Rhetorical devices can help “spice up” a paper. They help keep things interesting, as well as helping change things up. One device that I have noticed a lot in all literature including “Why Read the Classics?” is the use of hendiadys. A hendiadys is the use of two words that are connected by a conjunction rather than subordinating them together. The very end of the essay reaches a paraprosdokian. A paraprosdokian is an unexpected ending. Though I liked how the essay ended, I was not expecting it to end exactly how it did. Another rhetorical device is tautology. This is the repetition of an idea or topic using different words or phrases. The whole essay is based around this device (Calvino 5-8). Throughout the whole essay, Calvino articulates the same idea using different definitions. I also found some places where Calvino used cacophony. Cacophony is the joining of harsh sounds. I found it used more in the form of using words that begin with harsh consonants one after another. This caught my attention, and helped me keep reading. Rhetorical devices are cleverly used in every piece of literature, and I only mentioned a few that were used in “Why Read the Classics?”.
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics?" Why Read the Classics? New York: Vintage, 2000. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment