91传媒

More than 500 years ago, Michelangelo stood before a slab of marble. In his mind, he saw the image of what was sleeping inside the stone. It was his job to select the tools he needed to set free the figure he envisioned.

Renaissance-era measuring sticks, plumb bobs, and calipers followed by mallets, chisels, files, and rasps鈥攁ll took their turn in his hands. Using these devices, he carved the marble into a graceful statue, 鈥淜neeling Angel,鈥� that has enthralled audiences for centuries.

To build something that will stand, an artist must know his tools. The same is true for speakers and writers.

If you don鈥檛 know your way around the assortment of language devices that will wake up your voice, it鈥檚 time to discover your substantial, significant, and seriously awesome tools of the trade.

You Have Two Sets of Tools.

Let鈥檚 begin by exploring the differences between rhetorical and literary devices. Rhetoric has historically leaned toward the realm of public speaking. Literary devices, as the name suggests, have been used mostly by writers. It鈥檚 not a perfect split; several devices fall into both categories. For example, metaphor is used by both speakers and writers. But here鈥檚 what you should know about the general difference:

Rhetorical devices help a speaker express feelings about a subject using articulate persuasion, while literary devices help a writer to tell a story with eloquence.

Rhetoric helps a speaker shape ideas so they appeal to audiences鈥� sense of logic, emotions, ethics, or passing of time. These four methods, called logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos, were long ago determined to be the best way to influence the listeners鈥� decision-making process, which usually involves the brain, heart, morals, or feeling that the person is running out of time.

Writers commonly use literary devices to add artistry鈥攃olor and flair鈥攖o their works. While they may be tasked with convincing someone to do something (perhaps read to the next page), the overall effectiveness of a literary device is not measured by its ability to advance an argument. Rather, it鈥檚 in how beautiful and graceful it makes the writer鈥檚 expression.

Of course, if you鈥檝e given a club speech, no doubt you鈥檝e already worked hard to catch your listeners鈥� attention with elegant use of spoken language. What鈥檚 more, you鈥檝e probably tried, at least once, to convince someone to do something by writing an email or sending a letter. With social media marketing being an absolute must for most businesses and organizations, today鈥檚 speakers spend a lot of time writing. By the same token, writers must be able to verbally present and discuss their written works. So yes, definitely some of the tools are useful for both kinds of communication. Still, it helps to understand why the two sets of devices were originally conceived, because the more you understand their original purposes, the more you can use them effectively in today鈥檚 world of mass communication.

Peculiar Words. Simple Ideas. Powerful Effects.

Because of their Greek or Latin origins, a lot of the devices have strange-looking names like aposiopesis, epizeuxis, onomatopoeia, synecdoche鈥攚ords that could make the most brilliant professor鈥檚 head spin. But don鈥檛 give up. In many cases, learning to use a rhetorical device is not as hard as pronouncing its name. In fact, playing with these cool tools can be fun. Let鈥檚 try one here:

tmesis [tuh-mee-sis]

You鈥檝e probably done this many times without knowing what it鈥檚 called. When you split open a word or phrase and insert another word or phrase inside for emphasis, that鈥檚 tmesis! It鈥檚 a great technique to add a quick laugh while emphasizing a point.

Example from Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw:
Eliza Doolittle says, 鈥渁bso-blooming-濒耻迟别濒测.鈥�

Example from 91传媒:
Today鈥檚 speeches were wait for it SO AWESOME!

Example from my author bio:
Written by Beth that magnificent writer Black.

Example from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:
Juliet says, 鈥淭his is not Romeo; he is some other 飞丑别谤别.鈥�

TIP: When concocting your own tmesis, be sure to pick the right spot to split the outside word. Try to create a nice rhythm with the inserted word. If Shaw, for example, had given Eliza the word, 鈥渁b-blooming-solutely鈥� or 鈥渁bsolute-blooming-ly,鈥� it would not have worked. Think of this as an opportunity to play with words until you get the sound you truly woo-hoo love.

Let鈥檚 try another one, this time with a really odd name:

hendiadys [hen-诲墨-uh-dis]

If you鈥檝e ever heard a couple pronounced 鈥渉usband and wife,鈥� then you know hendiadys. In traditional rhetoric, this tool links two nouns with 鈥渁nd鈥� to express a single idea. In today鈥檚 modern usage, we don鈥檛 limit ourselves to nouns. You could say 鈥渓isten and learn,鈥� combining two verbs. This form is usually slower to say than a noun plus its modifier, such as 鈥渘ice and warm鈥� instead of 鈥渘icely warm.鈥� As with many such tools, it adds emphasis when you slow down slightly to say the longer version.

Example (nouns): hearth and home

Example (verbs): rest and recuperate

Example (adjectives): sweet and sour

TIP: Use this when you want to equalize two parts of a message. Telling someone to try and sleep is more balanced than simply ordering them to go to sleep. This polite form may make the speaker appear more kindhearted by bringing the word 鈥渢ry鈥� to an equal level with 鈥渟leep.鈥� Hendiadys balances the two words, making it a little gentler than saying, 鈥淕o to sleep,鈥� or even, 鈥淭ry sleeping.鈥�

How It鈥檚 Done.

An example of hendiadys adds humor in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Here, actors Dan Aykroyd (as Elwood) and Sheilah Wells (as Claire) make a play on the locally favored music:

Elwood: What kind of music do you usually have here?

Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and western.

The joke works, because 鈥渃ountry western鈥� is one type of musical style, and Claire is emphasizing that they have both halves of the whole.

Here鈥檚 one more device:

anaphora [uh-naf-er-uh]

This device relies on repetition of the first part of a sentence to build substance and significance. A recent speech at the United Nations used this technique effectively:

By building up to her main point, Ms. Espinosa amplified the significance of what happens when women are empowered. Without the anaphora poetically building her case for women, the description of hurdles that followed would have been less meaningful.

Look around and listen. Rhetorical and literary devices are everywhere. They add rhythm and poetry that amplify the ideas shared by speakers and writers.

You may have noticed several examples of alliteration鈥攔epeating the first letters in a string of words鈥攖hroughout this article. I hope this device made the article more memorable and quotable. When you practice using these tools, you鈥檒l develop eloquence, fluency, and poise while unleashing your passion and wit through better delivery than ever before. Like Michelangelo standing before his marble, you will stand before your audience and prove that you are a master of your art.