Asked by sara

Formal speeches often include rhetorical devices, which are special patterns of language. Rhetorical devices add emphasis to ideas, make speeches memorable, and stir listeners’ emotions. Rhetorical questions and repetition are two of the most commonly used rhetorical devices.

Rhetorical questions are questions asked for dramatic effect, but for which no answer is expected. They are asked to make the audience feel personally involved, or to suggest that an answer or an idea is obvious because the alternative is unthinkable.
Repetition is the repeated use of any element of language—a sound, a word, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence—for effect.
RHETORICAL DEVICE

EXAMPLES

Rhetorical Question

Will we let freedom die?

Repetition

Repeated word: “. . . we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” —John F. Kennedy

Repeated phrase: “. . . we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender . . . ” —Winston Churchill

Practice
Complete the following items.

Answer the following questions.
Which of the following questions is rhetorical?
What impact would the rhetorical question make if used in a speech? Explain.
What time is it?
Can you help me with this problem?
Will you stand by and watch people suffer?

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Which is rhetorical:
- "Will you stand by and watch people suffer?"

Why this is rhetorical and its impact:
- It’s asked for effect, not to get information or assistance; the speaker does not expect someone to answer with a time or a yes/no about helping with a specific task.
- It frames inaction as unacceptable and makes the audience feel morally responsible, prompting guilt, urgency, or determination.
- Used in a speech it can rally listeners, create emotional engagement, and push them toward action (donating, volunteering, voting, protesting, etc.). It also sharpens contrast between right behavior and an unthinkable alternative, making the speaker’s position seem obvious.

Why the others are not rhetorical:
- "What time is it?" requests factual information.
- "Can you help me with this problem?" is a genuine request for assistance.