philosophy

The rhetorical question is an expressive stylistic device

The rhetorical question is an expressive stylistic device
The rhetorical question is an expressive stylistic device

Video: expressive means and stylistic devices 2024, May

Video: expressive means and stylistic devices 2024, May
Anonim

In our vocabulary, such a concept as a rhetorical question has long been entrenched. This is a form of speech designed to give it richness and expressiveness. In the modern world, this term most often means a question that does not require an answer. Let's try to understand everything in more detail.

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The rhetorical question is an affirmative sentence, which is only dressed in a questioning form. Such statements often sound the truth, which there is no need to prove. It can be like dogmas that have long been familiar to everyone (“And what kind of Russian doesn’t like to drive fast?” - N.V. Gogol), and expressions addressed to a particular case or person (“Who would think that a prisoner decides to run during the day, in front of the whole prison? ”- M. Gorky). As a rule, in order to be able to put the appropriate punctuation mark at the end of such expressive narrative-interrogative sentences, they are arranged on the basis of the question.

Going deep into a science such as etymology (it studies the origin of words), we can say that the rhetorical question is an expression of expression. It is necessary to give additional colors to our speech, to create one or another effect.

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The fact is that the root of the word “rhetorical” is the term “rhetoric”. And it is directly related to eloquence and oratory. You can understand how to understand the rhetorical question by carefully listening to the speeches of politicians, actors and diplomats.

As a rule, this form of speech is often used in order to convince an interlocutor or a certain group of people in something. The rhetorical question is the opportunity to make a person think that the affirmed thing is obvious, and it is worth understanding and accepting it. Often he “saves” in family quarrels, for example, when a husband tries to prove his loyalty to his wife (“Do you really think that I could come to our restaurant with another lady?”), And he is also a very effective political device that allows you to persuade to devotion to a particular party or candidate, most of the people.

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Understanding what the rhetorical question in literature means is even easier. It is enough to cite as an example the famous letter of Tatyana Larina, which begins with the words: “I am writing to you - what’s more? What more can I say? ” The ingenious poet of the Golden Age used this stylistic device to make the heroine’s statement more emotional, expressive and intriguing. There are a lot of similar examples in Russian and foreign classics. We often do not notice this, but it is thanks to this simple technique that it is much easier to learn poetry and even prose.

As it turned out, the rhetorical question is something that each of us has to deal with constantly. It is indispensable both in colloquial speech and in advertising, literature, politics. Well, if you delve into the study of rhetoric and eloquence, you can easily use it to attract as many people as possible into your life.