Rhetorical devices - with examples

There are more reasons for NASA to fund a trip to Jupiter than there are miles in the journey.

Leonardo da Vinci had a good idea or two.

A cup of coffee would not be unwelcome.

War is not fought to achieve joy, but rather to avoid pain.

What then of the future? Let come what may, and we shall meet it without fear

Do you want a world in which those dearest to you can know peace and safety or a world in which every moment carries with it the constant fear of death?

It may be pointed out that the proposed tax plan adds a burden to a small number of families in the upper brackets. While this may be true, the benefits offered to those who are most in need must surely outweigh a small it of hardship to those who are not.

Communism, by which I mean the socialist communalism which comes after the centralized state, has yet to be tried anywhere in the real world.

The shower room, steamy like a Louisiana summer, rang with the athletes' jubilant laughter.

I slept calmly, as a sparrow finding shelter from the storm.

The man's joy at finding his wallet was no less than a lottery winner's claiming her prize.

The report was released yesterday, a beacon of hope in these troubled times.

Depression is a bottomless cup that can hold no liquid.

As the endless waves wash eternally upon the shore, so does true love overwhelm the soul.

Just as a parent is liable for damages caused by his minor children, so too should a dog owner be responsible for his dog.

Scientists have reached further and further to unlock the secrets of the universe. But there are those who would argue that like Icarus, science ignores the ever-nearing sun at its own peril.

A modern-day Moses, he led his nation to a new beginning.

We would all do well to remember, however, that all is fair in love and war.

People are often attracted to things which are forbidden to them. During the 1920's, for example, Prohibition in the United States caused illicit alcohol sales to skyrocket.

Caution can be a useful human emotion. fear tends to cloud our better judgement. Anger turns us away from what we know to be right. Hate overwhelms us and ultimately devours our humanity.

The manor-designed for beauty and grace, built for durability and strength, and located for privacy and safety-was the ideal home for those three children.

He smiled happily and joyfully laughed.

In education we find the measure of our own ignorance; in ignorance we find the beginning of wisdom.

In life we must always keep aware of the constant ebb and flow. Life is a river, not a face of stone.

I have laid out for you neatly and in proper array the various flaws in the current system. Let me next offer you workable alternatives.

This continued or many years-some would say far longer than it should have-before a new brand of politician put an end of it.

So we near our conclusion, and I must ask you, my wise reader, to bear with me for one more small digression.

I went to the mall, the park, the river, the salon, and, finally, home.

The car might cost a bit more than other models when it's new, but it more than pays for itself by not breaking down nearly so often as cheaper ones.

A healing wind blew through the diseased hospital

Jockeying for room on the table were turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, pies, rolls, butter, cranberry sauce, a cornucopia of vegetables.

His hair and face and eyes and mouth combined to form an image of absolute power.

On the same day, the judge tries the high-profile murder case and his wife's patience.

The rancher boaster about how many head of cattle he owned.

The white house answered its critics.

Intentions profit nothing, only promises kept matter.

I'm unsure whether to be in favor of harsher penalties or opposed to them, as the arguments on both sides seem very strong.

We look in toward the Milky Way, in toward the system of Sol, in toward the planet Earth, in toward the nation of China, and, finally, in toward a lonely hut on a lonely hill.

In old age we laugh at our past, sigh for our past, cry out over our past.

We enjoy life when we now ourselves to be free of temptation and sin, but we enjoy life also when we give ourselves completely to temptation and sin.

It was a cold day, a wicked day, a day of biting winds and bitter frost

The cool wind gently bathed the runner's hot and tired body.

I came, I saw, I conquered.