Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Rhetorical Devices


I would have to say that in the past couple of weeks I have used rhetorical devices such as euphemisms and hyperboles.  A Euphemisms is the replacement of a negative term with a neutral or positive one to cover up or sugarcoat the truth.  For example, I know that I used the word pass away instead of die because it was a sensitive subject and one of my friends distant cousin had died recently. I sometimes like to sugarcoat things when it comes to people asking me their opinion on their outfit. I try to use words like I don’t think that shirt go try this other shirt instead of that shirt is ugly and does not go.  The other rhetorical device I used was the hyperbole. Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration or overstatement to distort the facts. I will admit that I am a little dramatic sometimes. For example, I would say something like “today in class I was so bored that I felt like time was going so slow” I am always trying to use my words wisely because people can always misunderstand/mistake the words you use for something in a negative way.

1 comment:

  1. I understand with your examples of euphemism, I feel like I do that sometime to avoid a mean comment. Some words are definitely more offensive than others and with misuse of it can ruin relationships with others. There for I would use other words to hide the negative effects of the other one, so your friend knows that you’re just looking out for them. Hyperbole is definitely one I use often; I use it just to exaggerate what I'm talking about. Sometimes people don’t understand your point of view therefore you exaggerate it to make sure they know. Hyperbole is a powerful rhetorical device.

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