The Use of Rhetorical Devices to Make Writing More Impactful – Part Two
We’ve already explored two of the four major categories into which rhetorical figures are generally divided. Completing the picture is important, especially considering the renewed attention rhetoric has received over the past century, despite its ups and downs. Starting with World War I, warring states made extensive use of propaganda. Philosophers returned to the study of persuasive language. And rhetoric, unfortunately, took on negative connotations. Let’s rediscover it with awareness! Let us now introduce the remaining two categories of rhetorical figures.
3. Figures of Word (also known as figures of order or syntactic figures):
You can add…
We want respect. We want justice. We want dignity. (Anaphora – repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or lines)
Yes, we dream. Always, we dream. (Epanalepsis – exact repetition at the beginning and end)
Change to live. Live to change. (Anadiplosis – the last word becomes the first of the next sentence) Justice is strength, strength is justice. (Epanaadiplosis – beginning and end with the same word)
We want to be heard, recognized, respected. (Climax – terms arranged in ascending order)
We were belittled, silenced, forgotten. (Anticlimax – descending order)
We want a voice. We ask for a voice. We deserve a voice. (Epiphora – repetition at the end)
You can vary…
Equality, fairness, parity: all synonyms of humanity. (Synonymia – using near-synonyms)
The law should be law, not just a word. (Antanaclasis – repeating the same word to increase its meaning)
Words and words: some comfort, others condemn. (Paronomasia – similar-sounding words with different meanings)
You can pile up…
Rights, duties, dignity, freedom, memory, struggle, peace. (Accumulation – unordered list)
Freedom to think, to speak, to be. (Enumeration – ordered and coherent list)
Clear justice, vibrant democracy, proud voice. (Epithet – expressive adjectives near nouns)
And we shout and we fight and we resist and we hope. (Polysyndeton – overuse of conjunctions)
You can omit…
We demand, we create, we change. (Asyndeton – omission of conjunctions)
We fought, trusted, but never… (Ellipsis – omission of logical elements)
They took away rights, hopes, dignity — and breath. (Zeugma – one verb for multiple objects)
And you can change the natural word order
Unjust it is, this silence, that weighs upon silenced voices. (Anastrophe – inversion of natural word order)
Rights, denied for too long, finally awaken consciences. (Hyperbaton – separation of elements that are normally together)
Freedom without justice is injustice without freedom. (Chiasmus – crossed arrangement of elements)
We act with courage, we think with strength, we resist with faith. (Isocolon – phrases with similar structure)
Justice, just, judgment: sister words, often betrayed. (Paromoiosis – phonetically related words)
Denied, ignored, humiliated. (Homoeoteleuton – words ending with the same sound)
4. Figures of Sound (Phonetic Figures):
These create musical or rhythmic effects. Blow on the burnt-out dream, silent hope. (Alliteration – repetition of identical or similar sounds at the start or inside nearby words)
Ssssh... silence speaks louder than noise. (Onomatopoeia – words that imitate sounds)
The wind of truth flows through sincere thought. (Assonance – vowel sound similarity in nearby words) And meanwhile the world sinks into the deep bottom of the unsaid. (Consonance – repetition of final consonants, here “nd”)
With figures of word and figures of sound, the rhetorical landscape becomes richer in rhythm, music, and structure. Every stylistic choice becomes an intentional act: to emphasize, to surprise, to make memorable. Language stops being a mere communication tool and becomes art, commitment, presence. To rediscover rhetoric means to rediscover the power of well-crafted language—not empty and manipulative words, but living words, capable of engaging, clarifying, moving, and inspiring. In a world where information is everywhere, choosing how to speak is both an act of responsibility—and of beauty.
Because, as rhetoric teaches us, it’s not only what we say that matters: it’s above all how we say it.
