Description

Pol. 403: Political Leadership and Rhetoric

Introductory Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

Here is a list of some of the rhetorical terms that we use in this course. It is intended to

assist you in using some technical terminology in analyzing political speeches. This is a

far from complete list of rhetorical terms, which number in the dozens.

Anaphora: repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of a series of sentences or

clauses—the opposite of epistrophe (or antistrophe).

Aletheia: a Greek work that literally means truth, but which in the rhetorical context

means “sincerity”—the revelation of a speaker’s inner feelings (whether genuine or not).

Anadiplosis: repeating the last word of a clause or sentence as the first word of the next

clause or sentence. It creates a sense of momentum, building to a climax.

Here is an example from Shakespeare’s play Richard II: “The love of wicked men

converts to fear/ That fear to hate, and hate turns one or both/ To worthy danger and

deserved death.”

Antimetabole and Chiasmus: an inverted repetition--a sentence or phrase that follows the

pattern: a b b a. Thus, in Kennedy’s inaugural: “Ask not what your country can do for

you; rather ask what you can do for your country” (i.e., country, you, you, country); or (in

Bush’s speech of Sept. 20, 2001) “we will bring our enemies to justice or justice to our

enemies” (enemies, justice, justice, enemies). In an antimetabole, the exact words are

repeated in inverse order. Although chiasmus is often treated as a synonym for

antimetabole, it is a somewhat broader term that includes repetition of a different form of

the same words or repetition of a clause or even of an idea. Political speechwriters

sometimes refer to this figure as a “reversible raincoat” sentence.

Aposiopesis: pausing in the middle of a speech because one is so overcome with emotion

that one cannot speak (it may be real emotion or pretended emotion).

Arrangement: the order in which a speaker (or "rhetor," as the speaker is sometimes

called) presents arguments. Because arrangement is extremely important in the success

or failure of a speech, it becomes a focus of analysis.

Asyndeton: repeating a series of words or phrases without any word, such as “and” or

“or” in between. The opposite of polysyndeton.

Dissociation: Division of a concept or term in to two meanings and then establishing the

preference of one of the meanings over the other--i.e., that one of the meanings is the true

one while the other is false, or that one is real and the other artificial. For example, "We

all believe in freedom, but there is false freedom (following one's fleeting passions) and

true freedom (acting virtuously)."

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Enargia: Very vivid description of something to rouse the audience’s emotions:

showing a dead body, displaying a badge or photograph, or any other extremely vivid

way of demonstrating something. It is usually an appeal to the emotions (pathos).

Enthymeme: a way of arguing—proving a point—that takes the form of a logical

syllogism, but which aims only at a probable or plausible, not an absolute, truth and in

which the premise is usually not stated.

Epistrophe (or antistrophe): repeating the same word or phrase at the end of a series of

sentences or clauses—the opposite of anaphora.

Ethos: The character of the speaker—his or her trustworthiness, wisdom, and goodwill

toward the audience. Ethos is one of the three main modes of persuading an audience

(along with logos and pathos).

Figure: A very general term for any striking or unusual use of words or phrases (such as

puns, alliterations, chiasmus, anaphora, epistrophe, metaphor, etc.)

Hypophora: Asking a question and then answering it right away. “Why are we in Iraq?

I’ll tell you why we’re in Iraq,” etc.

Ipse dixit: A Latin term meaning “he himself said it”. It describes an appeal to authority

with the speaker as the authority. It is an unsupported statement that rests solely on the

authority of the person who makes it. “It’s going to rain tomorrow, take my word for it.”

Litotes: Saying something by denying the opposite. Usually this is a form of

understatement. For example: "It is not impossible that there will be a term paper

assignment in this course." Or as a British prime minister (Attlee) said to a subordinate

who talked too much: “A period of silence from you would now be not unwelcome.”

Logos: A word with many meanings, but which we use mainly to describe a method of

persuasion that relies on reason, proof, logical demonstration, and so forth. It is one of

the three main modes of persuasion (along with ethos and pathos).

Metaphor: Changing a word from its literal meaning to one not applicable but analogous

to it. For example: “Life is just a bowl of cherries,” or (as John Dean said to Nixon),

"Watergate is a cancer on the presidency."

Oraculum: Assuming the persona of an oracle who can predict the future. For example:

“I'm here to tell you, if either of these two guys get the nomination, it's going to destroy

the Republican Party, it's going to change it forever, be the end of it." ( Rush Limbaugh ,

referring to John McCain and Mike Huckabee.)