing "Are")

3. Enallage: Intentional grammatical errors

   1. Often occurs when a plural subject is paired with a singular verb ("They was")

4. Enjambment: Continuation of thought across multiple verses

   1. Verses will often be sentence fragments that complete each other

5. Epistrophe: Anaphora at the end of successive phrases

   1. "...in that place; ...in that place; etc."

6. Euphemism: Employment of one expression (often more mild) in place of another

   1. "Passed away" instead of "died"

H

1. Hendiadys: Splitting up one modified noun into two words connected by a conjunction (often "et")

   1. "vinclis et carcere" (chains and prison) instead of "prison chains"

2. Hyperbaton: Unusual/counterintuitive word order

   1. "This I want to know" (think Yoda-like language)

3. Hyperbole: Exaggeration

   1. "moles vitiorum" (a mountain of vices)

4. Hypophora: Asking and answering one's own question (often in quick succession)

   1. "Why am I here? For you!"

      
      

I

1. Irony: Stating the opposite of what one means

   1. "I just LOVE getting flat tires..."

      
      

L

1. Litotes: Using a double negative instead of a positive

   1. "I am not mad."

      1. Often used to convey an understatement

M

1. Metaphor: Comparison of the tangible to the symbolic/representative (often abstract)

   1. "Death is an angel."

2. Metonymy: Substitution of one word for a related counterpart

   1. "Mars" instead of "War"

      1. Often, Roman Gods will be substituted in for that which they represent (and vice versa)

   
   

O

1. Oxymoron: Phase combining of apparently contradictory words

   1. This is a type of antithesis: oxymoron must be a phrase, antithesis can be a phrase, sentence, or clause

2. Onomatopoeia: Sound suggesting sense

   1. "Clap!"; "Boom!"; "Bang"

P

1. Paradox: Seemingly contradictory yet true statement

   1. "Si vis pacem, para bellum." (If you want peace, prepare for war.)

2. Paraleipsis: Mentioning something by saying it won't be mentioned

   1. "Let us not speak of __"

      1. Sometimes referred to as "Praeteritio"

3. Personification: Attribution of human characteristics to impersonal objects

   1. "The sky's tears"

4. Polyptoton: Different forms of a word to describe the same idea

   1. "Blood", "bleed", and "bloody"

5. Polysyndeton: Overuse of conjunctions (often "et")

   1. The opposite of asyndeton

      
      

Q

1. Quaesitio: Repitition of questions (often rhetorical -- see below)

   1. "Why do I suffer? What did I do to deserve this?"

R

1. Repetitio: Repetition of words or phrases for emphasis

   1. Blanket category that encompasses Anaphora

2. Rhetorical Question: Asking a question not to receive an answer but to emphasize a point.

   1. "What is wrong with you?"

      1. Requires context to differentiate normal questions from rhetorical ones

S

1. Simile: Metaphor employing "like" or "as" (tamquam/sicut or other Latin comparison words)

   1. "Pretty like the sun"

      1. Subcategory of metaphor

2. Synchisis: Separation of modifiers across lines or stanzas

3. Synaesthesia: Mixing senses during description

   1. "Dulce ridentem" (laughing sweetly)

4. Synecdoche: The use of a part to stand in for the whole

   1. "Wheels" instead of "car"

T

1. Tautologia: Repetition of the same idea using different words

   1. "Spoken with a moving mouth"

2. Timesis: Physical separation of one word into two

   1. "circum virum dant" (they surround the man) instead of "virum circumdant"

3. Transferred epithet: An epithet (adjective or descriptive phrase tied to a specific character/object/idea) transferred to a different, related idea

   1. "Weary road" (weary is describing the traveler, not the road)

That concludes our very limited list of Latin rhetorical devices. As we investigate different Latin poems, this list will grow alongside our knowledge. And if you know of any other missing devices, please leave a comment below!