Stylistic and Rhetorical Devices

Beyond diction, imagery, and structure lies a family of stylistic and rhetorical devices that writers use to persuade, emphasize, and delight. These devices are especially prominent in the non-literary texts at the heart of Language and Literature—speeches, advertisements, editorials—but they appear everywhere. Knowing them by name lets you analyze precisely; understanding their effects lets you analyze well.

The rhetorical foundation: ethos, pathos, logos

Classical rhetoric identifies three appeals a writer uses to persuade:

• Ethos: appeal to the speaker's credibility, authority, or character.
• Pathos: appeal to the audience's emotions.
• Logos: appeal to logic, reason, and evidence.

Most persuasive texts blend all three. A charity appeal might establish ethos ("For thirty years we have wor