Rhetoric

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Rhetoric

• Schemes and tropes

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Schemes

• A scheme is any artful variation from the
  typical arrangement of words in a sentence.
• Began in the Renaissance where school children
  were asked to memorize and find examples of
  schemes (and tropes) as an act of seeing
  something in a different way by saying something
  in a different way.

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Definitions

• Tropes The use of a word, phrase, or image in a
  way not intended by its normal signification
• Schemes A change in standard word order or
  pattern

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Schemes with balance

• Parallelism of words
• Same grammatical part of speech
• Example
• Exercise physiologists argue that
  body-pump-aerobics sessions benefit a persons
  heart and lungs, muscles and nerves, and joints
  and cartilage.
• Parallelism of phrases
• Same type of grammatical phrase
• Example
• Exercise physiologists argue that body-pump-
  aerobics sessions help a person breathe more
  effectively, move with less discomfort, and avoid
  injury.
• Parallelism of clauses
• Same type of clauses
• Example
• Exercise physiologists argue that
  body-pump-aerobics is the most efficient exercise
  class, that body-pump participants show greater
  gains in stamina than participants in comparable
  exercise programs, and that body-pump aerobics is
  less expensive in terms of equipment and training
  needed to lead or take classes.

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Schemes with balance

• Zeugma is a figure in which more than one item in
  the sentence is governed by the same word,
  usually a verb. Argue introduces the words,
  phrases, or clauses of previous example.
• Another scheme in parallelism is antithesis
  parallelism is used to juxtapose words, phrases
  or clauses to contrast
• Antithesis of words
• When distance runners reach the state they call
  the zone, they find themselves mentally engaged
  yet detached.
• Antithesis of phrases
• When distance runners reach the state they call
  the zone, they find themselves engaged with
  their physical surroundings yet detached from
  moment to moment concerns about their
  conditioning.
• Antithesis of clauses
• When distance runners reach the state they call
  the zone, they find themselves empirically
  engaged with their physical surroundings, yet
  they are also completely detached from
  moment-to-moment concerns about their
  conditioning.

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Schemes with balance

• Famous antithesis is To err is human, to forgive
  divine.
• Antimetabolewords are repeated in different
  grammatical forms.
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
• Ask not what your country can do for youask
  what you can do for your country.

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Schemes of Interruption

• Parenthesis interruption of thought in order to
  provide necessary on-the-spot info or ideas
• Sports night at the school always brings out the
  would-be jockswho would expect any
  different?ready to show that theyre potentially
  good as the varsity players.
• A second scheme of interruption is the appositive
  phrase. It sets off to further explain the first
  element.
• Susan, who is my neighbor, is great at golf.
• Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer ever, gave
  generously to charity.

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Schemes of Omission

• Ellipsis any omission of words, meaning can be
  gleaned from context.
• In a hockey power play, , if you pass the puck
  to the wing, and he to you, then you can close in
  on the goal.
• and he to you omits the words passes, but the
  reader can infer the meaning.
• Asyndetonomission of conjunctions between
  related clauses.
• I skated, I shot, I scored, I cheeredwhat a
  glorious moment of sport!

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Schemes involving repetition

• Alliteration repeated consonant sounds Sarah,
  Slyvia, Cynthia Stout
• Assonance repeated vowel sound
• finally, a kind, reliable, right minded helper.
• Anaphora repeated words at the beginning of
  successive clauses.
• Exercise builds stamina in children exercise
  builds stamina in teens and young adults
  exercise builds stamina in older adults and
  senior citizens.
• Epistrophe repeated words at the end of
  successive clauses.
• To become a successful player, I trained like an
  athlete, I thought like an athlete, and I ate
  like an athlete.
• Anadiplosis repetition of the last word of one
  clause at the beginning of the next clause
• Mental preparation leads to training training
  builds muscle tone.
• Climax repetition of words, phrases, or clauses
  in order of increasing importance.
• Excellent athletes must be respectful of
  themselves, their teammates, their school, and
  their community.
• Last two schemes used together is sometimes
  called climbing the ladder.

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Tropes

• The most important trope in this category, the
  one upon which all others in this group are based
  is metaphor, an implied comparison between two
  things that on the surface seem dissimilar, but
  upon further examination, share common
  characteristics.
• Many an athletic contest is lost when the
  players mind is an idling engine.
• Simile resembles a metaphor but uses Like or as.